Just less than 900 people saw the first Quincy Hankins-Cole and Bennie Lewis show at Activewest Stadium on Saturday night, and it was electric.

The S&K Electrical Contracting Buccaneers overcame a two-point deficit at the final break with an impressive 34 points in the last quarter.

Their efforts scored them the chocolates in their first home game of the year (117-105) against Lakeside.

Lewis and Hankins-Cole looked like they’d been playing together for years.

Their teamwork had the whole crowd, including Lightning’s bench, in awe.

They were silky in offence and with dunks and magical set plays, Buccs fans were welcoming their new son with open arms.

Guard Carter Cook had a ripper, finishing with 29 points, and did a brilliant job on Lakeside’s best player, Jordan Swing.

The Buccs are now 4-1, with a great percentage of 117.

Coach Mark Heron said he was pleased with his troops’ hit-out and said the Hankins-Cole and Lewis combination was “something special”.

“There were a couple of times I was just looking around the crowd and at the guys on the bench, going ‘wow we’re witnessing something special here’, ” he said.

“The dunks and things were ridiculous.

“They hit a three-quarter-court shot at quarter time to help … it was a pretty impressive first half of basketball.”

Lewis’ brilliant season continued as he shot a mammoth 30 points to bring his season tally to 139, the second highest in the competition. He played all but 88 seconds of the game.

Hankins-Cole was impressive at both ends of the court, finishing with 23 points and 13 rebounds, putting him fourth in the competition.

Forward Charles Thurkle got some court time, hitting a three in his four minutes, and Clay Dann made a cameo for 56 seconds.

Cook’s performance should not be underestimated, and Heron was happy with his hit-out.

“He had a pretty tough job all night on who I thought was the best player on court, Jordan Swing, ” he said.

“Swing’s one of the best players in the SBL for sure.

“Even though he had 38 (points), we held him well … great game from Carter.

Ike Smith should be right for Saturday’s game against the Suns, despite getting eight stitches after copping a whack in the face.

Championships aren’t won in March, but the Buccs are ticking along nicely at this stage.

Article by Ryan Hadji (Geraldton Guardian)

Photo by Sebastian Komatsu (Sebpix)