WARRNAMBOOL Seahawks enter the Country Basketball League (CBL) break with their south-west conference finals chances alive after an important win against Portland Coasters.
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The Seahawks displaced the Coasters in the top four after producing a 77-50 triumph in Portland on Saturday night.
They play fellow play-off fancy Colac and league strugglers Stawell and Timboon on the run home.
Warrnambool coach Shane Smith said the Seahawks showed grit and determination to withstand an early challenge from the Coasters and then maturity to build a match-winning buffer.
“Hayden Annett didn’t play (for Portland) so they were a little shorter than us but they came out really physical,” he said.
“They hit us with everything early and our guys had to stand together and were really unified.
“We had good leadership from Sam Gray, Liam Killey and James Mitchell and that kept everyone calm.”
Smith said unheralded trio Jordan Dunn, Jake O’Flynn and Tyler Rodgers “stepped up and did good things to help get us over the line”.
“We had heaps of contributors and that creates really positive team energy,” he said.
“They are a quiet group but after that win they were all talking away.”
Mitchell dropped a game-high 23 points, including three triples to again prove his worth as the Seahawks’ most experienced player.
Fellow talls Jeremy Bolden and Killey complemented him, draining 13 points each.
Portland guard Joel Mirtschin, who played alongside the Seahawks’ three leading scorers in the Big V last season, top-scored for the Coasters with 13 points.
Warrnambool Mermaids recorded a 70-58 comeback win over Portland Coasters.
The Mermaids were six points down at quarter-time and four at the main break before a mammoth third term changed the dynamic of the game.
They piled on 32 points to 15 to create a match-winning buffer.
Scores dried up in the final term, with Warrnambool outscoring the hosts 10-9.
Mermaids veterans Katie O’Keefe (22 points) and Renee Tuck (17) and Coasters duo Kayla Pickert and Chelsea McMahon, both 14 points, hit the scoreboard for their respective sides.
Timboon suffered a 114-55 thrashing at the hands of Colac on Saturday night to enter the break winless and anchored to the foot of the ladder.
Mount Gambier Lakers humbled Stawell 120-55 in the other south-west conference round 11 fixture.
justine.mc@fairfaxmedia.com.au