The Ballarat Miners have been dealt a shock defeat in their return home at the hands of the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence.
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It was a high scoring, back-and-forth affair early with the young CoE team getting to the basket in the first quarter before the Miners clamped down with their trademark defence.
Jerry Evans Jr had a strong game, managing to get his hands into passing lanes (seven steals) and using his size to get to the rim with relative ease (18 points on two point shots).
Ballarat ended the first quarter with a 10-point lead and were which they were unable to extend at half time thanks to due to some passionate play from the CoE.
The Miners came out of the main break with a purpose, extending their lead to 19 points.
With five minutes remaining in the third quarter the CoE started to mount their comeback, going on a 15-2 run and reducing the margin to six points at the end of the term.
The young visitors kept their run going in the final quarter, taking a six-point lead six minutes remaining thanks to a Joshua Bannan three-pointer.
Bannan had an unbelievable game for the CoE. The forward put up 32 points, nine rebounds and five three-pointers, including some clutch shot-making down the end of the game.
Bannan's heroics were matched by Evan Jr, who scored 10-points, including two three-pointers, in the final five minutes, including a game-tying contested mid-range shot with just over a minute remaining.
After both teams missed some go-ahead shots to take a final lead, Evans Jr found the ball in his hands with four second remaining at the Miners three-point line. Evans Jr took the ball the length of the court before letting a desperation heave loose that only slightly missed to the left, forcing the game into overtime.
The extra period was highly competitive as Ballarat looked to remain perfect while the CoE aimed to claim the biggest scalp in the NBL1.
Miners forward Josh Fox received a controversial technical foul for flopping in the opening minute of the period, giving the CoE a two-point lead before the Miners would pull ahead thanks to a big jumpshot from Sam Short (12 points) with one-minute remaining.
It would not be enough for the Miners in the end as three made free-throws by forward Hyunjung Lee and a last minute jumpshot by guard Tamuri Wigness would give the CoE a three-point victory over the league leaders.
Rush make it two in a row
The Ballarat Rush have registered their second consecutive win of the season, getting the victory over the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence at the Minerdome on Saturday evening.
It was a tale of two halves for the Rush as they struggled defensively in the first two terms, allowing the CoE to get to the rim for easy points.
On offence it was a physical battle inside for Ballarat as Rush centre Joy Burke jostled with CoE big Kelsey Rees. After starting the quarter down 12-2, the Rush rallied, going on a 13-0 run to take the lead.
The second quarter saw the CoE retake the lead before extending it to 10-points at half time thanks in-part to aggressive play from guard Lily Scanlon.
After the main break however, Ballarat looked like a completely different team, playing with a stifling defensive intensity.
American import Chanise Jenkins had a terrific game, tallying 15 points, nine rebounds and seven key steals while Lucy Cochrane was a wall down low, swatting five shots on the night.
Speaking to The Courier, Cochrane said Rush coach Eric Hayse stressed the importance of their defensive play at half time.
Watch our chat with Cochrane below:
"I think he really just wanted to focus on us getting up in defence and pressuring them which would lead to our offensive scores," she said.
Ballarat held the CoE to just 17 second half points, ultimately leading to a 68-56 Rush win.
Cochrane said it felt good returning to the Minerdome and feels with eight home games left in the season the Rush can be confident in their chances to make finals.
"It's always good to be home... We're definitely very confident coming into next weekend. We think we can pull off the same sort of thing."
DETAILS
BALLARAT MINERS: 27, 15, 17, 14, 4 (77)
BASKETBALL AUSTRALIA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE: 16, 16, 21, 20, 7 (80)
SCORERS: MINERS - Evans 30 (2 three-pointers), Kuany 15, Acouth 13 (1), Short 12, Fox 4, Weightman 2, Dunmore 1. CoE - Bannan 32 (5), Wigness 11 (1), Giddey 10, Lee 7, Armstrong 4 (1), Li 4, Singh 4, Clarke 3 (1), Dengdit 2, Jones 2.
STATS:
REBOUNDS - Miners 48, CoE 43
ASSISTS - Miners 14, CoE 9
STEALS - Miners 10, CoE 7
BLOCKS - Miners 3, CoE 6
TURNOVERS - Miners 14, CoE 18
FOULS - Miners 15, CoE 22
BALLARAT RUSH: 16, 13, 24, 15 (68)
BASKETBALL AUSTRALIA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE: 18, 21, 8, 9, (56)
SCORERS: RUSH - Hackman 17 (1 three-pointers), Jenkins 15 (2), Burke 12, Cochrane 7, Amoore 6 (1), Constable 6 (2), Taylor 3 (1), Blower 2. CoE - Scanlon 13, Emma-Nnopu 9, Melbourne 8, Price 7 (1), King-Hawea 7 (1), Prior 5, Fuller 4, Rees 3.
STATS
REBOUNDS - Rush 56, CoE 53
ASSISTS - Rush 17, CoE 8
STEALS - Rush 13, CoE 9
BLOCKS - Rush 6, CoE 3
TURNOVERS - Rush 16, CoE 18
FOULS - Rush 15, CoE 21