A HARD-fought six-point win over Maryborough helped the Swan Hill Flyers salvage a disappointing weekend.
The men’s team’s 80-74 victory on Sunday was the club’s only from the penultimate weekend of the CBL North West season.
Forced to do it the hard way against an aggressive Maryborough, the home side broke the game open in the final minutes largely thanks to Lachlan Gardner.
The centre led the scoring with 35 points and dominated the dying stages, draining a three-pointer with just a minute remaining to give Swan Hill a four-point lead.
Gardner then finished the contest moments later, drawing a shooting foul and sinking both free throws to give the Flyers a 77-71 lead.
It was a strong performance from the Flyers, who effectively ended the Blazers’ playoff hopes in an at times physical contest.
Swan Hill went into the half-time break trailing by eight points, before a dominant third period from Matthew Gardner (13 points), Lachlan Somerville (16 points) and Lachlan Gardner evened the scores.
On Saturday evening, however, the men fell 10 points short of the Echuca Pirates on the road.
Having skipped out to a 10-point lead at half-time, the Pirates maintained their advantage in the second half as the Flyers tried everything to drag themselves back into the contest.
It was Somerville who led the way for the Flyers, scoring 28 points, and Matthew Gardner provided strong support with 23 points, including five three-pointers.
The women’s team also hosted Maryborough on Sunday, but they were unable to overcome a slow start on their way to a 41-point loss.
Maryborough dominated the first half, outscoring Swan Hill 48-16, before extending their lead after the main break to come away with a commanding 86-45 win.
Scarlet Grey continued to show she is a player of the future, leading the scoring for the Flyers with nine points. Demi Hallam was the next best with seven points.
The Flyers will finish their season next weekend, when the women travel to play Melton on Saturday night before returning home to host the Bacchus Marsh Lions on Sunday, while the men finish their campaign on Sunday against the Castlemaine Cannons.
