THE Ballarat Miners have returned to the winners list in the South East Australian Basketball League with a convincing 21 point win over the Melbourne Tigers away from home on Sunday afternoon.
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The Miners led from start to finish in the round six fixture, with the visitors amassing a slender four point lead heading into the first break.
The Miners continued to steadily build on the lead throughout the contest, going into the final term with a nine point buffer before shooting clear of the home side to run home comfortable victors.
The success breaks a three game losing streak for the Miners who were outclassed by an athletic Brisbane Spartans outfit last week at the Minerdome.
Miners coach Eric Hayes said while the game was far from perfect, there was a number of positive signs for his chargers who now sit at three wins and four losses for the season.
“They had 46 at the half and that’s not a great job on the defensive side of things, but it was certainly much better in the second half,” Hayes said. “Offensively the ball moved better but there was still a couple of times when we missed some people.”
Miners spearhead Roy Booker again led the charge for the Miners offensively, registering 28 points and providing plenty of creativity with eight assists.
Earnest Ross and and Ollie Bailey were busy off the backboard, amassing 10 and nine rebounds respectively, while new recruit Craig Moller was a force in defence. The Ballarat outfit also managed to score 24 points off the bench in the clash, a season high for the Miners.
Hayes said the side had focused on finding more avenues to the ring ahead of Sunday’s encounter. “A lot of confidence came from (everyone hitting the scoreboard) and the guys know they will get opportunities and they’ve got to be ready.”
The Miners will now prepare to face the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday night at the Minerdome, who are coming off the back of a thrilling one point win over Launceston.
