By RUSSELL BENNETT
PAKENHAM Warriors coach Jeff Reid had one over-riding instruction for his men just before a thrilling final play of their Big V basketball Division 2 clash with Mornington on Saturday night.
‘Don’t let him catch the ball, do not let him catch it’ was the cry from Reid to his men in the final timeout. With the scores tied at 77 and just two seconds left on the clock, the Warriors coach implored his charges not to let Breakers star Demarcus Berry catch the ball from the inbounds pass. He already had 17 points and 11 rebounds to that point of the game and was clearly his side’s hottest hand.
But, he caught the pass and made a deep buzzer-beating three-pointer to stun the home ground and send the Warriors packing with an 80-77 loss.
“Berry was the only one that was going to make that shot so I am really disappointed with that,” Reid said following the game.
“It was definitely a defensive breakdown. It was pretty much the one and only instruction in that timeout and we just didn’t execute how we should’ve and it cost us the game.”
But Warriors fans saw a marked improvement from their team on both ends of the floor throughout the contest, with Pakenham leading at key stages.
“It was a massive improvement from last week, which was great,” Reid said.
“I was really happy with that but It’s just those little things.
“I don’t know if they’re brain fades or what, but we play well in patches – just not for a full game.
“We’ve got to try and cut that out of our game and we’ll be right.
“I made a heavy point of it after the game to the guys – we can’t afford to have those brain-fades and dumb passages of basketball. If we cut them out we win that game by 10 or 15 points.”
The Warriors were led by new acquisition Darren Galloway, whose clearance to play was given the all-clear just hours before the opening tip.
The import guard provided an immediate injection of athleticism that the Warriors will use to their advantage throughout the rest of the season.
“He and Jay Ferriere can both play the one and two, so they’re pretty much interchangeable,” Reid said.
“Clearly, they’re both comfortable with the ball in their hands and having those guys together is hopefully going to limit our turnovers moving forward.”
With Galloway’s ability to score both inside and outside, Reid said he expected between 15 and 20 points from him each game.
His first outing in Warriors colours was a great start – finishing with 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Hayden Davey again impressed with 12 and 10. Sean Armstrong finished with a near double-double of 9 points and 8 rebounds.
The Breakers were led by Berry, and Titgyeth Kwajakwan who finished with 24 points and 5 rebounds before fouling out.
The Warriors’ women’s team was also in action on Saturday night as a precursor to the men’s clash. They went down 74-39 against Mornington in what was a vastly improved output from the week prior against Casey. Gemma Craven led the way with 7 points and 7 rebounds, while Mel Magdich finished with 6 and 6.
