By Jonty Ralphsmith
An injury-hit Pakenham Warriors men’s team has gone down 91-80 to the RMIT Redbacks.
The result came off the back of a poor first quarter which had them trailing 27-16 at the first break.
Pakenham closed to within five points for a short period in the third quarter but the margin sat at about 10 points for most of the game…the Warriors always playing catch-up.
Among the absences were Kasseka Mpota, Michael Johns and Alistair Parker which opened up development opportunities for others, including Dylan Jenkinson, who has played well in the youth league.
The defensive structure was more organised in the last three quarters, led by Matt Berkec and Jenkinson who spent time on RMIT star Stephen Coffey.
While he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, they were able to nullify his impact in periods.
The Warriors were also strong offensively, putting 80 points on the board which enabled them to breakeven after the first stanza.
There is optimism Johns may return for another big clash this week, against third-placed Warrnambool.
The women, meanwhile, went down 94-79 against Sunbury.
Missing regular starter Sam Romanowski, Pakenham’s deficit increased at each break.
The Warriors were still within striking distance, however, at the last change, but were never able to close the eight-point gap before ultimately succumbing to the visitors.
The youth league men, meanwhile, had two wins, 90-70 over Chelsea and 125-80 against Melton.
A 25-19 third quarter was the highlight of a complete performance against Chelsea.
Five players, Aaron Small, Cooper Lanting, Jake Meagher, Matthew Stevens and Deakin Pereira, scored between 10 and 15 points in a strong team performance.
Jackson Grey, Riley Pollard and Ethan Small were among eight players to score between 10-20 points the following day, in a win set up by a 34-16 first quarter.
The win lifts the youth men to fifth in the eight-team Watson Division of the competition, with eight wins from 18 games.
The youth women also had two wins, 65-48 on the road against Craigieburn and 76-43 over Warrandyte.
A 19-point flurry late in the second quarter was crucial in overturning a 17-9 first-quarter deficit.
By halftime, Pakenham was in the lead, and held the scoreboard ascendancy for the rest of the game.
The script was flipped the following day, Pakenham starting venomously, leading 30-2 at quarter-time before the game settled into a rhythm.
