Seymour Blasters have finished the home and away season in second spot on the Country Basketball League North East Men ladder, following a win and a loss during the final round at the weekend.
Having beaten third-placed Wodonga on Saturday evening at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre by 18 points, the Blasters could have secured top spot with a win over the less-fancied Shepparton on Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t to be, however, as Seymour fell by four points, ensuring it occupied second spot on the ladder after nine rounds, setting up a semi-final meeting with Wodonga.
The Blasters should take confidence from their performance at the weekend into the clash, however, beating the Wolves in three of the four quarters while matching them in the other en route to the convincing win.
Jesse Brock was the man with the hot hand for the Blasters, scoring a game-high 28 points, the majority of which came in the second half.
After Seymour raced out to a 19-10 lead at quarter time, Wodonga steadied to match the Blasters with 18 points apiece in the second term, as the home side retained the nine-point advantage heading into the long break.
With 10 points to his name in the first half, and just two of those coming in the second term, Brock exploded down the stretch scoring 18 points in the second half, nine in each quarter, as the Blasters pushed the lead to 12 points by the end of the third term and the eventual margin of 18 by the final buzzer, as Seymour claimed the 83-65 win.
Jack Murphy was also productive, chipping in with 17 points, while Harry Stones and William Stewart were also able to find the bucket consistently, contributing 14 and nine points, respectively.
On the other side of the court, Eric Miraflores (15) and Thomas Crowe (14) were the top scorers for Wodonga, which will need to lift if it is any chance of denying Seymour a spot in the grand final.
The win over Wodonga was in stark contrast to the loss against Shepparton, with the Blasters only able to win one of the four terms at Shepparton Basketball Stadium.
A low-scoring opening quarter saw the Gators lead 14-11 at the first break, a lead they extended by two points at half time to lead Seymour 34-29.
The Blasters were well and truly in the contest in the second half, despite losing the third quarter by a single point to trail by six at the final break.
The visitors rallied in the final term, which was the highest scoring of the match, to put up 26 points, 10 of which came from the returning Patrick Green, to win the quarter; however, it was too little, too late for Seymour, as the Gators held on to win 78-74.
Green and Harry Stones were equal top scorers for the Blasters with 18 points each, while Brock (13) and Stewart (11) also reached double digits.
The Blasters will lose little sleep over the loss, however, as the focus now turns to finals, where they will play off against Wodonga for a spot in the grand final.
The winner of the semi-final will play either minor premier Wallan, a side whose only loss this season was inflicted by Seymour, or fourth-placed Albury in the decider.
Semi-final venues and times are yet to be confirmed.