Melton Thoroughbreds tripled their wins for the Big V men’s division 1 season in the space of 24 hours.
Before the weekend’s matches, the Thoroughbreds had won just one match for the year with several close misses.
Come 5pm on Sunday, the Thoroughbreds had three wins.
They didn’t come easy though. First up they travelled to Shepparton to take on the Shepparton Gators on Saturday night.
At the end of regular time, scores were locked at 75 apiece. In other matches this season the Thoroughbreds would have panicked; this time it was different, said coach John Allison.
“Our boys stayed tough and played our defence and were able to get the win,” he said. “When we went to overtime I told the boys to relax a little bit and concentrate on what they were doing well.”
The Thoroughbreds outscored the Gators 9-6 in overtime to win, 87-84. Billy Feben scored seven of those points.
Allison put his trust in Feben to be the leader out there.
“We made sure we put the ball in his hand,” he said. “I was really on him to control the game and not be rushed and be smart with it, which he was.”
Ivan Harris, who played all 45 minutes, top-scored with 30 points.
The Thoroughbreds had to back up on Sunday against Melbourne University Black Angels. The Angels were coming off a win on Saturday night against Keilor Thunder, which had lost just two matches for the season before that game.
Allison said the key was to stick with them early and be in the game after the first quarter, and they did just that.
“It was an even first quarter and the second quarter we outscored them 27-12 and got a nice buffer. The third and fourth quarters were pretty even and they came hard and shot well late in the game. We hung tough again.”
The Thoroughbreds won 82-57.
Harris and Feben again came up big, playing significant minutes. Feben had 26 points, while Harris, who again played the whole game, scored 25 points.
Allison hopes the confidence gained from the two wins will continue to boost the side for the rest of the season. “We have been in games and should have won more,” he said. “We think we should have had six or seven wins.
“We’ve been working hard on our defence and finding that composure. Hopefully we can get another two, three or even four wins in the rest of the season.”
The Thoroughbreds youth league side came from behind to defeat Wallan 89-87. They won the final quarter 30-15.
