Wildcats End Season with Double Loss to Bears
Wildcats End Season with Double Loss to Bears
The Wildcats were away to the Northern Suburbs Bears on Saturday night at the Northern Suburbs Indoor Sports Centre, Crows Nest and lost both games on the night.
On paper, the Bears should have won both games comfortably but that would not be the case in either game, with the home team eventually winning the men's game 101-85, after leading by a mere handful of points in the second half of the game.
The women's game was even tougher, with the Wildcats women getting closer to a win than on any other occasion this season, only to fall 50-45.
Ryan Thompson was in great touch for the Bears at the outset of the men's game, racing into double figures in the first quarter as the home team ran roughshod over the Wildcats to grab a 29-16 lead.
The Bears still held a comfortable advantage (51-40) at the half time break, although Wildcats centre Goran Veg was on a one-man mission to keep his team in the contest and had already accumulated 11 points, 8 boards and 4 blocked shots for the game.
Bears coach Ben Knight constantly rotated his star-studded squad in the third quarter, endeavouring to sharpen his team for the upcoming playoff series but the Wildcats refused to buckle, closing the gap to just eights points (72-64) at the final break in play.
Forward Jed Atherton had been thrown into the point guard role during the third quarter in an attempt to halt an ongoing run of turnovers and the experiment paid huge dividends, with the Wildcats looking sharper in offence and getting better ball movement across the court.
Sydney Kings NBL development players Tanner Kerry and Tom Wright would prove to be the major stumbling blocks for the Wildcats, dominating the final quarter to lead their team to a 16-point win.
The Wildcats women defied all the odds, leading 8-6, 21-19 and 32-29 at the end of the first three quarters respectively, only to have Nicole How (Norths) take the game out of their grasp in the final term.
Howe had missed the entire first half of the game but once she turned up at the venue midway through the third term, head coach Peter Loneragan swung her straight into the action and the game turned on its head for the Wildcats, snuffing out their one chance of a win this season.
MEN: Northern Suburbs Bears 101 (Ryan Thompson 28 points; Tanner Kerry 23; Tom Wright 20) def Parramatta Wildcats 85 (Goran Veg 21 points, 16 boards, 6 blocked shots; Jed Atherton 18 points; Adi Causevic 18; Rory Sutton 10)
PHOTO: Jed Atherton played a pivotal role for the Wildcats in the unfamiliar point guard role - photo by Noel Rowsell
Apologies if the photo does not load - it can also be viewed in the Media Gallery on the www.photoexcellence.com.au website.
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