Maitland Mustangs bounced back with a 76-70 win against Sutherland Sharks at Sutherland Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
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Mustangs coach Terrance Rone said the Mustangs led by double points throughout the majority of the match, but let their foot off the peddle in the final moments of the game.
Rone said the Mustangs put in a fantastic team effort across all sections of the court.
With a goal of keeping their opponents below 80 points for a game, Rone was happy with the defensive effort of Maitland.
Rone said the low foul count by his side was also a good identifier of Maitland’s pressure in defence.
In attack, the team’s field goal percentage sat at about 50 compared to Sutherland’s 30 per cent.
Rone also said their three point attempts being two from 11 was a positive thing, as they weren’t relying on long range shots to score points.
We control whether we make the playoffs. We don’t want to rely on other results.
- Maitland Mustangs coach Terence Rone
“We made a concerted effort to attack the basket,” he said.
While the coach said everyone performed well on court, Terrell Turner put in a great game to score a double-double (10 or more rebounds and 10 or more points).
He also highlighted Goran Veg as a player who stood up, shooting a high number of interior baskets, as well as Mitchell Rueter who is currently the fifth highest in the league for average points per game.
But Rone said the statistics didn’t highlight just how well the whole team performed on Saturday.
The Mustangs are still sitting in seventh position in the Basketball NSW Waratah League, but Rone said he was pleased with where they were at.
The win means Maitland have beaten eighth placed Sutherland twice.
Rone said their aim is to beat every team once and they have the opportunity to do that in the second-half of the season.
“It puts us in a really good position,” he said.
“We control whether we make the playoffs.
“We don’t want to rely on other results.”
The Mustangs youth side had a commanding win over Sutherland in Sydney on Saturday.
Maitland scored an impressive 91 points throughout the game, beating the Sharks by a massive 30 points.
In the women’s competition, the Mustangs went down to division one ladder leaders Wagga Blaze 58-74 at Minto Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The loss bumps the team from second to third on the ladder.
The Mustangs have the chance to decrease their distance from the top six when they take on fifth-placed Bankstown Bruins at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on Saturday, July 2.
The women’s side have a week off, and will play Coffs Harbour Suns on July 9.