Shepparton Gators are really doing it.
A few weeks ago finals basketball seemed to be off the table.
They lost three games out of four and were down to eighth with about five games left in the Big V Championship season.
Now, they’ve won three on the trot and sit at sixth, one spot out of finals.
And how?
At the weekend, they had an intimidating double-header in round 15, taking on Melbourne University at home and Keysborough away from home.
Melbourne University sat one ahead of Shepparton on the ladder with pretty much an identical record.
On Saturday night, July 20, the Gators welcomed Melbourne to Shepparton Sports Stadium.
It was a packed-out Swamp, the Shepparton faithful showing up for a must-win game.
It was an up-and-down game with the atmosphere of a grand final.
With less than four minutes left Shepparton trailed by five.
Canadian import Jayden Coke lobbed the ball into American import Devin Thomas, who used his size for an easy two-pointer.
Shepparton forced a miss on the other end, captain Matt Bartlett diving to keep the ball in play.
Going the other way, Coke nailed a corner three through contact, but didn’t get the foul call.
Melbourne and Shepparton went blow for blow, Coke and Thomas converting some clutch free throws to knot it up.
With 10 seconds to go, Melbourne was inbounding the ball with a chance to win the game.
The attacker got to the bucket before Coke got up for the block.
Five minutes of overtime were on the way.
Melbourne had the upper hand in the first few minutes, up three with about a minute and a half left.
Enter Josh Kooiman.
The Kiwi sharpshooter had struggled to get his shots to fall, but he put that behind him to convert a tough floater off the drive.
Shepparton got another defensive stop and, now, Shepparton, down one, had the chance to take the lead.
It passed the ball around the perimeter, but nothing was done.
An offensive possession going nowhere, Kooiman got the ball off a handoff and just launched from two feet behind the three-point line.
Nylon.
The Swamp exploded, but Melbourne tried to answer immediately.
Coke again got up for a crucial block, ultimately sealing a miraculous victory.
Some clutch free throws from Kooiman and Nick Dodd got the final score up to 97-91.
Top performers v Melbourne University
Jayden Coke: 35 points, 15 rebounds
Dylan Wilkie: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 6/7 from three
Devin Thomas: 17 points, 4 rebounds
Josh Kooiman: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
After the game, Kooiman gave full credit to the group.
“Was a good team win,” he said.
“We continue to just persevere through any adversity that comes our way.
“Players stepped up big time and we didn’t let the other team out effort us.
“Super proud of the boys, three important games to go on our journey as a group.”
That journey would continue the next day, on Sunday, July 21.
The Gators went on the road to take on the formidable Keysborough.
Keysborough was and still is second, having only lost six games all season.
Shepparton came out sluggish, down 14 after the first quarter.
It pulled it back to a three-point game going into half-time.
Shepparton unleashed one of its most dominant performances in the fourth quarter to ultimately cruise to a 99-78 victory.
Top performers v Keysborough
Jayden Coke: 24 points, 6 rebounds
Devin Thomas: 22 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists
Nick Dodd: 13 points, 2 rebounds
Tyler Best: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
All of a sudden, Shepparton’s destiny is in its own hands.
The Gators still need to handle business and have a few results break their way, but they have a real chance to make the championship finals in their first season in Big V’s top flight in almost two decades.
Shepparton welcomes 10th-placed Blackburn to Shepparton Sports Stadium this Saturday, July 27, at 7pm in its last home game of the season and the second-last game of the season.