James Murphy
IT was a split weekend for the Mount Gambier Lakers men when they hosted a double-header for Round 12 of the Country Basketball League season.
Stumbling against Warrnambool Seahawks on Saturday night with a 16-point loss, the Lakers recovered on Sunday with a strong 30-point triumph over Hamilton Hurricanes.
At the close of the weekend Mount Gambier had been knocked out of top spot, with Horsham Hornets now holding the mantle by a slim percentage.
Saturday’s match was of a high quality and while the Seahawks sit in fifth position, they proved they have the potential to ruffle a few feathers should they make finals.
The Lakers were slow to start and let Warrnambool out to an early lead.
However, a quick finish with consecutive baskets from Toby de Wit, Simon Berkefeld and Tom Daly lessened the damage.
At the first change the guests held a 25-18 point lead.
The Lakers recovered in the second quarter and won the term by six, making it a one-point game at half time.
The third quarter was an arm wrestle and the lowest scoring for the night.
Again the Seahawks came out on top, with a strong defence limiting Mount Gambier to 10 points.
They added 15 of their own to push the lead out to six points heading into the last.
Grip was an issue throughout the match, with the humidity leading to an abundance of sweat on the playing surface.
However, players pushed through and after another tough quarter Warrnambool emerged victorious 83-67.
In a strong display across the board there was a total of eight double-figure scorers on the night.
The Lakers were best served by Berkefeld with 17 points, while de Wit had 16.
Shaun Lock (15) and Ben Young (11) also helped the cause, while the top score for the match came from Warrnambool’s Riley Nicolson on 18.
Adam Lawson and Harry McGorm both had 15 and Des O’Keefe scored 13 in a solid display from the Seahawks.
The Lakers turned things around on Sunday afternoon when facing bottom-placed Hamilton.
Despite their solitary win for the season, the Hurricanes meant business and were by no means a pushover.
Regardless, the Lakers set the tone early and a 31-15 point first quarter set the ball rolling towards a solid result.
The guests returned fire in the second and did manage to win the term by five, but from there the margin would grow at every change.
At the final break the difference was 21 points.
The Lakers were quick out of the gates in the final stanza and put in a 13-point run before the Hurricanes could respond.
From there things levelled out and the rest of the quarter was relatively even.
However, the damage had been done and Mount Gambier cruised to an easy win.
Berkefeld again topped the sheets, this time with a game-high 27 points, while Young stepped up with a 20-point game.
Lock and de Wit were also prolific with 19 and 18 points respectively.
Meanwhile, Hamilton looked to Joel Le Roy (16 points) and Joshua Miller (14).
The Lakers will now look for another strong outing when visiting Millicent Magic this Saturday.
