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NBL1 West: Geraldton Buccs go toe-to-toe with Warwick Senators as youngsters get run-out

Reuben CarderGeraldton Guardian
The Buccs’ Elijah Barbour and Senators’ Alier Riak and Ethan Elliot.
Camera IconThe Buccs’ Elijah Barbour and Senators’ Alier Riak and Ethan Elliot. Credit: Arctic Moon Photography

A plucky Geraldton side went down to powerhouse Warwick at home in State basketball on Saturday night, with several youngsters getting minutes on the court and the home side showing promising signs for the future.

Buccaneers coach Dayle Joseph said his young side had gone toe-to-toe with the heavyweight Senators, coached by 1980s/90s Perth Wildcats legend Mike Ellis, for half of the game before falling behind to some rapid-fire buckets.

“We stuck with them for the first half and they got away from us in probably a three or four-minute patch where they got a run on us and opened up a reasonable lead of about 20 points pretty quickly,” Joseph said.

“From that point on, it was catch-up basketball (but) some of the young guys got some opportunities, which was pretty cool. Two kids playing their first game got to hit the court and the scoreboard.”

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Teenagers Harry Evans, Tom Dobson, development player Jackson Patten and WA under-16s captain Robert Griechen all turned out for the Buccs at ActiveWest as they went down 62-90.

Geordie Murray put in a solid effort alongside imports Elijah Barbour and Mathiang Muo for the Buccs, grabbing five points in just over seven minutes on court, shooting 50 per cent from outside the three-point line and making all of his free throws.

Muo was a cornerstone for the side, as he has been all season, playing more minutes than anyone except Will Galvin, and top-scoring with 21 while getting three assists and making 47 per cent of his field-goal attempts and 37.5 per cent of his three-pointers, completing 10 dribbles and grabbing a huge 14 boards, 10 of them in defence.

Galvin is an emerging powerhouse for the Buccs and brought down 11 boards while playing 40 minutes — more than anyone else in the squad, and also scoring four points.

New signing Brandon Holloway played 30min. 56sec. in an encouraging sign for the Buccs as he comes back from a knee injury, topping the assist chart with four and grabbing three rebounds as well as scoring six points while shooting 33 per cent from outside the three-point line.

The Buccs are at home for a double-header next weekend, facing the Cockburn Cougars on Saturday and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Sunday.

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