By JARROD POTTER
THERE are always high stakes on the line when Casey comes out to play and this week’s match against low-lying Blackburn was no exception.
While the Cavaliers ramped up the score-line – taking a 104-75 win over the Vikings – Blackburn never truly went away as the biggest margin of the night was only claimed in the dying minutes.
In a shared effort across the board, Casey racked up its first century this season as Casey’s big five all notched double-digit tallies.
Coming off the bench and utterly smashing the Vikings’ defensive structure was Dean Johnson (26 points, six rebounds) – who at one stage scored seven points in a minute as Blackburn succumbed to a number of Casey steals.
Ben Louis (19 points, eight rebounds, six assists) was impressive in the victory, but might be in doubt for this weekend’s clash against Southern Peninsula after leaving his coach Stewart Baird hanging in an attempted high-five.
Also picking up 10 or more were Lester Strong (20 points, seven rebounds) – who rocked the State Basketball Centre with a monstrously undefeatable skyhook of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar quality – Bevan Camilleri (18 points) and Brent Hobba (14 points, nine rebounds).
“You always worry about these games – they’re on the bottom of the ladder but it’s not truly indicative of where they’re at,” Casey coach Baird said.
“They did a really good job and knew they would hang with us if we didn’t knuckle down and get it done.
“We can probably be a bit better than that defensively, but offensively every time you get 100 you’ve had a pretty good game.”
The Cavaliers have established a three-game break on their nearest rivals Chelsea, Camberwell and Warrandyte in the Watson Conference following their 10-game winning streak and will face off in the return-leg of a burgeoning south-eastern rivalry.
Southern Peninsula Sharks will head to the Cavaliers’ Fortress on Saturday night from 8pm and Casey will be out to avenge its last loss – a 75-87 loss in May.
“Double figures which is nice – the Youth boys would be up to 11 too and as a program our under-20 men are on top as well, so we’re pretty with the way things are going.
“We’ve got a tough one next week against Southern Pen at home – at last, feels like we haven’t been there for a while – and we really want that one.”
The Cavaliers women bounced by with a 61-51 win over Coburg and the Casey women face Blackburn at Knox Basketball Stadium on Saturday night, but might be without captain Amy Mcfarlane, with the guard needing hand surgery after coming off on the worse end of a battle against an avocado.
The Cavaliers’ youth men kept their rampage going with their 11th win on the trot following an 83-61 win over Mornington. Phil Thomas’ Casey side take on Warrnambool this weekend.
