Sherbrooke Suns win to move into top four

SHERBROOKE’S Division 1 men’s team slipped into fourth place after the weekend’s results.
First, the Suns defeated the Whittlesea Pacers 77-70 in a tight and hard fought contest and then Hawthorn Magic overcame the more fancied Altona Gators to knock them out of the four.
For Sherbrooke, the win was even more satisfying as they took the court missing three of their regular starting five due to injury.
The first half was basket for basket as neither side was able to gain any significant advantage on the scoreboard. Half time saw the scores level which set the game up for an exciting second half. The third quarter saw the Pacers edge ahead slightly but in the run home Sherbrooke scored a 24 point last quarter and was able to control the game better than Whittlesea.
Aaron Littlepage continued his recent good form and recorded 10 points and 19 rebounds and Anthony Dimech was again superb in his control of the point position for the Suns.
This weekend it’s back to double header territory as the Suns are away to second-placed Southern Peninsula Sharks on Saturday night and take on the Bulleen Boomers at Bulleen on Sunday.
The Division 2 women enjoyed a well-earned break. This week sees the top placed Suns take on second placed Latrobe City Energy at Monbulk on Sunday at 12.45pm.
In Youth League, the Suns finals chances were kept alive following their 84-76 victory over the Werribee Devils.
It was a tight affair right from the tip-off with Werribee leading by one point at quarter time and five points at half time, 48-43, despite some excellent 3 point shooting from Jonathan Ball.
The third quarter saw Sherbrooke increase their defensive intensity and from this they restricted the Devils to 11 points for the stanza while recording 23 themselves. The last quarter saw both sides go basket for basket, but it was the Suns better outside shooting that prevailed.
For Sherbrooke, game MVP Jonathan Ball with 25 points, three rebounds, Jake Spruhan in another double/double performance with 22 pts, 10 rebounds and Mark Derksen with 14 pts and nine rebounds were the best in a solid team performance.
This week sees the Youth League take on second placed Ringwood Hawks at Monbulk on Saturday night at 6pm followed by the return match against the Devils on Sunday at 3pm, also at Monbulk.