A TOUGH season-opening win has given Bendigo Braves a chance to dust off the cobwebs and identify some key areas for improvement.
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The Braves survived a one-point thriller against league newcomers Diamond Valley on Friday night on the Eagles home court.
It was a tale of two-halves with the Braves establishing a 14-point lead at the main break.
That was all but eroded in the third quarter as a vocal home crowd rallied behind the Eagles, who outscored the Braves 28-15 in the third term.
But a 15-15 final quarter ensured the Braves escaped with a one-point win.
Jeremy Kendle showed he will again be a force with 36 points, seven assists and four steals, while fellow import Ray Turner finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, most of his offensive output coming in the first half.
Coach Ben Harvey said his side has lost its composure in the third quarter and would need a few more games in order to effectively gel.
“I guess if you ask the coach in round 18, he’d probably say we should have won by more, but at the end of the day we’ll take the win any day of the week,” he said.
“Kendle was great …outstanding, but in some ways that’s good and in some ways concerning.
“We want our imports to play well, but we want our local talent to step up as well.
“Daniel Hansen out up a couple of big threes; (Chris) Hogan hasn’t trained with us a lot and at times that probably showed.
“We are going to take some time to get used to playing together and that will take time, but at the end of the day we get the W.”
Meanwhile, Nadeen Payne starred for the Lady Braves in a 92-65 win over Diamond Valley.
Payne scored 37 points and 12 rebounds in a game, which the Braves women trailed 22-29 at quarter time, but restricted the Eagles to just five points in the second quarter to wrest control of the game.
Kelly Wilson had 12 points and 12 assists, just two assists fewer than the combined total of the Eagles line-up.
It was a memorable night for young Brave Danielle O’Toole, who nailed a three-pointer with her only shot in her debut SEABL game.
The Braves were without Gabe Richards and Tahnee Cannan.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will have byes in round two.