The scoreboard might paint a dour night down the Hume Hwy for Shepparton Gators, but according to stand-in coach Gary Driver, it was far from it.
The Gators suffered a 79-56 defeat against Wallan Panthers in the opening round of Country Basketball League on Saturday night.
But with the majority of the team's experience unavailable for selection and coach Matt Bartlett occupied with tying the knot — Driver said he was pleased with the young brigade's efforts against the competition's reigning champions.
“The score didn't really reflect the performance of the younger boys,” Driver said.
“We took a very young squad down to Wallan, we had a couple of 15 and 16-year-olds playing. I felt like we were competitive for three quarters and faded off late.
“But there were plenty of positives to take away from the match.”
One of those positives was the classy performance of teenage wiz Jordan Michel.
The talented point guard manned the one spot all night and scored a match-high 22 points.
Teammate Dylan Wayman provided support with 10 points, while teenager Jordan Munro chipped in with six.
“Jordan was outstanding. He's only a teenager, but he played like a veteran on Saturday,” Driver said.
“I coached Jordy when he was only eight years old playing in under-12s, he's developed into a great player and a great person too.
“Even the opposition coach said to me after the match how good of a game he played.
“But we also got some good minutes into our other teenagers, with Jordy Munro, Boston (Dowling) and Jordy Birch all playing well and another good sign was all 12 players getting on the court.”
Looking ahead to round two, it's a double-header weekend for the Gators.
The outfit will be in action on Saturday night at home against Myrtleford, and then again on Sunday when it hosts Wodonga.
THE GAME
Wallan Panthers 79 d
Shepparton Gators 56
Gators’ top-scorers
Jordan Michel 22, Dylan Wayman 10, Jordan Munro 6,
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