Braves Men take the win and look forward

Bendigo Bank Braves men’s coach Stephen Black was happy to take the win at Red Energy Arena on Saturday night, even if it was against a less-than-full-strength Frankston Blues side.

Most of the Blues’ main NBL1 roster was playing against an Indian side in Delhi, while Bendigo welcomed back star guard Mitch Clarke.

Clarke hit the first points of the game thanks to a classy drive, with Bendigo’s transition opening up plenty of scoring opportunities in the first quarter.

Mixed in with Bendigo’s strong full-court on-ball defensive pressure and Koch Bar’s dominance in the key, the Brave’s 10-point quarter-time lead augured well for the home side.

That pressure continued in the second term, Bendigo extending its lead to 15 at the main break, off the back of 14 points from import guard Andrew Robinson and strong defensive performances from its young guards, including Lachie Sommerville.

Bendigo came out firing early in the third, a 13-6 start music to the ears of the local crowd. However, a 0-14 run late in the quarter put pressure back on Bendigo, with Black’s team keen to finish the game a lot stronger.

Bendigo needed a classy start to the last quarter and Clarke delivered, with two steals and five points in the first two minutes.

That gave Bendigo the space it needed, holding on to win 90-79.

Robinson led all scorers with 23 points, and Clarke ended the night with 16 points and five steals.

Sommerville as next best with 14points. Bar ended the game with 14 rebounds, almost doubling anyone else on the court.

Black was philosophical about the result.

“It was extremely disappointing (to not play the full Frankston side), but a win is a win. All you can do is play the team that’s in front of you” he said.

“It was great to have Mitch Clarke back and doing Mitch Clarke things.

“And Lachie Sommerville was fantastic. He hit a few shots and played really hard. He bought our energy up at times.

“Lachie’s a good defensive player and we think he can be a great defensive player with a few small tweaks.

“Koch was also great for us tonight. He had 13 rebounds at the half and was very impactful throughout the game.”

Black said there were a few things the team would work on before their next game against Casey at home on Saturday night.

“We didn’t put the game away as well as we should have,” he said.

“And we let ourselves down a bit in the third, but our defense at the start of the fourth was really good.”

Phot - Craig Dilks Photography