It doesn’t matter what you do in the regular season because finals are a completely different ball game.
Just ask the Kilsyth Cobras, who went 21-1 in the Youth Championship Men home-and-away campaign, but were shockingly handed their second loss of the season at home by the Casey Cavaliers in the qualifying final.
Casey came into the game well prepared and settled, taking full advantage of Kilsyth’s nerves and poor shooting, building a 34-48 halftime buffer.
The Cobras looked like their regular season-selves in the third, connecting on 4/7 triples as a team and shooting 54 percent overall for the quarter, trimming the deficit back to eight at the conclusion of the quarter.
A fourth-quarter clutch-time rally from the hosts saw Isaiah Harvey drill a three to capitalise on the momentum and bring Kilsyth within one, forcing a timeout from Cavaliers coach Paul Mellett.
But from there, Berwick College’s Cedric Rault completely took over the game for Casey.
It started with him standing tall defensively and forcing a turnover, leading to Justin Ochaya being fouled and splitting a pair of free throws.
Following another stop at the other end, Rault pulled up and nailed a jumper from the midrange to extend the margin back to four.
Both sides traded buckets to have the score at 77-81 with just over a minute remaining.
Ochaya dished it off to Ky Taylor, who drove middle and hop-stepped into the lane.
He kicked it out to Rault on the wing and Rault nailed the biggest shot of the Cavaliers’ season to date, splashing a triple to put the dagger into Kilsyth.
Casey took the victory 78-88 on the Cobras’ home floor and the team now secured itself a spot in the prelim finals.
Rault stepped up with 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists after averaging just 9.5 points per game for the season.
He also got the starting nod after coming off the bench for 10 of his 16 games this season, showing coach Mellett’s trust in him.
Ochaya had figures of 19 points and five assists, while double-doubles to Blake Shankland with 17 points and 11 boards and Ethan Bolton with 15 points and 13 rebounds boosted the depth.
The Cavaliers will now have a week off as they are set to play the winner of this week’s semi-final between Frankston and Sandringham.
In the Youth Championship Women, Casey snuck into the finals in eighth position and were eliminated by Sandringham in the elimination final on Saturday.
At the Southern Basketball Stadium, the Cavaliers led 19-24 at quarter time, but an imposing second term from the Sabres saw them hold a six-point advantage at the main break.
A consistent second half performance from the hosts guided them to a 73-57 result that pushed them into the semi-finals.
Kyra Webb starred for Casey, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Mica Nightingale provided elite production off the bench as she had 19 points and six rebounds in defeat.
