By JARROD POTTER
A COACH’s man-crush has been well and truly established as Casey took the top of the ladder with an eight-point win over Chelsea.The BIG V Division 1 Watson Conference showdown – first versus second – lived up to its billing with the battlelines drawn temptingly for the finals series after an absolute nail-biter.
It was a battle of the point guards on Saturday night as Ben Louis (13 points, five assists, five steals, four rebounds) and Corey Standerfer (14 points, 12 rebounds) locked horns up and down the court.
Casey coach Stewart Baird knew Standerfer was one of the big headaches in the league – as he’s one of the best combo guards in BIG V – so set the defensive task on Louis.Throughout a back-and-forth contest the Cavaliers had to scramble to keep in touch with the fast-firing Gulls – who extended a 33-25 advantage by the main-break.
Standerfer managed to get off the chain a bit through the first half – hitting 12 of his 14 points early on – before the clamp-down truly began.
There’s always a fight-back on the cards in the BIG V and Casey wasn’t about to let a seven-game winning streak fall away without a fight.
Not only did the 191-cm guard Louis negate Standerfer’s second half offensive capabilities, but Louis’ efforts allowed his team mates to get into the match and smash apart the remainder of Chelsea’s defensive powers.
The turn-around began as it usually does at Casey – a tremendous block from skipper Dean Johnson on the three-quarter-time buzzer stopped Chelsea regaining the lead and most importantly – turned the tide in Casey’s favour.
The Cavaliers’ long-range bombers Brent Hobba (18 points, 10 rebounds), Matt Witherden (11 points) and James Deneefe (4 points) rattled off late shots to push the Cavs back in front to hold on for a 62-54 triumph in front of the home-crowd.
Baird was beyond impressed with Louis – saying the Cavaliers guard could be the best ever on one of his rosters.
“He had 12 at half-time and held him to two in the second half,” Baird said. “Player of that quality, it just shows how good Ben (Louis) is.
“I don’t say this lightly but he might be the best player I’ve ever coached – he’s certainly the most intelligent for basketball IQ by a million miles.
“Played most of the last quarter with four fouls and still held him scoreless – apart from a couple of foul shots.
“I might have a serious man-crush, I’m not sure.”
With an eight-game winning streak rocketing the Cavaliers to first place on the Watson Conference ladder, The Cavaliers head up to the highway to battle Mildura on Saturday night.
Casey’s Youth Men kept the good times rolling across the board , taking a 69-64 win against Chelsea and backing it up with 84-58 obliteration of Western Port ahead of its clash against Mildura.
