Posted on 23 May, 2017
Losing Nelson Kirksey (departed), Chris Patton (injury), Owen Odigie (NBL commitments) and Alex Vanrenen (injury) during the week, was always going to be difficult for the Cobras to overcome, but they held tough throughout, erasing almost all of a 16 point fourth quarter deficit and giving themselves a chance to send the game into overtime. Led by Tariq Naqqash, Kilsyth slowly chipped away at the double-digit hole, but still trailed 65-76 with just over three minutes remaining.
The Cobras caught fire in a hurry though, as Jamie Ahale buried a three pointer from the corner, then Naqqash followed from the top of the arc to cut the Miners lead to seven. After both teams traded pairs of empty possessions, Kieran Murphy banked in a jumper with just over a minute remaining, then after another defensive stop, the Cobras Gabe Hadley buried a deep transition three-pointer to make it a two point game with 34 seconds remaining.
Kilsyth forced another stop on the ensuing possession, but Murphy turned the ball over as he tried to push the ball up court with 10 seconds remaining, and the Cobras had to foul to extend the game. They would have one final chance, though. But trailing by three points with seven seconds remaining, Naqqash’s inbounds pass was deflected and the Miners escaped with five point win.
Naqqash led the Cobras with 17 points, combining with Ahale (eight points) and Desmond Owili (10 points) to produce 35 points from the second unit. Murphy scored 11 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists, Hadley added 11, and Josh Kunen chipped-in with eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in the loss.
The Cobras undoing was another sub-par performance from downtown, with the team shooting just 8-for-30 from beyond the arc while the Miners buried 10 of their 24 three-point attempts.
The loss drops the Cobras record to 5-6 on the season, sitting them in a tie with Albury-Wodonga for fourth place in the East Conference. They’ll look to get back on track this weekend with a difficult doubleheader, traveling to Mt Gambier on Friday night before returning home on Sunday to host the Bendigo Braves (2pm).
