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Sport

29 October, 2024

Men’s Blazers winners, women fight hard

A competitive Sunday slate yielded a win for the Maryborough Blazers’ men, while a terrific effort from the Lady Blazers saw them only over-hauled in the last five minutes by a red-hot Kyneton.

By Michael Thompson

Bailey Jacobs erupted for 39 points, which included the Blazers’ last 17 points of their win against Kyneton.
Bailey Jacobs erupted for 39 points, which included the Blazers’ last 17 points of their win against Kyneton.

It was the Lady Blazers who took to the floor at the Maryborough Sports and Leisure Centre first up, and they were hoping to turn around a 26-point loss to the Tigers last week on their home floor.

Early on, things suggested they would be right in the game.

After a competitive start, Maryborough would go on a 6-0 run, with buckets from playing-coach Faith McKenzie, Demi Thompson and Maggie Tranter allowing the Lady Blazers to open up a four-point lead, before Kyneton steadied.

The Tigers would open up a four-point lead at the first break after scoring 24 points to 20 in the first quarter.

The second quarter was virtually bucket for bucket as both teams looked to gain the ascendancy.

While Kyneton, at times, looked to clear away, Maryborough would keep themselves in the game with a number of timely buckets. Both teams would score 19 points in the second term, with the margin remaining at four points at half time.

Maryborough made a sensational start to the third term, scoring the first seven points, with Tranter delivering a three-pointer, followed by buckets from McKenzie and Maddy Egan.

That allowed the Lady Blazers to have control for much of the quarter as the game again went into a pattern of both teams exchanging buckets.

However, Kyneton would go on an 8-0 run to help finish the quarter, and they would take a three-point lead as they turned for home.

Much as they did in the third quarter, Maryborough started the last in impressive fashion, scoring seven of the first nine points of the quarter to lead by two points.

With just under six minutes to go, Maryborough were still in front, but Kyneton would deliver the knockout blow with a quick 7-0 run to move six points clear.

Kyneton would convert a host of free throws to ensure the margin blew out to 12 points by the end, which didn’t reflect the level of effort the Lady Blazers had put in throughout the game to go toe-to-toe with the ladder leaders.

Egan top-scored with 20 points, while Tranter scored 17 and Aislinn McCarthy and McKenzie scored 13 apiece.

The men’s Blazers had a chance to score a much-needed win against a struggling Kyneton, and they delivered after a nervy start, scoring a 37-point victory.

Kyneton would go on a 15-2 run throughout the midway stages of the first quarter to turn an early four-point deficit into a nine-point lead, forcing the Blazers to take an early time out.

However, whatever was said by coach Troy McCarthy did the trick, as Maryborough soon went on a run of their own.

The Blazers would score the final nine points of the quarter to hit the front, 22-20 at the first change, and they never looked back.

It was Bailey Jacobs who ignited the Blazers to start the second term, scoring five points to increase the lead to seven, and getting his teammates into the game.

A 16-0 run would soon follow, with Tyson Iglesias providing four points, as would Brady Neill and Lachlan Drummond as the Blazers shared the ball around effectively.

The Blazers would remain hot, scoring 29 points to six for the term to take a 25-point lead going into the second half.

The third quarter saw both teams go bucket for bucket as the Blazers looked to maintain what was a comfortable lead, and it was Neill who provided much of the ammunition throughout the quarter, scoring nine of the 20 points the Blazers for the term.

Leading by 24 points going into the last quarter, the Blazers were hoping to finish strongly, and their 18-4 run was just the ticket to stretch the margin to over 30 points.

In particular, it was Drummond and Iglesias which provided much of the firepower throughout the run, combining for 12 of those points during the run.

However, it was Jacobs who exploded throughout the last three minutes to really put an exclaimation mark on the afternoon’s work.

Jacobs would erupt to score the Blazers’ final 17 points of the game, which would allow him to top-score with 39 points, moving him up to third in the competition for the most points in the league, as well as the second-highest individual scoring game of the men’s season so far.

Alongside Jacobs, Neill would finish with 22 points, while Drummond (14 points) and Iglesias (11 points) also scored in double figures.

A key meeting for the Blazers follows this week, with the Lady Blazers having a double header as they host Bendigo and Swan Hill, while the men host Bendigo on Saturday night.

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