Stung by a huge loss to North West Tasmania in Ulverstone the previous round, Bendigo seized control in the early minutes of the duel with Canberra.

Bendigo raced to a 9-1 lead as Tony Lewis (2), co-captain Chris Hogan (3) and Jordan Vandenberg (2) were on target.

Centre Michael Vigor also made a strong start to the match.

A defensive steal by Vigor was capped with two points by Lewis.

Vigor’s three-pointer made it 27-17 in Bendigo’s favour at quarter-time.

The Braves worked extremely hard to rarely allow consecutive baskets from the Gunners in the opening half.

Highs in the second term included a three-pointer from young gun Jordan Mangan and the play of co-captain Kevin Probert to complete a mid-court steal with a lay-up.

It looked how far as the Braves led 50-34 at half-time.

Momentum would change dramatically in the third term.

Canberra fought back brilliantly to be within eight at a quarter to play.

The Gunners’ run kept rolling as a three-pointer by Daniel Joyce made it 69-67 in Bendigo’s favour.

Probert capped the Braves next attacking foray with a two-pointer.

A Shaun Mills three-pointer put Canberra within a point at 6.26 to play.

A 12-nil run by Bendigo which featured points by Lewis (7), Probert (3), and Taylor Bell (2), put the result beyond doubt.

Bendigo’s 88-79 victory was the club’s 10^th this season.

Stats stars for the Braves were Lewis 31 points and 13 rebounds; Probert 14 points and seven assists; and Vigor 12 points.

Canberra’s attack was led by Ben Allen on 22 points.

Braves’ coach Ben Harvey said the match was a reflection of the team’s play in a lot of matches.

“It was a fantastic effort through the first half,” Harvey said of the Braves win against the Gunners.

“As the match went on we were looking at an opportunity for a win of 20 points or more.

“Credit for Canberra for fighting back, but also to our players for the way they responded when challenged in the last quarter.”

The Braves are now second in the South East Australia Basketball League’s south conference.