JUNIOR basketballers have returned to competition after a short break for the school holidays.
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Showing they had lost none of their skill during the break, there were plenty of quality games and sharp shooting across the four age divisions.
There were some real nailbiting finishes, which was a great way to get back into the swing of the competition.
Bulls in the Under 12 Division have the distinction of being the only undefeated team standing following the latest round of the Lithgow Basketball Association Junior Men's Competition.
Under 10 Division:
Lakers remained outright leaders when they took a comfortable 18-2 victory over Wildcats.
The Lakers team of Ryan Wells, Ashton Thompson, Dayne Griffiths, Jai McMillan and Michael Priestly-Lane have now won a fantastic five straight games.
Wildcats, comprising Jai Simcoe, Connor Thompson, Jai Osborne, Lincoln Hutchison and Lachlan Drury have a few things to work on.
Comets carried an 8-2 lead into halftime against Bulls and doubled their score to run out 16-8 winners.
Thomas Giokaris, Kynan Campbell, Connor McFee, Ben Achurch and Lucas Chandler all played well for Comets.
For Bulls, Jack Luca, Liam O'Regan, Jordan Price, Archie Morris and Jordan Livingstone found that their poor first half cost them.
Under 12 Division:
Wildcats and Comets went at each other hard from the opening tip-off and at the end they couldn't be separated with the game finishing in a 16-all tie.
Connor Goodman, Preston Case, Cian O'Regan, Hutch Evans, Ethan Achurch and Kynan Coombs although trying hard couldn't quite get the win for Wildcats.
Comets, consisting of Ethan Barrett, Harrison Wells, Hayden Rodham, Finn Pascoe, Ben Weber, Jessie Tesoriero and Connor Fitzpatrick, missed the chance to pull within a point of leaders Bulls.
Thunder enjoyed the better of a competitive first half with Lakers to lead by a narrow 16-14.
The second period saw Lakers unable to bridge the gap with the margin remaining the same for Thunder to win, 30-28.
Jack Goodwin, Joshua Brown, Donovan Jenkins, Riley Hart, Justin Field and Jai Simcoe snapped a three game losing streak for Thunder.
For Lakers, Toby Campbell, Jordan Berry, Brayden Drury, Taj Jenkins, Nathan Ralph, Harry Osborne, Ashton Thompson came up just short.
Unbeaten leaders Bulls had the bye.
Under 14 Division:
Bulls didn't have it all their own way against the last-placed Thunder but did enough to win 44-36.
For Bulls, Connor Moss, Jack Wiseman, Riley Bell, Lachlan Thompson, Tye Honey, Tye Honey and Ben Witney put an end to their four game winless run.
For the Thunder, Connor Marshall, Blake Goldspink, Dayne Houlison, Ashton Kenniff, Mitch Jennings, Hayden Berry and Ashton Hunter crashed to their sixth loss in a row.
Wildcats had their game with Comets well in hand at the break, holding a 33-16 advantage.
Wildcats kept their foot down in the second stanza, rumbling to a 61-35 victory.
Ryan Turner, Evan Brown, Kade Inwood, Benson Taylor-Gamlen, Zeke Evans and Kynan Coombs all hit baskets for Wildcats.
Callum Flynn, Brayden Saville, Will Hutchison, Corey Honey, Harrison Livingstone and Alex Flynn competed well for Comets but tasted defeat again after four consecutive wins.
Lakers and Warriors played out a tough first period that saw Lakers go in up 27-21.
Warriors couldn't make a dent in the deficit with Lakers winning 51-44.
Lachlan Kendall, Luca Giokaris, Billy Rushworth, Jake Webber and Hayden Carter all got on the scoresheet for Lakers.
Riley Hart, Hutch Evans, Connor Fitzpatrick, Eli Morris, Nathan Ralph, Brayden Drury and Hayden Rodham now see their Warriors side out of the top four.
Under 16-18 Division:
The Wildcats - Lakers encounter saw defence thrown out the window and at the break Lakers held a comfortable 65-49 lead.
The winless Wildcats challenged early in the second half but Lakers pulled away for an emphatic 132-85 triumph.
Lakers turned on the offensive power as Luke Thompson, Kye Wilson, Fletcher Swift, Michael Brooks and Jake McMillan produced the highest score of the season.
Unfortunately Wildcats went in short-handed, increasing the defensive load, but Corey Pringle, Lachlan Wilson, Mitch Gurney and Zeke Evans all scored in a losing effort.
The unbeaten Comets took on second-placed Bulls and Comets appeared set to carry on their winning ways when they led 32-27 at halftime.
Bulls upped the ante and their defensive pressure in the second period to pull ahead.
They managed to hold off a desperate Comets side to win 58-53.
Tallis Flynn, Logan Inwood, Jarod Grocott, Kobe Hunter, Matt Ringin and Aaron Taylor all managed to get to the basket in a solid effort for Bulls.
Ryan Bird, Mitchell Brain, Jarron Petra, Tom Pottinger, Hayden Cox and Callum Flynn will have Comets in the mix when semi-final time arrives.
Pointscores:
Under 10: Lakers 12, Bulls 10, Comets 10, Wildcats 10.
Under 12: Bulls 12, Comets 10, Wildcats 9, Lakers 8, Thunder 8.
Under 14: Wildcats 15, Comets 13, Bulls 12, Lakers 12, Warriors 11, Thunder 9.
Under 16-18: Bulls 14, Comets 14, Lakers 10, Wildcats 7.