With the clock ticking down in Saturday night's thrilling showdown between Shepparton Gators and RMIT Redbacks, the Gators found themselves in need of a hero.
The high-stakes Big V division one top-of-the-table clash had reached its climax and the intense physicality on the court had everyone on edge.
The league-leading Gators were desperately trying to protect their slim lead, but the relentless RMIT and its sharpshooter, Stephen Coffey, were closing in fast.
Gators tried to tighten the screws defensively, giving RMIT nothing as it desperately moved the ball around trying to find an open shot.
With a few seconds left on the shot clock, Coffey received the ball with his defender pressed up onto him, forced to chuck up a prayer.
He jumped sideways and tossed the ball up, almost hitting the roof of Shepparton Sports Stadium.
All net.
Next time down, Coffey dribbled the ball up, sizing up his defender before a few quick cross-overs.
He pulled up for three and drained it with a hand in his face.
The air had been sucked out of the building, the home crowd fearing it might be about to witness the team’s first loss at home all season.
It had been a tough game for Shepparton’s star import Derek Murphy.
The Detroit native had missed all six of his free throws and all four of his threes, with just six points to his name.
But with Coffey on fire, Murphy put his rough shooting night behind him and stepped up to match his star power when his team needed him most.
Gators captain Matt Bartlett attempted a three-pointer that missed its mark, but he hustled to secure his own rebound and swiftly delivered a bounce pass to Murphy, who executed a reverse layup, giving the Gators a four-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Some stellar rim protection from Benalla big man Lachlan Kego afforded Shepparton a crucial stop in crunch time.
Kego ended up with the ball on the offensive end and Murphy’s eyes lit up as he realised it was his moment.
He curled across from the top of the three-point line to receive the ball and took one dribble before pulling up from behind the arc.
He sunk it, taking the lid off the place, the crowd roaring as Gators gained a crucial six-point advantage.
While Murphy didn’t technically slay his three-point demons, as it was judged he had his foot on the line and the shot was ruled as a two-pointer, he didn’t care, as his bucket was enough to secure a 63-59 win in round 15.
Top performers
Matt Bartlett: 5 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Derek Murphy: 10 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Lachlan Kego: 12 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Joshua Kooiman: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Gators had claimed revenge on RMIT after it handed them one of their three losses in round seven at its home court.
“It felt good man,” Murphy said.
“We always preach 40 minutes is a long game, if my shot isn’t falling, I stay aggressive and affect the game in other ways.
“I’m confident, I’m going to keep shooting, I work on those shots every day, and I’m going to make them when it counts.”
Murphy finished with a near triple-double, contributing 10 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Bartlett matched his playmaking effort with nine assists of his own and Kego stepped up with 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with a great defensive effort.
It was Kiwi sharpshooter Joshua Kooiman whose scoring reigned supreme, putting up 13 points and cashing in three of his five three-point attempts.
After a poor shooting game in their loss the previous week against Bulleen (only making one of his nine attempts), Kooiman said he was keen to put on a show for the Shepparton faithful.
“Every time a shot goes in and you hear the crowd erupt it feels awesome,” he said.
“If a guy doesn’t want to play defence you’ve got to punish him.”
Murphy and Kooiman said it was the team’s defensive effort that got it over the finishing line.
“It was a physical game, we matched the physicality, and we weren’t afraid,” Kooiman said.
“We’ve had some moments where our offence has gone down the drain and we haven’t been able to score, but we never let that affect us on the defensive side of the ball.
“We’re the number one defence in the league for a reason and so when people want to get physical with us we welcome it and are always ready to give it back.”
Murphy echoed Kooiman’s comments and said holding a good RMIT side to 59 points was a great accomplishment and pointed out that they were able to hold their big three of Coffey (18 points), Louse Agon (nine points) and Daniel Steen (eight points) below their averages.
After four games on the road, both players enjoyed getting back in front of the home crowd at the Swamp.
“This atmosphere here is the best in the league, it’s without a question, no debate, the fans show out every week whether it’s first versus second or first versus last, so it felt great to get a win for them,” Kooiman said.
With this win, the Gators have secured top spot and home court for the finals, and will no doubt be looking to keep their flawless record at the Swamp alive in their first elimination game after the final two rounds of the season.
“We’ve got one goal and that’s to win a grand final and I feel like we’re on the right track to do that,” Murphy said.