A DOUR game came alive after half time as the Albury-Wodonga Bandits rolled the visiting North-West Tasmania on Saturday night.
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The Bandits looked sharp in their one-off heritage uniforms, but were flat through the first two quarters.
Up by two at the half, the Bandits were switched on in the second half, with a couple of highlight dunks from Lamar Mallory and Tevin Jackson igniting the team and the crowd.
They also got a spark from young gun Mitch Donovan, who battled hard and was rewarded with a steal and impressive finish on the break.
Deba George continued his strong start to the season, canning four triples at a good clip, while Jack Duck continued to impress as a starter with nine points and seven boards.
Most importantly for the Bandits, their defence was stingy for the full four quarters – once they came alive offensively, the Thunder had little chance of keeping up.
Rashad Hassan was the steady hand the Bandits needed, particularly in the first half.
The hulking American couldn't be stopped around the basket, shooting 11 of 15 and causing problems for the visitors on defence.
The Bandits move to 3-1 after the opening three rounds thanks to this win, a crucial stretch considering the absences of Daniel Sepokas and Sawyer Dearborn.
Coach Brad Chalmers said he was pleased with the second half performance, but implored his players to make sure they brought it from the opening tip.
“The second half went to plan, but the first half wasn't great, I don't think we played particularly well at all to be honest,” he said.
“We were flat – I thought our defence was ok, but we were very one-on-one oriented, no playing through each other.
“It was an off performance, but to improve in the second half was pleasing.”
Hassan's 27-points was a game high, a promising result for the experienced big man after missing part of the team's pre-season.
Chalmers said the best is yet to come for Hassan as he builds towards full fitness.
“I thought his first half was really productive, he held us together,” he said.
“He's a bit of a work in progress, still good couple of weeks away from being near his best, but to give us what he did, if he can do that week in, week out, that's fine.
“He’s such a big presence – you've got to guard him, he's going to make things happens.
“Having that low-post presence that guys like Deba, Tevin and Lamar can work around is so important.”
Next weekend will be another crucial juncture for the Bandits, as they hit the road for another back-to-back, this time against championship fancies Nunawading and Bendigo.