Slammers’ second-term horror show

A barnstorming second quarter from the Geraldton Buccaneers quickly turned a night out into a nightmare for the Printsync South West Slammers on Saturday at Activewest Stadium in Geraldton.

With scores tied at 18-all at quarter-time, Dayle Joseph’s men flipped the game on its ear with a 37-14 second term and cruised to a 105-55 victory.

To further add to the Slammers’ woes in Eighth Street’s unofficial “house of horrors”, workhorse American import Tyler Livingston exited the match with 21/2 minutes left in the first half with a niggling injury and did not return.

Much like watching an unattended sandwich at a picnic be ravaged by a swarm of ants, the Buccs ferociously peppered the visitors from a multitude of quality offensive looks to put the game out of reach by the half.

The Buccs were presented with eight wide-open shots with minimal resistance from the Slammers defence during the scintillating second quarter, with three of those hit successfully from beyond the three-point line – half of their entire successful long range tally for the match.

Aaron Ralph had 13 points in the first half for the home side – while skipper Mat Wundenberg, who had 11 rebounds and six points from his nine minutes of court time in the first half, also impressed. When the visitors did manage to secure possession, too often shots did not land or costly turnovers ended promising offensive build-up.

Evergreen skipper Michael Lay threw himself into the fray irrespective of the situation – but aside from him, Slammers big man Chris Douglas (11 points, six rebounds) was the only other major thorn in the Buccs’ tilt for victory.

The Slammers first-half miscues were compounded in the final five seconds of the first half – when after Dylan Myers missed a third and final free throw – Wundenberg sprung to the basket, grabbed the offensive rebound and ensured a four point play ended the half.

Leading 55-32 at the half, the home side outscored the visitors 26-9 in the third quarter, which allowed Buccs coach Dayle Joseph to ring the changes on his bench and give valuable minutes to Oliver Haste, Dylan Myers and William Galvin in the second half.

A series of frustrating turnovers, ranging from three shot-clock violations in the final term to poor pass selection, plagued the visitors in the second half – often after they had worked their socks off to win possession via a steal or defensive board.

The Slammers host the Willetton Tigers at home on Saturday night.