The junior Blasters watch on as the senior men claim a big victory over Wallan.
Seymour has regained top spot on the Country Basketball League North East Men ladder after toppling the previously unbeaten Wallan Panthers on Saturday night at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre.
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Having previously faced off in round four, with the Blasters incurring an eight-point loss at the hands of the Panthers in Wallan, Seymour turned the tables at home, storming to a 15-point victory to wrest back the top rung of the ladder with two games remaining in the regular season.
Despite the margin of victory, the result didn’t become clear until late in the contest, with the two sides fairly evenly matched for much of the contest.
In fact, it was the Blasters who fell behind early, relinquishing an early lead in the first term to trail by two points at quarter-time, with Wallan taking an 11-9 lead into the huddle.
Tyler Best exploded for 30 points against the Panthers as Seymour regained top spot on the ladder.
But Seymour took the lead early in the second, with Tyler Best pouring in 11 of the first 14 points for the Blasters, who edged ahead 21-17 to force a Wallan timeout, before extending the margin to a game-high 23-17 as the two sides returned to the court.
The Panthers countered as the clock ticked down towards half-time and managed to reinstate their two-point quarter-time advantage by the main break, ahead 28-26 as the buzzer sounded.
The third term followed the same pattern, as Seymour once again enjoyed a hot start to the quarter to find the lead, before Wallan warmed up to snatch it back, only this time it looked as though it had made a decisive break, drawing eight points clear at one stage, before the Blasters were able to close the deficit to 43-47 at the final change.
It took less than two minutes in the fourth for the Blasters to pull ahead 48-47, and while the Panthers offered some resistance initially, tying the game at 52-52, it was as close as they got for the remainder of the contest, as Seymour put the foot down.
With 20 of the final 24 points of the game, Seymour blew the contest to smithereens, leaving Wallan in its wake as it raced to a huge 72-57 win off the back of 30 points to Best, while William Stewart (11) and Adam Gatt (10) were also solid contributors.
Having regained top spot with the win, the Blasters headed to Myrtleford Indoor Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face the Saints, claiming a comfortable 116-69 win to boost their percentage further, with Rhylee Leighton (26) and Stewart (25) leading the way on the scoreboard.
Just two games remain for the Blasters as they look to secure the minor premiership, with their next outing coming this Sunday against third-placed Shepparton in Shepparton.
Isla Whitford lines up a free throw as the women’s side claimed an important victory over Wallan.
The Blasters women made big strides towards their finals campaign, too, all but wrapping up a spot in the North East Women competition’s post-season with an assured victory over Wallan on Saturday night.
It was a much more straightforward affair for the women against the Panthers, getting off to a solid start in the opening term to hold a one-point advantage by the first break, leading 10-9 as the coaches gave their feedback.
Despite losing the lead with Wallan scoring the first basket of the second term, the Blasters regrouped to open up a game-high 25-16 lead halfway through the quarter, and while it dwindled to 26-20 by the half, the Blasters were still well in control.
The second half saw Seymour continue to extend the margin, at one stage hitting double digits midway through the third term before settling at 44-36 at three-quarter time, before a final term onslaught saw the advantage doubled to 16 points as the Blasters ran out 68-52 victors.
Caitlyn Kennedy and Kasey Lennox shared top scorer honours with 17 points each in the victory, while Matilda Skora also reached double digits with 10 points.
The Blasters were unable to repeat the feat against Myrtleford on Sunday, going down 43-57 away from home, however the win over Wallan saw their record improve to 3-5 following round seven, knocking the fifth-placed Panthers out of finals contention.
The victory also leaves the Blasters three wins and 55 per cent ahead of last-placed Shepparton Gators, the only team mathematically capable of denying them a finals spot, which will become certain this weekend if the Gators lose to Wallan on Saturday, or Seymour secures victory when the sides meet at Shepparton Sports Stadium.
