Overtime thrills!

Overtime thrills

09 May, 2011 04:00 AM
Maitland Mustangs coach Luke Boyle reckons centre Andrew Mortimore only hits one three-pointer a year.

Thankfully for the Mustangs that three-pointer came just before the buzzer at the end of regular time in Maitland’s 73-72 overtime win against arch rivals Newcastle on Saturday night.

Mortimore played the role of unexpected hero for the Mustangs as he took a pass from Matt Dick and nailed the three-pointer to lock the scores at 64-all.

From there the parochial Maitland Federation Centre crowd got behind the Mustangs during the five minute overtime period and Ken Artist produced the game winner with six seconds remaining.

The win ensured the Mustangs would keep hold of the coveted Kibble-Mallon Cup this season.

Mortimore finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals on Saturday and backed it up with a further 17 points yesterday in the Mustangs’ 85-81 win over the Central Coast Crusaders.

Boyle said Mortimore had dominated early on against the Hunters to help set up the tight finish.

“We were able to get the ball inside to him early and he scored 15 points in the first half,” he said.

“He was an all star over the weekend – he played a lot of minutes on Saturday and we were able to rest him a bit today but he still scored another 17 points.

“I think he only hits one three-pointer every year and we were just lucky that it came on Saturday night.

“It was a really great win – we had them a couple of times in the fourth quarter and in overtime but kept letting them back into it.

“The winning basket in overtime came from a good set play that the boys executed well and we were able to get Kenny a completely wide open shot.”

Matt Dick marked his return to the Mustangs with two straight three-pointers that sparked the team into action in the second quarter but Boyle rested new signing Brean Tennant over the double

header until the US import learns the playbook.

The Mustangs backed up the energy-sapping win over Newcastle with a four-point victory over the Central Coast yesterday.

Maitland trailed several times during the match but a 29-point third quarter was the difference as forward Mitch Rueter finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, a six point second quarter was the catalyst for the Maitland Mustangs women’s team fifth loss of the season on Saturday night.

The Mustangs went down 74-60 in front of a packed Federation Centre against Newcastle.

The Mustangs started strongly against the second- placed Hunters and trailed just 23-18 after the first break.

But 14 successive missed shots and 10 turnovers during the second quarter saw the Hunters skip out to a 20 point lead by half-time.

The Mustangs kicked into gear in the second half and won the final two quarters but the damage was already done as the Hunters cruised to their fifth win to start the Waratah Championship League season.

Mustangs guard Charlotte Bull was the best for the home side and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals while Chimene Gordon and Jessie-Ann Baldwin each added 11 points.




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