THE Bendigo Braves emerged victorious by seven points against Hobart on Saturday night in the battle of the SEABL’s two conference-leading teams.
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In a contest between two national title contenders that lived up to the hype, the Braves prevailed 85-78 at the Bendigo Stadium to win their fifth game in a row and improve their season record to a competition-best 13-3.
While the final margin was seven points, the Braves’ lead was just two points with 46 seconds remaining.
But the Braves remained calm under pressure late, scoring seven of the last nine points of the match to beat the Chargers for the seventh-straight time.
Damian Johnson (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Kevin White (16 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles for the Braves.
Jeremy Kendle scored 17 points, while Taylor Bell chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
The Chargers led by one point with 2.11 left in the game, before a three-pointer from captain Chris Hogan (10 points) put the Braves back in the lead, which they didn’t relinquish.
Meanwhile, the Lady Braves’ stop-start season continued when they were beaten 83-78 by the Hobart Lady Chargers.
Scores had been level 78-apiece with 55 seconds left when Kelly Wilson nailed a three for the Lady Braves.
But that would be the last score for the Lady Braves as the Lady Chargers’ Chelsie Schweers scored the final five points of the game.
Schweers was a thorn in the side of the Lady Braves all game, finishing with 41 points, including six three-pointers.
Kelly Wilson and Chante Black both played all 40 minutes and combined to score 52 of the Lady Braves’ 78 points.
Wilson finished with 30 and Black 22.
Black also hauled down a game-high 15 rebounds in what was her third double-double in the four games she has played since joining the Lady Braves mid-season.
The Lady Braves are now 6-6, with their formline reading LWLWLWLW in their past eight games. They remain fourth in the east conference.