Young South West Slammers show spirit after ejections

A valiant Printsync South West Slammers men’s side came up just short of its first win of the season on Saturday despite the ejection of two key players in the second half.

A poor third quarter cost the Slammers dearly on their home court as the side fell behind by nine points having entered the second half all-square against Lakeside Lightning.

The Lightning were able to open up their lead to as much as 23 points in the final period before a late run by the Slammers saw the match end as a 91-79 win for the away team.

Brody England came up big for the Slammers with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Michael Lay led the way with an efficient 19 points at 80 per cent from the field.

Lay also pulled down 10 boards and was three assists short of a triple double.

The Slammers faced an uphill task once Chris Douglas left the court injured and Brian Voelkel was ejected from the game during the third quarter.

Tyler Livingston was also given his marching orders following an unsportsmanlike foul call by the referees early in the fourth quarter.

With three starters no longer able to take to the court it was left to a young brigade to rally late in the game and close the margin to a respectable 12 points.

Lucas Goff stepped up from the bench to log nearly 30 minutes of game time while Nicholaas Myburgh, Phoenix O’Neill and Anthony Marinovich also spent much more time on court than usual.