mmg.com.au

Mt Gambier proved too big an ask for Shepparton Gators in the Victorian final of the Country Basketball League on Saturday night.

The Gators battled hard and were within three points at half-time, but were ultimately overpowered by an experienced Lakers outfit 75-54.

A 21-7 third quarter all but ended the match as a contest.

According to Shepparton coach Steve Nioa, the level of physical and mental maturity was the key difference between the two sides.

‘‘We’re a group of 20-year-olds, they were 25 or 26-year-olds, so they definitely outmuscled us in a few places,’’ Nioa said.

‘‘They had a couple of really big guys, but they were just solid across the board, they played solid basketball and played well together.

‘‘We held our own in the last quarter, the first five or six minutes of the third we didn’t get things happening and failed to hit any shots at that end of the court.’’

Jack Threlfall led the scoring for Shepparton with 20 points.

The Gators’ outstanding performance in the CBL north-west grand final fuelled talk of a return to the Big V.

However, Nioa said Saturday night’s result had given the club a taste of what was required to compete at the next level, with several players in the Lakers line-up set to play for Mount Gambier Pioneers in the upcoming South East Australian Basketball League season.

‘‘The home court helped them and they didn’t have a 10-hour bus ride to deal with, the long trip on the bus taught us what it was like to take the step up,’’ he said.

‘‘It was a little bit disappointing, we definitely didn’t play as good as we did the week before, we were up last week and probably riding on that high a bit, but we were a little off the mark at that next level.

‘‘On the other hand a lot of their players are in full pre-season mode with the Pioneers, so they were certainly up and about.’’

The Gators will now take a break, before returning to the court for the Big V pre-season tournament next month.