You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take.
Or, if you’re Matt Bartlett, you just make all of them.
He helped lift Shepparton Gators to a 78-75 victory away at Bellarine on Saturday night, July 5, in round 13 of the Big V Championship.
The Gators have been up and down in the past month, desperately trying to sneak in to a finals spot.
Big performances from American imports Ryan Batte and Bryce Brown have kept them afloat, but with both of them struggling to get going at the weekend, Bartlett decided to wind back the clock.
Captain Fantastic had his best game of the season, coming off the bench to score 12 points in 12 minutes, going four for four from three.
The veteran has taken on a reduced role this season, but when the team needed a lift, Bartlett delivered.
Head coach Josh Waight said it was a familiar sight to see Bartlett stepping up for Shepparton, just as he has done for many years.
“He was massive for us,” Waight said.
“He had some massive buckets to keep us ticking early on and then some massive ones in the second half to keep them (Bellarine) at bay.”
Sharpshooting duo Josh Kooiman and Aaron Dolny struggled to find their shot, so the local boys stepped up, with Nicholas Dodd, Sam Beks and Tom Frame playing crucial minutes.
Eric Miraflores was another spark off the bench, cashing in three of his four triples.
“It wasn’t our best performance, but the boys stayed strong and resilient,” Waight said.
“They did what it took to get the win and everyone had huge plays in crucial moments.”
Buckets were hard to come by for both teams in a messy game.
While Batte and Brown didn’t shoot the ball efficiently, they secured double digit rebounds to contribute in other ways.
Waight also praised Dodd for his efforts boxing out Bellarine’s big men, calling it a prime example of the winning plays made by Shepparton down the stretch.
“It’s those sorts of effort plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but don’t go unnoticed and, at this level, are the difference between winning and losing in that type of game,” Waight said.
“That’s a win we needed to have, we can’t afford to drop many games now, so we have to come ready to play each week.”
The Gators sit in sixth place, one spot out of finals with five games to go.
This Sunday, July 13, Shepparton takes on eighth-placed Camberwell at 1pm at Shepparton Sports Stadium.