Thurs 3rd March.
Last night saw the Seahawks face Tres Barilles Predators. Seahawks had some confidence that this game could be turned into a W, having been pipped by the Predators in the final minute away from home. And the game did not disappoint.
Coach Wood, (and the team) had agreed that in the coming games, we were going to give minutes to the core players and fight for the wins in our strongest possible way.
I opened the scoring with a banked 2 from the side, and our offence was in full flow. The overload was pulling their zone apart and Hani, Timo, Luke and myself had the triangles working perfectly. Gabe was running the point and distributing the ball well, even adding a triple to his tally. But the defensive end we had little reply for the sharp shooting Tanio, and the size of their big guy Ejele. Everything we did, they replied. It was a great to and fro quarter with no team up by more than a single basket throughout. Our only lapse was cheap fouls giving them oppurtunities for 3 point plays. 27-25 us.
The second quarter also didnt disappoint. Rakhat had stepped in and was running and hastling. We gained a little lead 34-28, before they pulled it back to tie 37-37. Luke added a triple to his tally, and Henry stepped in and played a solid few minutes to grab 5 quick points. Tanio drained another 3, and Ejele gave them the lead as we headed into the break. 50-52. Undoubtably the best half of offence we have ever played. The ball was moving and zipping around; we were getting solid easy looks with each offence and exploiting the gaps. But again the Predators had answers of their own.
The third started well, with the Predators switching to a Man D, we ran a perfect 1-4 offence to give Harry Warren a great score, but then the offence became a little stagnant. We relied too much on 1-1 basketball and the D was lacking and they exploited our weaknesses. A 17-0 run, with Ejele upstoppable, before Timo broke the deadlock, gaving the Predators a strangle hold on the game. Time-out Seahawks and a regroup... but again they stretched us with another 10-0 run, and it was 54-81 and it was slipping away. However Hani came alive, added 6 to his column and a bucket from myself brought it back to 62-83.
We were going to need a monster 4th to win this, and we knew we had it in us. That little resurgence at the end of 3, had given us hope. And the 4th was the Hani-show, with myself and Timo playing back-up. Soon it was 70-85 and the gap was shrinking. We continued to play our game, running and when we put the press on, we got the turnovers we needed, before Tanio found another 3 but then Timo and Hani teamed up to make it 82-95. Hani could have cut the lead more but rattled some free throws, and some weak fouls, (Timo fouling out) gave them 3 point plays, 82-104, but then we came alive in the dying minutes, never giving up. Hani added 8 to his tally in the last minutes, Luke and Gabe added more and it could have even been closer had a few wayward passes gone to hand.
Hats off to Hani, who had a blinder with 30 points (10 at the half), even after sitting a while in foul trouble.
It ended 94 -104. A true epic battle of offences. The highest scoring for both teams this season. Gutted we couldnt get the W, but so pleased with our game tonight. Bring on the Jam on Sunday.
[Scorers: H Mazloum 30, T Schnabl 18, O Wood 18, L German 14, G Angstwurm 7, H Lau 5, H Warren 2]
{Predators: Ejele 40!! Tanio 19}