Last week’s NBL1 matchup we saw the Eagles taking on the storming Knox Raiders and Basketball Australia in a tough back-to-back game. Both our men’s and women’s team gave it their all and played right through to the final siren. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our round as the soring Eagles only winning one out of the four games.

The men’s first game of the round saw a thriller ending, winning 82-83. A late 3-pointer by Alex Ducas to put Basketball Australia behind by a point just wasn’t enough. With the other three games, Eagles faced defeat, but didn’t go down easily.

(Men’s Eagles vs Knox)

The Diamond Valley Eagles have suffered their eighth loss of the season after narrowly missing out on victory against the Knox Raiders who defeated them by three points.

The Raiders were determined to get their fourth win of the seasons against the struggling Eagles. Knox opened with a 26-point first quarter, taking a nine-point lead at the first break.

Both teams exchanged buckets in the second but the fluctuating margin went in the Raiders' favour as they fought to extend their lead to 11 points at half time.

The Eagles surged in the second half reducing the Raiders to only 13 points in the final term. With the game hanging on by a thread in the dying seconds, Mike Rose was sent to the line where he drained both free-throws to get the Raiders over the line.

Rose recorded 23 points for the game shooting at 50 per cent from the field. Teammate Cadarian Raines finished up with a 10-point 11-rebound double-double. Despite the Loss, Diamond Valley Eagle Logan Hovey kept them in the game with 25 points.

 

(Women’s Eagles vs Knox)

The Knox Raiders have secured their seventh win of the season, defeating the Diamond Valley Eagles by 26 points.

The first half saw both teams struggle to make an impact on the scoreboard, with the score standing at 25-23 at half time with Knox holding a two point lead. Both teams were shooting at less than 30 per cent from the field, and under 20 per cent from the 3-point line.

A series of fouls in the third saw the Raiders take to the line five times, draining 9-10 of their free throws. This helped them outscore the Eagles 21-15, giving them a solid eight-point lead at the final break.

Knox had well and truly found their feet in the fourth taking charge from behind the arc. Leah Santomaggio nailed three massive three-pointers solidifying the Raiders' victory.

Diamond Valley never got into a proper rhythm during the game, but had their quietest quarter in the fourth, scoring only eight points to Knox’s 26.

Santomaggio finished with 12 points in her 12 minutes off the bench.

 

(Men’s Eagles vs BA)

The Eagles have prevailed prevailed over BA CoE in a one-point thriller at DV Sports & Fitness Centre 83-82.

Diamond Valley's Logan Hovey was the hero for his team, tallying 29 points and eight rebounds on a 13-of-21 shooting effort. Ben Allen added 15 points and eight boards.

For BA CoE, Alex Ducas put up 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Reserves Tamuri Wigness (14 points) and Joshua Bannan (15 points) also had big games.

This one was a genuine arm wrestle in the first half as neither side could gain momentum. The scores were all tied up at the first change, while BA CoE held a narrow two-point lead at the main break.

Diamond Valley finally started pushing ahead in the third term, going up 54-47 at the end of the period after Darcy Harding hit a layup right before the buzzer.

The Eagles went up by nine early in the fourth, only for BA CoE to respond with their own run late in the piece. It looked like BA CoE were a chance when Tamuri Wigness' layup cut his side's deficit to 81-79 with 32 seconds on the clock. But the visitors left their run that little bit too late, as Allen's layup back the other way proved to be the game-winning basket.

 

(Women’s Eagles vs BA)

BA CoE have survived a late rally from Diamond Valley to claim a 75-83 win on the road.

It marked BA CoE's first win of the season to now sit 1-11, while the Eagles slipped to 1-10.

BA CoE's Lily Scanlon scored a team-high 19 points to lead her side to victory and Ashlee Hannan and Agnes Emma-Nnopu chipped in 12 points apiece. Jade Melbourne added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Diamond Valley's Anneli Maley filled up the box score, compiling 27 points, 16 rebounds and too steals. Shelby Cheslek was also busy for the Eagles with 20 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

BA CoE raced out of the blocks to gain a 14-25 lead at the first change. These teams traded blows throughout the second and third quarters. Every time it looked like Diamond Valley would go on a run, BA CoE fired right back.

Down 13 going into the fourth, Diamond Valley had all the run in the final period. The home team surged back into the contest, bringing it back to a 73-74 game after Alex Wilson nailed a pair of free throws with 4:34 on the clock. But BA CoE took control down the stretch, finishing the game on 9-2 run to taste victory for the first time this season.

Although the Eagles had a tough and unfortunate round 8, next week should promise a tough fight as Eagles look to come out on top of the Frankston Blues. The game kicks off on Friday 31^st at 5:30pm where the women’s will start it off, followed by the men’s at 7:30pm. Looking forward to seeing as many supporters as possible and hope we can get the win on our home ground.