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Werribee Devils flexed its muscle down the stretch to record a come-from-behind 72-67 win over the McKinnon Cougars in the Big V basketball men’s championship at the Werribee Sports and Fitness Centre (WSFC) on Saturday night.
Devils coach Mark Hughes lauded the character of his players after they overcame a hefty 11-point three quarter time deficit with a 27-11 final period to make it two wins from two games in this young season.
“We didn’t play that well, but it was a character-building win,” he told Star Weekly.
“We were able to dig ourselves out of a hole.”
The Devils “turned it up” on the defensive end late in the game.
A well-executed zone halted the Cougars offensive rhythm, resulting in tough shots and a terrible 4-from-24 (16%) shooting in the final quarter for the visitors.
“We played better defence,” Hughes said.
“We went to a zone and they couldn’t cope with it at all.”
The Devils were skating on thin ice for much of the game with three starters in foul trouble.
With Hughes having to cap the minutes of import David Cobb, forward Darcy Harding and leading scorer Jordan Hughes, it kept the Devils fresh for the crucial final five minutes when the game was decided.
“I had to rest the guys a fair bit to manage their minutes so we didn’t get too many fouls and we kept them available for the fourth quarter,” Hughes said.
“I decided to roll the dice late on and run with the starters because these guys were the ones continually getting it done.
“I think we’re fitter than the other guys we play and it shows in the third and fourth quarters.”
Jordan Hughes was superb in the back court. He was unstoppable with 33 points and six rebounds in just 28 minutes.
Cobb lived up to his rebounding machine status with 10 points and 23 rebounds, including nine offensive boards.
The defence of Jonathan Sonda and Nick Morda was important for the Devils late in the game.
The Devils’ comeback was one to savour, but not one Hughes wants to repeat too often.
He sees plenty of improvement to come in his team ahead of this weekend’s tough road double, which sees them travel to Eltham Wildcats for an 8pm tip-off on Saturday night and having to front up at the Sherbrooke Suns at midday on Sunday.
“You can’t do that all the time but it’s good to know you can,” Hughes said of the comeback win.
“The guys dug deep, it didn’t matter who was on, it was a good team effort.
“There’s still a lot of upside to us.
“We are going to get better and we’ll keep working on things.”
Big V women
The Werribee Devils went down 79-76 in a heartbreaking loss to the Mildura Heat in a Big V women’s division 1 at the WSFC on Sunday.
The Devils led by two points at the start of the fourth before running out of gas.
Like a week earlier, the Devils will be kicking themselves for inefficiency at the free throw line, leaving 10 points at the charity stripe to finish with a dismal 7-from-17 (41%).
The best players for the Devils were Alex Moss with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Katrina Vogelezang with a double-double 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Lydia Brooks with nine points and 15 rebounds.
The desperate Devils (0-2) will go in as underdogs against the undefeated Whittlesea Pacers (2-0) at the WSFC on Sunday.
