Shepparton Gators bounce back

Kiwi Taine Wattie led the way with 20 points on efficient shooting, this time in a starting role, while American import Ryan Batte added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in a well-rounded performance.

“We played a team that can be dangerous and we managed the momentum well,” Batte said.

“It wasn’t our best game, we need to work on keeping our lead and extending it, but a win is a win.”

Seven players hit the scoreboard for Shepparton, with Eric Miraflores going a perfect six-of-six from the field for 14 points in 15 minutes.

Aaron Dolny gave a big boost off the bench with 19 points and six made free throws.

Bryce Brown finished with 14 points and five assists, while acting captain Josh Kooiman also filled the stat sheet with seven points, four boards and six assists.

“We had a few guys with four or more assists and that’s a big part of us becoming better,” Batte said.

“We’re starting to really figure each other out, knowing where to be, and it shows when we share the ball.”

Despite the offensive success, Batte admitted the team still had work to do defensively.

“We’ve got some flaws on the defensive end, especially giving up offensive rebounds,” he said.

“We always play with effort, but we’ve got to tighten things up.

“We can get stops, but we can’t finish the possession with a rebound which is really frustrating and something we’ve got to work on for sure.”

It’s Shepparton’s third 100-plus point game in the past four weeks and its sixth in the past seven.

With two weekends off, the Gators will use the break to refocus ahead of a tough home stretch.

“These two weeks are important,” Batte said.

“The season is just flying by and we need to flick the switch.

“We have to start pushing into that play-off mentality, amp it up in practice and change our mindset.”

The Gators will return to the court on June 14 with another road trip, this time to face Keysborough.