SOUTH CONFERENCE
For the South Conference, I have selected the Camels vs Dragons game as the match of the round. Last week the Camels played the Kraken and unfortunately for the Camels they walked away with a loss. Out of 8 rounds, this is was the Camels 2nd lowest scoring game for this season. Cora Lynn only had two players reach double figures last week for points - Hayden Melsen and Mike Stewart, both having modest games by their own standards. Melsen had just 13 points for the game, while Mike only had 10 points - probably the lowest score from these two players this season. The Dragons played in one of our crossover games against the Hornets. Spectators in the stands were questioning the Dragon boys to see if they could get the W without two of their big-time players in "Dyl Pickle" and "Block City" Gav Trapnell. The Dragons definitely showed the people in the stands that they can win games without these two players, as they got the W against the Hornets.
For the Dragons it was the three Westbrickateers that stole the show and decided they were going to win this game for the Dragons. Cal Shave had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 fouls, J-Lay had 19 points and Scott Elliot had a big double – double having 10 points and 18 rebounds.
The last time these two teams faced each other was back in round 2, the Camels walked away with the bragging rights, winning the game by just 2 points. That being said, looking at the stats the Dragons only had 5 players, missing Jonathan Lay, Gav Trapnell and Aiden Taylor, but Aiden has now been traded and the Dragons have brought in Michael McPhee. Mcphee will be questionable as he hurt his ankle in their win last week.
I believe this game will go down to the wire as it did last time and I think the two young guns of super league in Hayden Melsen and Dyl Pickle will put on a show for us just like they have been doing for the youth league team on a Saturday night.
I am tipping the Dragons to bounce back from their round 2 loss and win this game between 1 – 10 points.
EAST CONFERENCE
For the East Conference, I have selected the Hornets vs Vikings game as match of the round. Last week the Hornets played in a crossover game against the Dragons and they probable had enough chances to steal this game and get the W. Unfortunately, they lost by 5 just points. The Vikings played against the Ducks last week and they started the game with only 4 players, with 2 more of their guys showing up late. They couldn’t get it going with just 4 on the court. It was Matthew Bray (AKA The Schnoz) stealing the show and turning it on for the Ducks before halftime he almost had a big double-double but he went on to finish the game with 22 points, 19 rebounds and 4 steals.
Now, the Vikings have now lost 4 in a row and if I was them I would be starting to worry as there is only 3 games left and a few of the bottom end teams are nipping at their heels. If the Hornets are able to cause an upset in this game, they could potentially start thinking of finals. Having said this, they will need to win their next 3 games.
The last time these 2 teams met was back in round 2 and the Vikings walked away with a 5-point win over the Hornets, but it was the Vikings GM Mike Godfrey who did all the damage with 20 points. No other player for the Vikings hit double figures. It was the same case for the Hornets though their first-round pick Nick Spezza did all the damage for the Hornets. He had 23 points and had no one else around him hit double figures.
I believe that the Hornets are up to the challenge this week but they will need players like Dan Carpenter, Trav Blackney and Jayden O’Neill to contribute and help bolster their star player Nick Spezza. For them to win this game they need at least 2 -3 of their players to reach double figures on the score board.
This will be a ripper game to watch and I think the 2 GM’s will go head-to-head on the court and they will do everything for their team to get the W and to get their season back on track.
I am tipping an upset here and I am tipping the Hornets to give the Vikings their 5th loss. I am tipping the Hornets between 1 – 10 points.