Basketball hoops at Kyabram Sports and Entertainment Centre got a work over earlier this week.
Young basketballers shot 236 points in less than 90 minutes on Monday afternoon in Kyabram Youth Club’s Summer basketball competition.
They did this on eight hoops which were set up on two courts and adjusted to heights to encourage success.
A further 250 points were later scored on four full-height rings by senior boys and girls.
Twenty four hours prior, 22 men and women sunk 245 points while playing in the club’s weekly senior social matches.
Match reports:
Jimmy Hargreaves (22 points) lifted his Hornets teammates on his shoulders to record an inspired 30-29 win over Raptors in Grade 6-8 division.
Raptors looked like they were home and hosed when they led by 12 points with 10 minutes remaining, but when the here-to-selfless Jimmy was given the green light to own the ball, he scored repeatedly. And when he didn’t score, he drew fouls and cooly deposited points at the free throw line.
But it was also the defensive efforts of Jimmy’s brother Paddy Hargreaves and Cody Pyke which enabled the Hornets to hit the lead on the scoreboard in the last minute of the match.
Raptors, whose two talls, Brody Thompson (18 points) and Ben Chapman (14) were again dominant, had an inbound pass at the middle of the court with 2.4 seconds of the match remaining, but could not pull off the improbable.
The Raptors seem to like the close finishes. They bested the Wildcats 32-31 last round.
The other notable match of the junior competition was a drawn result in the youngest division between Gators and Hornets (28-28).
Nate Carmody scored 20 points for the winners, while Ryder Morris (16) and Isaac Perry (12) were Hornets’ top scorers.
Indi Kent posted 22 of the 26 points her Gators team scored in the girls 3-4 division. They defeated the Hornets by 14 points.
Wes Smith (12) led his Gators to a two-point win over Hornets in Grade 2/3/4 boys division. He was well-supported by Hunter McCormack (6) and Benny Barnes (6).
Hornets were best served by two elevated players in Noah Virivirilau (12), and Seth (10).
Huxley Cottrell shot 24 points and Ben Brennan 22 for Wildcats in their win over Raptors. Aiden Dennis (6) and Lucas Alford (8) had strong games for the Raptors.
Kaden Cooper celebrated his birthday by top scoring (16 points) for Wildcats in their Grade 5/6 boys division victory over Hornets, 34-21.
Tyrone Riedell scored 10 points for the winners. Brody Wells was Hornets top scorer with 11 points.
Ryan Carmody scored all of his Raptors 16 points in their win over Wildcats in boys Grade 2/3/4 division. Alex Rovenko (6) scored all of the Wildcats points, too.
Kyabram Youth Club is bringing basketball back to its community.
Basketball was lost when the town’s basketball association ceased to exist about 20 years ago. The club’s aim
is to give Kyabram and district basketball enthusiasts, young and older, an opportunity to play basketball in their own town again.
Adults play Sunday afternoons and primary- and secondary-aged girls and boys play on Mondays.
A pre-school learn-to-play for boys and girls is also on Monday evenings.
For information on how to join Kyabram Youth Club’s basketball offerings, go to www.kyabramyouthclub.com
