Isaac
Years ago
North beat Sturt
North beat Sturt by 9 out at Hillcrest.
For North, Hawkes had 24 and McKay had almost 20 (8/20 shooting, that's all I remember).
For Sturt, Forman had 25 (7/19 FG, 1/5 3P, 10/12 FT(?)) and 18 rebounds. Benson had 13 or so, and Shepherd was also in double-figures I think.
At the game: Woodville's Mens team, Paul Rogers, etc.
Thoughts: poor shooting from two Sabres in the one game never helped (Bauer 1/12 and Wilkey 2/12). Forman was scoreless in the first quarter but had 12 in the second. North made the most of a number of opportunities and made the baskets that counted. Shepherd was outstanding on the break: seemed to consistently get the ball at the half-way line and force the defense to foul him on the lay-ups. Oscar's foul shooting has continued to be very good.
Sturt were very close near three quarter time, but couldn't hold onto the game. North's defense in the first few minutes of the game was excellent. Sturt's defense was also very good for a lot of the time, but missed defensive rebounds gave up opportunities.
Last time I saw Burdon play at Pasadena, he shot well, but this game he was nowhere near that standard: 1/5 FG including two blatantly long airballs.
Benson had 13 and 10 I think -- another great game from the young player.
Besides these things, I wasn't overly impressed with much of the game. I have supported the standard of refereeing all season (most games holding only a couple of obvious mistakes), but the refereeing at this game was the worst I have seen in a long time.
Scott Ninnis doesn't shy from opportunities to tell the refs what he thinks, but he was in overdrive tonight (and rightfully so, I thought). A lot of missed travel calls, fouls not being called or being miscalled. Not good at all, and particularly rough in a finals game.
The refs were a clean-cut guy with dark hair (we were calling him The Concierge) and a shorter, blonde guy (The Bellboy).
At one stage, North had possession with their shot clock largely depleted and under pressure. The Bellboy blew his whistle and play stopped. Ten seconds later, North had the ball to in-bounds and a fresh shot-clock; nothing was called. Refs mistake.
One bad game out of those I've seen is not a terrible record for the season, but if I were Sturt and that were an elimination final, I would have been furious.
Onwards: I can't see North troubling Woodville, but Sturt vs Eastern will be an interesting game.
