By ADEM SARICAOGLU
ALTONA has broken its string if recent losses in Men’s Division One Big V basketball with a tight four-point win at home to La Trobe City on Sunday.
A low-scoring opening quarter had the Gators up by four points by the first change but it didn’t take long for the game to open up.
By halftime Altona’s deficit was just a point but the Gators managed to keep up with the visitors, who piled on 25 points for the term.
On the other side of the main interval it was Altona who then turned on the offence, adding 24 points of its own to snatch the lead by three-quarter time, before managing to stay ahead when it mattered most at the final buzzer.
The final scoreboard read 83-79 in Altona’s favour.
Coach Randy Shanklin was impressed by his young team’s showing against quality opposition.
“I thought we played really well considering there were a couple of times we could have lost our composure after a good start,” Shanklin said.“But the thing with this young team has been how long we can play well.
“We didn’t finish the game as cleanly as we would have liked to.Especially at home, those are the kinds of games that can really be heart-breaking for the rest of the season if you don’t pull that win out.”
Joey Mauser (21 points) and Shaun Phelan (16 points, six rebounds) were both impressive for the Gators, and afterward drew praise from their coach.
“Joey had an outstanding game on both sides of the ball,” Shanklin said.“He had to guard their second leading scorer (Jordan Canovan) and he held him under his average as well.
“Shaun Phelan has always played well for us and he’s done a great job for us all year, and he was fairly consistent today.
“He started off a bit shaky and I thought the game was a bit physical in the beginning, but we made a few adjustments to his game and he came through shining like a star.”
Daniel Ellul’s contribution of 11 points and two rebounds was also rated highly by Shanklin.
Meanwhile Altona’s women fell to yet another loss, but were gallant in their 61-54 defeat to the Warrandyte Venom on the road on Sunday.
This Sunday they will host the Hawthorn Magic, while the men will take on Blackburn.
