Wins don’t get more spectacular than this

An impressive away double header weekend for the Bendigo Bank Braves Men was capped off with a one of the most remarkable finishes to a game you will ever see.

Bendigo moved into equal second place on the NBL1 South ladder with tough wins against Geelong on Friday night and Casey on Sunday.

Coach Stephen Black has instilled a never-say-die attitude in his team this season, and that was on show early at The Geelong Arena.

A blue-collar work ethic saw Bendigo lead by 16 at half time, and when Geelong made their move, the Braves were ready.

Billy Smythe’s tough hustle under the basket in the second half was instrumental in allowing Bendigo to hang on to win 88-81.

Rowan McKenzie was again all class with 26 points and eight rebounds, as was Andrew Robinson, who ended the night on 17 points and 10 rebounds.

2024 is looking like Lachlan O’Brien’s breakout season, and the small guard was impressive in the Geelong win with 17 points and three steals. Smythe (11 points) is another who is blooming this year.

It may have been a long drive to Casey to take on the Cavaliers on Sunday, but the trip was worth it, with a game that will be talked about for a long time.

A scrappy first half opened up in the second, with Bendigo’s defense keeping them in the game against the classy Casey scorers.

However, with 10 seconds to go, Bendigo was down by five and the game was all but over. Words can’t really describe what happened next, but let’s have a go:

Koch Bar gets the rebound from a missed Casey free throw, sends it quickly up court to McKenzie who finds Lachie O’Brien. O’Brien doesn’t hesitate and hits a quick three. Bendigo down by two with seven seconds to do.

A Cavaliers timeout advances the ball, the inbound pass is too high and just out of Casey’s reach. A turnover with 2.3 seconds to go. Bendigo has the ball back.

Black calls a time out and Bendigo advances the ball. Still down by two with only 2.3 seconds to play.

A technical foul is called against Casey for reaching over the line as Bendigo Captain Isaac Murphy attempts to throw the ball in. That gives the Braves a free throw and the ball back.

McKenzie sinks the free throw. Bendigo down by one, still with 2.3 seconds to play. Back to the same sideline as before, with the same in-bounder.

This time, Murphy funds McKenzie at almost the same spot as O’Brien’s earlier three, after some quality screening in what can only be described as a scrum.

McKenzie has two players on him and puts a long three up, unbalanced and with all the power he can muster.

It hits the backboard, then the inner part of the front of the ring, hits the backboard again, then the inner front of the ring again, then the net, as the Braves are sent into ecstasy. Bendigo wins 81-79.

Seriously, check out the replay on the NBL1 app.  

McKenzie hit 23 for the night, Robinson 20, and Lachie O’Brien 14. But it was that final 11 seconds that will never be forgotten.

“I’m not sure it’s entirely repeatable,” Black said.

“But it’s testament to hanging in there. I have been praising the team’s resilience and ability to stay together when things get difficult, and this is why.

“We had patches where we weren’t playing well on Sunday, and patches we were playing well but weren’t getting rewarded on the offensive end.

“Even if it didn’t finish the way it did, I would have been proud. But to see that hard work come to fruition with them continually believing in themselves, I couldn’t be prouder.”

Black praised young guns Smythe and O’Brien for their impact over the weekend.

“I thought Billy was outstanding against Geelong and one of the major reasons we got the win,” he said.

“We also need to realise how impressive Lachie’s performance was this weekend. Two tough games on the road and two fantastic performances. He got his opportunity, and he took it.

“In the first week, his shooting percentage was not pretty, but we knew it was likely he would have the weekend he just had.

“We believed in him and now you see why.”

Photo - Craig Dilks Photography