The Lithgow Workies Lazers quickly returned to the winner's list when they travelled to Wagga Wagga to take on the hometown Heat in the latest round of the Spalding Waratah League Division 1 Men's Basketball.
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The Lazers touched the century for the first time this season with a 100-85 victory.
Lithgow went in slightly undermanned, having starter Matt Hughes out with a fractured wrist suffered in the previous game, while Fletcher Swift came off second-best in a work encounter with a forklift which produced a broken foot.
Once again, the American duo of Michael Johnson and Drelan Tripplett dominated the scoring, with Johnson seemingly unable to miss as he racked up 37 points, while Tripplett found his range in the second period to finish with 30. Next best was Michael Cox with 13.
The game was played at the Bolton Park Sports Stadium, known locally as 'The Incinerator', but it was the Lazers that started on fire. Johnson hit a pair of threes and Tripplett a two-pointer for a quick 8-0 lead and the Lazers would never trail.
Wagga fought back to get to 14-13 down but the Lazer's other starters, Michael Cox, Adam Marjoram and Kobe Hunter, along with Caleb Fitzpatrick and Hayden Cox off the bench, helped Lithgow end the first quarter up 27-23.
Wagga got to within one several times in the second period but at 33-32 the Lazers produced a 10-0 run for a 43-32 gap and held that margin into the long break, 54-43.
The Lazers had troubles in the third quarter the previous week, but came out with the right attitude this time to lead by as many as 17 at one stage.
Austyn Lincoln, Michael Brooks and Mitchell Brain matched their opponents well and the Lithgow boys finished the third quarter in control with a 74-62 advantage.
The teams went virtually basket-for-basket in the final stanza, with the visitors just pipping the Heat 26-23 to produce their third 90-plus game to open the season, and winning 100-85.
Top scorers for Wagga were their American import Matt Brunell with 22, followed by Scott Hare and Robert Tye both with 14.
Lithgow Coach David Swift and Assistant David Lincoln were happy with the offensive side of the game, as the Lazers outshot the hosts 13 to 3 from beyond the three-point arc.
The coaches will work on the Lazers' defence this week, with the team allowing too many uncontested lay-ups.
The Lazers are back on their home court this weekend when they host the new boys on the block, the Orange Eagles, in what could be termed a local derby. Orange has not had a team play at this level for some 30 years and the series between these two teams has the potential to turn into a healthy rivalry.
The match will be played at 2pm on Sunday after the local round of the Western Junior League is completed. This is the Lazers' only Sunday home game this season. All future home games are set down for Saturdays at the earlier than usual time of 4pm.
Result: Lithgow Lazers 100 (M Johnson 37, D Tripplett 30, M Cox 13, C Fitzpatrick 7, K Hunter 5, H Cox 4, A Marjoram 3, A Lincoln 1) def Wagga Heat 85.
Pool A Standings: Shoalhaven 4 wins, 0 losses, Sutherland 4-0, Lithgow 2-1, Illawarra 2-1, Canberra 2-2, Queanbeyan 2-2, Bankstown 1-3, Wagga 1-3, Orange 1-3, Dubbo 0-4.