THE Bendigo Telstra Braves are back within reach of the SEABL east conference top four after stretching their winning streak to three on Saturday night.
The Braves impressive 98-87 win over Mt Gambier on Saturday night improved the Braves win-loss record to 6-9.
The defending champions are still on the bottom of the ladder, but they’re now within two wins of fourth place and three wins of conference leader Knox.
"It was a tremendous result for us,"’ Braves coach Wayne Larkins said yesterday.
"Mt Gambier is not an easy place to get a win at and the way we played was the best sign.
"We’ve won three games in a row now and we’re starting to play our best basketball.
"We’ve worked ourselves into a position where we can challenge for the finals."
The next four weeks will determine the Braves fortunes, with four home games in a row against Nunawading, Frankston, Knox and Canberra.
The win over Mt Gambier was set up by a dominant first quarter.
The Braves outscored the Pioneers 33-19 and increased their lead to 16 at the main break.
Bendigo led by as many as 26 in the third quarter before the Pioneers lifted their intensity.
The home side closed within six points with 90 seconds remaining in the match, but the Braves steadied through Chris Hogan, Cam Rigby and Taylor Bell.
Dustin Bremerman led the Braves with 22 points, Rigby added 19 and Bell and Chris Novak scored 14 points each.
Bell’s performance was particularly pleasing for the Braves.
"Taylor showed against the AIS on Friday night and against Mt Gambier that he’s getting back to somewhere near his best," Larkins said.
"Taylor’s a very important part of our team. He was fantastic for us last year and if he can continue to play well we’ll be a much tougher team to beat."
The Bendigo IGA Lady Braves missed a golden opportunity to put pressure on top team Launceston at the weekend.
The Lady Braves lost 77-75 to Kilsyth on Saturday night and defeated Knox 91-70 yesterday to remain in second place with a 12-3 record.
However, with Launceston losing to third-placed Nunawading yesterday, the Lady Braves would have been equal with Launceston had they not dropped the game to the Cobras.
"The loss to Kilsyth was disappointing because we led for the majority of the match," Lady Braves coach Bernie Harrower said.
"We just didn’t get the job done in the last minute."
The Lady Braves led by six with a little over a minute to go, but the Cobras rallied to clinch the points with a two-point basket on the buzzer.
The Lady Braves weren’t helped by a 24-14 foul count and key players Jane Chalmers and Lousie McLean both fouled out in the dying minutes.
Gabe Richards led the Lady Braves with 18 points, while Andrea Walsh added 13 and Anna Teague 12.Walsh was the catalyst for the Lady Braves win over Knox at the Schweppes Centre yesterday scoring 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
Richards scored 17 points, recruit Lauren King had 14 points and Jasmine Finnigan 10.
"We’ve played eight games in 22 days and to have a 6-2 record out of those eight games is not all gloom and doom," Harrower said.
The Lady Braves are at home to North West Tasmania at the Schweppes Centre next Saturday night.
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