May 30: Geelong Supercats 109 (N. Herbert 23, C. Lee 21, N. Owusu 16) defeated Albury-Wodonga Bandits 88 (F. Lockett 30, J. Williams 14, J. Quinn 14) at the Arena.

The St. Laurence Geelong Supercats returned to the winner’s list on Saturday night at the Arena with an emphatic win over league cellar dwellers the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

Head coach Mark Leader said before the game, “Albury have 2 quality imports that are equal to our own and will probably cancel each other out. The difference in this game will come down to the quality of the local players and that’s where Geelong has a significant advantage”. Leader’s sage words were to come true as the game unfolded.

The Bandits stayed with Geelong for the first quarter aided by Geelong’s high turnover count for the term. Nick Owusu and Isma’il Muhammad were on song for the home side contributing much of Geelong’s scoring to lead 26 to 24 at quarter time.

Geelong increased the tempo of the match in the second quarter, noticeably running the ball into the front court to dictate the offence on their terms. Clifton Lee came into his own and joined Owusu with 10 first half points as Geelong moved away to a 52 to 44 half time lead.

Nathan Herbert, who had been quiet in the first half, began to fire in the second against the rapidly tiring Bandits, who had played against Brisbane in Albury on Friday night. Bandits coach “Gentleman” James Madigan, tried multiple combinations of is bench players in an attempt to get back into the match but it was no match for the superior Geelong bench depth, which, despite a couple of stars not firing on the night, acquitted itself well as six Supercats scored in double figures.

The Supercats increased their lead to 11 at the last break with Bandits import Fernandez Lockett keeping the visitors in the game. The Supercats then ran away with the win as Jamie Medved and Clifton Lee landed threes in the last from range to blow the visitors out to a 21 point margin by the end of the game. Leader was able to give his bench of Kris Van Parraren and Dane Bow some valuable minutes at the end of the match with Bow bringing the crowd to their feet as he scored a three pointer in the last minute.

Geelong ran out easy victors 109 to 88. Herbert top scored for Geelong with 23, while Lee had 21 and Owusu 16. Lockett led all scorers with 30 for the visitors in a stand out performance.

The SEABL takes a break next weekend for the Queen’s birthday weekend as the Supercats return to action at the Arena on Saturday June 13th against Dandenong before heading up the Highway to meet Knox on Sunday June 14th.