Sport
14 October, 2025
Maryborough Men’s Blazers slip to 0-3 following nine-point defeat to Kyneton
The Maryborough Men’s Blazers were unable to make Sunday’s trip to Kyneton a fruitful one, losing a tight battle to the Tigers by nine points.
After finishing their last four CBL North West campaigns without a victory, Sunday’s win was a landmark moment for the Tigers program, while the Blazers will have a mountain to climb to try and return to finals contention after falling to an 0-3 record.
Maryborough entered into Sunday’s game without reigning John Stringer MVP Bailey Jacobs, who was one of two notable outs alongside Sam Byron to the side that were defeated by the Macedon Ranges Rockies in the second leg of their opening double header.
With Jacobs out, Sean Costello came into the team, and ball-handling duties were shared between Ky Swards, Harry Alsop and Ollie McCarthy.
The Blazers were working well in transition early in the contest, with Swards and Alsop earning multiple chances near the rim and at the free-throw line.
The Tigers, fresh off a 55-point away defeat to the Rockies the night before, were keeping pace with the Blazers in the first quarter as they found avenues to attack the interior with regularity.
After a tight first quarter that saw seven lead changes, a lovely give-and-go between Kynan Carter and Swards at the buzzer gave Maryborough a two-point lead at the first break.
His buzzer-beater brought Swards’ to 11 points for the period, with Alsop close behind on six.
The Blazers relinquished their lead early in the second quarter, as the Tigers clawed together a 7-0 run with several baskets in the paint.
The two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the second quarter until an and-one put-back from Carter tied the game at 33-33 with just under three and a half minutes to play in the half.
Even after that potentially momentum-surging play, Kyneton began to stifle the Blazers on offence with excellent interior defence and key takeaways, which set up a second quarter buzzer-beater that supplied the hosts with an eight-point advantage at half time.
Maryborough came out of the half time break seemingly rejuvenated, with their defensive rebounding showing significant improvement.
However, the Blazers continued to rely on fighting through Kyneton contact at the rim instead of kicking out for a different look, resulting in some difficult shots that often weren’t falling.
Their continued attacks at the basket did mean the Tigers racked up a whopping 11 fouls in the third period, but similar to their loss to the Rockies, the Blazers couldn’t convert at the line with regularity, allowing the Tigers to enter three quarter time four points ahead.
Sitting on the verge of a long-awaited victory, Kyneton burst out of the final break with a 10-3 run to start the fourth quarter, extending their buffer to double digits with seven minutes to play.
Swards attempted to mount a late comeback with nine fourth-quarter points, but the Tigers’ lead was insurmountable, holding on to a cathartic victory.
Swards led the Blazers in scoring with 23 points, with Alsop (11 points), Costello (10) and McCarthy (10) also reaching double digits.
Carter produced some great plays on both sides of the floor while Jack Skinner’s persistent perimeter defence was a highlight throughout the match for Maryborough.
The Blazers won’t have to wait long for their chance at that elusive first victory, travelling to play the 1-1 Mildura Heat this Saturday at 7 pm.