A YOUNG Warrnambool Seahawks outfit took the challenge up to Mount Gambier Lakers in Saturday night’s Country Basketball League south west conference grand final, but lost 65-81.
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Seahawks coach Matt Alexander said the final 16-point margin did not do the contest justice as a dominant performance from Mount Gambier’s best on court Simon Berkefeld – who finished with 37 points – forced his players to take risks late in the game.
“We stayed within striking distance (most of the game) – it was about two points at quarter-time and they never really got past 10 or 12 points up,” Alexander said.
“We always came back.
“A couple of times we got close … (but) it got to 10/12 points with a few minutes to go, so we started to play high-risk basketball.”
The move ended up blowing the final margin out a little, but the Seahawks did not bow out wondering what could have been.
Alexander said, against the best defensive team in the conference, his players ran offence well.
“It was not through a lack of trying and effort and diving on the ball (that we lost) – the effort was great to see,” he said.
“We were within striking distance right up until the final two minutes.
“They had to bring their best to beat us.”
The Seahawks struggled to make the most of their free throws from the foul line, making just 13 from 36 attempts.
Alexander praised the efforts of point guard Mitch O’Sullivan, who stepped up for the final.
“Things were going his way and he had a really great second half driving the ball and scoring,” Alexander said.
O’Sullivan scored 11 points, as did Lachie Rhook, while James Mitchell got 12 and Sam Gray 10.
Power forward/centre Liam Killey took to the court after injuring his right lower leg in last week’s semi-final against Portland Coasters, but was restricted in his mobility and came into foul trouble, spending just 15 minutes on the court in Saturday’s decider.
Alexander said he was proud of the efforts of his players in making the grand final.
After repeatedly stumbling at the semi-final stage, the Seahawks finally broke through for their first CBL grand final appearance this season.
“We were 12-3 in the season – you take that any season,” Alexander said.
“It would’ve been nice to have finished it off with a win, but it was a great learning experience for such a young group.
“We’ve got an under-23 policy, and our oldest player was 20.”
