Saints show nerve to split opening double header

Myrtleford’s men’s CBL outfit prevailed in a tense home opener against Benalla on Sunday afternoon to split their first-round double-header. The Saints were cruising at the half in front of a strong home crowd at the Myrtleford Indoor Sports Centre, leading by 16 at the main break and restricting the Breakers to just eight second quarter points. However, the Benalla offence exploded coming out of halftime, piling on 32-13 in a match changing 10-minute period which saw them take the lead. Coach Marcus La Spina said it was those moments that would hurt his side in games last year as Benalla led by six in the opening stages of the fourth. But a new season meant a whole new ball game. “[Last year] we pushed teams all game but couldn't close out when it really mattered,” La Spina said. “But to our credit, we were down and found a way to come back and close out a game against a quality side in Benalla. “That speaks volumes about the boys' development and our structure.” Behind a nine-point quarter by Lachlan Russell, the Saints steadied and were able to break out to a seven-point lead with a minute left. Benalla made shots late to force the Saints to convert their free throws, doing just enough to hang on 73-69. La Spina said keeping to the team-first mindset allowed his side to stay cool under pressure. “We did the team thing instead of going individual,” he said. “Lach Russell came up really big; he stayed aggressive and ready and when we got the ball moving, we kept finding him open. “The younger boys showed they are ready and are going to play a big part this year, it was awesome to see. “All the boys want to guard that home court and make it a tough place for other teams to come into, the boys fed off that support which helped.” Myrtleford made a strong opening to their game to open up a 16-point halftime lead behind their role players, who set the tone early. Nick La Spina made his moments count with his team’s first six points, which Marcus said was a huge influence in his own ability to ease into his game. “He gave the boys confidence and showed maturity in getting behind the younger guys when they came in,” he said. “It was good to see Nick make us adjust in the first quarter with our scoring. He sparked a lot of the younger boys to step up and realize they needed to play their roles too.” Marcus dropped 20 points alongside Russell’s 24, making the pair the main focal points on offence. On Saturday night, Myrtleford were outclassed by the defending CBL North East champions Seymour on their home floor, who won every quarter on their way to a 94-56 victory. La Spina said his team benefited from a lot of learning going against a mature-aged unit like the Blasters first up. “Seymour is a quality side, and they're going to be a tough team to beat again this year,” he said. “Some of the boys lacked CBL experience, so we weren't ready in that first quarter until we really settled into the game. In his first game back with the side, Levi Young led the way in scoring finishing with 20 points connecting with four shots beyond the arc. Prior to the game Young was announced as the team’s captain for this year, which La Spina said was well earned. “We thought it would help his game to lead the boys and take on that responsibility, he led the way Saturday night, so that was really good to see,” he said. La Spina himself chimed in with 16 points on Saturday while Andrew Robinson did the dirty work on the inside collecting the boards. Following their back-to-back Myrtleford have the bye this weekend prior to a trip to Swan Hill to face the Flyers. La Spina said defensive rotations and closing out perimeter shooters would be a key focus at training throughout the week, having conceded a combined 24 three-pointers in their opening two games. “Teams will start to move the ball a lot more against us and test our youth on those rotations,” he said. “We'll test some of the younger boys out and have them ready for two weeks' time.”

Saints show nerve to split opening double header

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