THE Albury-Wodonga Bandits are in the SEABL Eastern Conference grand final after seeing off a dogged challenge from the Geelong Supercats, winning 88-83.
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An inspired first half from Deba George had the Bandits up by 11 at the main break, but the Supercats fought back in the third quarter, outscoring the home side 21-9.
Trailing by two points with ten minutes to play, the Bandits lifted, inspired by some clutch plays from Cory Dixon and Clay McMath.
McMath dunked to kick start the fourth quarter, and the Bandits went on a nine-point run shortly after.
Geelong closed late to put the home crowd on the edge of their seats, but it wasn't enough to get over the line.
George finished with a game-high 30 points after battling with Geelong guard Nick Owusu all night, who finished with 19 of his own after a strong second half.
Dixon lifted in the second half to finish with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Donte Nicholas battled hard to score 15 points of his own.
It was a physical contest for much of the first half, with the two teams nearly coming to blows after Alex Bogart-King was called for an unsportsmanlike foul against Geelong’s Kristian Rocci.
The big Albury forward didn’t let it get to him though, finishing with four points and five rebounds from limited minutes.
Bandits coach Brad Chalmers was frustrated throughout the third quarter,as the Supercats gained the ascendancy in both offence and defence.
He demanded a return to their first half physicality at three quarter time and got it, praising his side’s ability to fight back after their poor start to the second half.
“You’re playing for a lot right now,” he said.
“We fought hard in the fourth quarter, we lost our way in terms of physicality in the third period and our defence dropped off.
“There’s a lot of fight in that locker room.
“That’s a really good trait to have for this team.
“We’ve got the offensive power and swagger, but I think the ability to battle through games is an unheralded aspect of this side.”
While George and Dixon were the undisputed stars of the show in Saturday night, Chalmers said it was the final quarter efforts of Clay McMath that typified the Bandits’ game.
“Sometimes it can be hard for Clay to find a bit of a rhythm beacuse he’s got so much talent around him,” Chalmers said.
“But what he does every week is battle, he plays hard defensively and busts his gut every week, and he was everywhere late in the game.
“He can be our defensive barometer, when his effort and physicality is up we’re hard to get past.”
