By JARROD POTTER
BIG V – ROUND 7
WHAT do you call it?
The Casey crush? Cavalier containment? Baird’s barrier?
However you spin it, Casey’s unrelenting BIG V defence claimed a fresh victim on Saturday night – this time curtailing Geelong in a 79-67 suffocation.
Wearing the pink jerseys for the club’s most popular night of the season – Ballin’ for Breast Cancer – the Cavaliers went three-for-three to celebrate the occasion properly.
Tins rattled, auctioneers thundered out last call and raffled tickets were frenetically sold all night in support of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA).
Casey wasn’t just pink on the jumpers though; the faces quickly turned rosy as it worked hard to negate the likes of Terrance Motley (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Paul Hutchison (14 points, nine rebounds).
There was a blanket thrown over the visitors’ offensive end as the Cavaliers senior men snuffed the game out by half-time, keeping the Supercats to only 24 points when they walked back down the race at The Fortress.
Casey’s defence was stretched slightly in the second half, but for a side that’s accustomed to scoring centuries and 90s, Geelong was held back brilliantly across the night by the overwhelming Cavaliers’ D.
Mitch Chapman (20 points, four rebounds, three assists) was sensational while James Deneefe (11 points) found some room out wide, Dean Johnson (10 points) toiled in the key and Brent Hobba (seven points, 13 rebounds) and Ben Louis (eight points, seven rebounds) made the most of limited minutes due to foul trouble.
“Surprisingly though I wasn’t really happy defensively in the second half – so I’m a bit of a scrooge aren’t I?” coach Stewart Baird said. “We held them to 24 in the first half, and they got 43 in the second, but it’s hard to keep that intensity up and we had some guys in foul trouble that we had to put on the bench.
“In the bigger scheme of things, it’s a great effort, and I spoke to them prior to the game about unity and playing as a group and that’s going to be our catch phrase for the rest of the year – being one in everything we do.”
Shooting? Not as promising with the Cavs only hitting 79 points as Baird thought the polish on the final touch was lacking from the talls on Saturday.
“We ended up shooting 36 per cent and really it was the bigs that let us down – those little ones from not far away,” Baird said. “But you have nights like that when it will be one guy, but tonight we had two or three, so that’s life and got to work with it.”
“We held them to 31 per cent and our goal is to hold them below 40 so we’ll take that.”
Baird praised his latest former SEABL recruit as Chapman lit up the court and drove most of Casey’s best moments on Saturday night.
“Chapman, stiff not to get the MVP just quietly, I thought he was a good court leader,” Baird said. “Kept us under control offensively and scored himself when we needed him to – he’s value for our group for sure.”
In further important news, coach Baird let the elastic return for one-time-only this season as Ash “Headband” Szalek (four points) was allowed to live up to his nickname once again – this time a stylish pink number.
“If I don’t give him that one a year, then he goes mentally like a marshmallow,” Baird said.
Casey’s women claimed a 63-40 win as the Pink Ladies unloaded on Melbourne Uni through Amy Mcfarlane (22 poins), Tarryn Wilkin (12 points, 16 rebounds) and Ruchelle McCracken (9 points, 15 rebounds).
Casey’s youth men started the night with a pretty-in-pink 65-40 win before knocking over Warrnambool on Sunday afternoon 66-81, showing the side’s skill and endurance despite the ridiculous round seven double-header.
