By Justin Schwarze
After a rollercoaster start to the 2025 season the recipe for the Pakenham Warriors Championship Men is the same: win and repeat.
The squad got its third win of the season on the weekend by dominating on the interior to outmuscle Melbourne University 89-81.
It was an important scalp for Pakenham after dropping its last three games by an average of just 5.6 points.
At Cardinia Life, it was the Black Angels who got out to the hot start, leading 21-25 at quarter time and steadying into a 45-49 advantage when Jamir Moultrie pulled up and splashed a deep three at the buzzer.
Through the second half, both teams had to be aware and switched on defensively as the referees were quick to whistle for contact, resulting in fouls stacking up.
It was the first game for new import signing Elijah Tillman, but his minutes were limited on debut due to foul trouble, picking up four personals in just 11 minutes.
However, when he saw the court he looked ready and the coaching staff should be very excited of what he can bring in the coming weeks.
“Considering the foul count, our mental game had to be pretty strong,” head coach Rob Roberts said.
The Warriors’ major size advantage saw them command the glass and control the rebound count for the game, grabbing 26 offensive rebounds and outrebounding their opposition by securing 25 more total boards for the game.
Ned Carr was back to his best with 28 points and a season-high 22 rebounds to go along with five blocks and two steals.
“Something we’ve been talking about with Ned is that he needs to be getting inside more and getting those boards for us,” Roberts admitted.
“They weren’t a huge team so adding Elijah as well as the other guys we’ve got, we knew we were going to win the rebound count.
“When Elijah and Berko got into early foul trouble, he ended up being our big on the court and we went pretty small after that.
“He took on that task and really hit it hard and made a big difference.”
To open the second half, Carr got by his man with a deceiving pump fake before throwing down a jam to ignite the Pakenham offense.
It sparked the hosts to outscore Melbourne Uni 22-11 in the frame and carry a 67-60 buffer into the final term.
The Black Angels would not go away, with a Joel Rimes driving finish putting the visitors back in front with under two minutes to play.
From there, the Warriors closed out the match with a 9-0 run that was capped off with another Carr vicious dunk.
“The boys had to make sure they stayed together as a team and that’s probably what stood out more than anything,” Roberts noted.
“Trying to overcome that adversity in that game that we had, we just had to stick together as a team.
“That was definitely one of the best versions of that that we’ve had this year.
“Keeping them to 81 points, all the stats at halftime were in our favour so we just had to get together and in that third quarter was really what did it.
“There was also a better ability to get through our sets.
“We’ve been a little bit scattered so we really just made sure when we came out of halftime that we would focus not just on our transition game but when we get it in the halfcourt, we make sure we get through it and look for a good shot rather than waste it.”
In a game where the threes weren’t dropping, Pakenham found a way to get out and run and operate downhill offensively.
Matt Berkec made himself big with a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards.
Creating advantages and being physically imposing were keys for Roberts.
“We knew our size would have it and the transition game would be fairly quick and beneficial to us in this,” he admitted.
“Berko, he might have only had 10 points but his presence moving up and down the court was just huge.
“Guys running the lanes as well as they do makes it easier.
“Knowing that the three-ball wasn’t going down and knowing we had the size advantage, we knew we had to get to the basket to keep seeing it go through.”
The Warriors will be hoping they can translate their momentum and physicality into this weekend’s double-header fixture against reigning champs Wyndham at home on Saturday and away at Sunbury on Sunday.
The Pakenham Championship Women made it 1-1 over its weekend in games head coach Elli Gibson would be satisfied with.
The weekend started with the Warriors demolishing the visiting Warrnambool 100-49.
Emerging talent Kailey Neave was exceptional, recording 22 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists while shooting an astonishing 80 percent from the floor.
Pakenham led by two at quarter time before overrunning the Mermaids 28-7 in the second.
The third was more of the same, with the Warriors charging to take the term 31-10 and cruise to the big result.
On Sunday, Pakenham travelled to play Bulleen for the second time this season, with the Boomers getting their revenge by clawing out a 90-78 victory.
Grace Graham put up 28 points in her usual reliable scoring effort, while Eliza Hollingsworth continues to settle in well with 17 points and eight boards.
The Warriors will host a struggling Wyndham team looking for its second win on Saturday then travel to Sunbury to play the Jets on Sunday.
The Youth Championship Women came up painfully short in its game against Frankston, with Stella O’Loughlin unable to convert the go-ahead three point attempt.
In a very low-scoring, defensive-oriented game, the Blues snagged the 61-62 scalp.
The Youth Men grinded out yet another impressive win, leapfrogging Bulleen in the table and moving to third after knocking off the Boomers 73-64 at home.
A masterclass in the fourth period saw the Warriors rally to swing the game onto their terms by outscoring the visitors 22-9 after trailing by four at the last break.
Kaleb Beveridge returned with a very solid performance of 12 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Braden Venning also got great production from Mitch Zeunert and Hayden Melsen, with the pair managing 14 points each.
Pakenham will make the journey up to Ballarat to face the eighth-placed Miners in round 9.
