Melton’s Big V basketball struggles continued on Saturday night with the Thoroughbreds losing a hard-fought game to Warrnambool at home.
The Thoroughbreds went down by 21 points, slipping to 10th spot in division 1.
After a slow start to the season, Melton looked to have been getting back to its best in recent weeks after two straight wins.
The good form carried through to the early stages of the weekend’s road clash against Warrnambool with Melton going toe-to-toe with the home side through the first quarter.
But things turned sour at the resumption of play with Warrnambool shooting the lights out from the floor. The Seahawks put up a whopping 34 points on the back of five three-pointers.
Facing a 14-point deficit at half-time, Melton failed to cut far enough into the margin when play resumed.
After a tough third term, the Thoroughbreds could manage just 15 fourth-quarter points, allowing Warrnambool to run away with the 110-89 win.
There was no stopping Warrnambool’s Nathan Sobey around the basket. He put up an incredible 40 points in 36 minutes of playing time, shooting at nearly 60 per cent from the field.
Sobey was well supported by Xavier Johnson-Blount, who scored 30.
For Melton, US import Ivan Harris fought hard to score 20 points and eight rebounds. Jeff Crowe and Blake Allison also worked hard, scoring a combined 33 points. Saturday’s loss means Melton slips to a 3-5 record.
Things aren’t about to get any easier for the Thoroughbreds, who take on second-placed Casey at Melton this week.
In other Big V basketball results from the weekend, Melbourne University was too good for Keilor 86-78, while Chelsea defeated Sunbury 83-74.
