The Echuca Pirates have suffered their fourth defeat of the Country Basketball League North-East season, falling just short of Wodonga Wolves in a decisive fourth quarter.
It was a much different game to the two sides’ first meeting in round two at Echuca Basketball Stadium, where the Wolves jumped out to a huge first-quarter lead and cruised home by 37 points.
On this occasion, playing away, Echuca showed more fight in the opening minutes to prevent Wodonga establishing an early advantage.
In fact, it was the Pirates who started the better, forcing a Wodonga timeout in the first quarter after opening an early 8-3 lead.
The Wolves benefited from talking it over and claimed the lead coming out of the stoppage, but neither side could break away.
James Frazer got one to go at the buzzer to give Wodonga a one-point lead at quarter time.
The host continued its momentum in the early moments of the second, extending its lead to seven.
Echuca chipped away at the advantage during the rest of the period to trail 35-38 at the main break.
Midway through the third, the Pirates strung together a strong sequence of offensive possessions and reclaimed the lead with 4:27 remaining in the quarter.
Echuca got as much as six in front but Wodonga would again make a late basket for a one-point lead at the final change.
The final 10 minutes were frenetic, as both sides looked to ice the game.
Echuca held a two-point lead at the halfway point of the period, but it was Wodonga who executed better in crunch time to break away for an 84-77 victory.
Similarly to the sides’ first meeting, Eric Miraflores carried the scoring load for the Wolves, putting up 23 in the game, while Caleb Wharepapa (21) and Lochlin Harvey (13) provided able support.
Echuca benefited from an all-round scoring performance from Tyler Phillips, who put up 21 points; Oscar Jones (11) was the only other Pirate to reach double figures.
As has often been the case this year, Echuca was outshot from beyond the arc, the Wolves knocking down nine threes to the Pirates’ three.
Echuca was able to make more of an impact at the charity stripe than its opponent, hitting five more free-throws and committing eight fewer fouls than the Wolves.
Now 3-4, the Pirates are in fourth place on the league table with just three games to play in their season.
Echuca has a week off this weekend before a trip to Seymour on Saturday, November 23, followed up by a home fixture against Wallan Panthers at noon on November 24.