It was a weekend of mixed emotion for the Ararat Redbacks as they opened their Country Basketball League season.
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The Redbacks managed to secure a win against Warrnambool Seahawks on Saturday night while Sunday the team went down fighting against a strong Horsham Hornets.
The Redbacks secured a 40-point win over the Seahawks, 108 to 68.
The mix of youth and experience within the Ararat side provided plenty of depth, and was a key to the match.
The Redbacks took control early on in the game with multiple players finding an avenue to the basket.
The Seahawks scored nine points on the run to settle the Redbacks’ early domination, but were not strong enough to hold out the home team for the game.
Zac Dunmore top-scored with 31 points, while Josh Fiegert was not far behind with 29.
The Seahawks lost Tanna Blackney-Noter just after half-time with what looked like an ankle injury. He finished the game on the sidelines icing the injury.
Redbacks coach Marcus Jenkins said the first quarter surge by the Seahawks was a great test to the team which showed a lot of character.
“We have the confidence to come out and keep fighting to get ourselves back into the game,” he said.
Jenkins was happy with how the players performed against the Seahawks and thought the team put in a great overall effort.
“The game gave us confidence heading into the game against Horsham,” he said.
The Horsham Hornets were too good on Sunday for the Redbacks as a 21- point loss was recorded, 102-83.
Jenkins said although they didn’t come away with the win, there were plenty of positives that came out of the game.
“We played well. One quarter really killed us, 43-points will kill any side,” he said.
Jenkins said Horsham are very well drilled at what they do and things were second nature to them.
“It’s a big measuring stick for us, to go down by 21-points to past premiers is a really good outcome for our team,” he said.
Zac Dunmore sunk eight three-pointers, contributing 26 to his teams total and Dj Woods chipped in with a welcoming 25 points.
Dunmore has opened his season with an average of 28.5 points.
Hornets will walk away with a win but will need to assess coach Cam Bruce’s leg injury as he was side-lined during the match and didn’t return to the court.
Both games were supported by home crowds for the Redbacks, something Jenkins said he was delighted to see.
“The support we had through the crowds and locally has been really good for us,” he said.
