The Lithgow Workies Lazers had a tough match and were defeated in front of a very large home crowd 90 to 86 against the Shoalhaven Tigers on Saturday, July 14.
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The Lazers would like to thank those that came out on a very cold winters night to support them but unfortunately they could not produce a win.
Shoalhaven, right from the tip off, showed that they wanted the win so they could jump into the top four and knock Lithgow out.
Tigers started the game with full court pressure and running their trap defence. This worked for the Tigers as it put the Lazers off their game, and the team became frustrated while trying to advance the ball down the court.
This caused a number of vital turnovers which benefited the Tigers as they were able to bring the ball back up the court and score good open shots.
Unfortunately the Lazers went missing in defence and even though they managed to get some good shots away they couldn’t find the bottom of the basket. This is the opposite of what the Lazers are renowned for.
The second half was a repeat of the first, even though the Lazers managed to narrow the gap at one stage to two points.
Lithgow could have gone on to take victory but some poor reads in defence and lack of team work cost them dearly.
It is a disappointing loss for the Lazers as it now puts the pressure on them to perform well over the next two weeks with must win games to give them a chance to get back into the top four and hopefully then advance to the playoffs.
This weekend’s game will be away against Canterbury Bankstown and the following week away at Wagga.
For the Lazers to advance, Coach Richard Marjoram said they would have to go back to what they were producing at the start of the season: strong defence, control and owning the boards. But most of all they have to play as a team and get through their offences and all this will bring good results.
Top scorers for Lazers were: Terrence Durham 28 (9x2 points, 2x3 points and four free throws) Matur Malauch 26 (10x2 points and 6 free throws) and Jaidyn Goodwin 20 (5x3 points and five free throws).
For the Tigers, the top scorer was B. Ozolins on 30 points scoring (7x2 points, 4x3 points and four free throws).