The Lakes Entrance Pelicans returned to Gippsland Country Basketball League action last Sunday with a round six home fixture against Morwell Magic at the Lakes Entrance Youth and Recreation Centre.
Coming off a bye and facing a side that started the weekend with a similar record, the Pelicans were confident
of success.
But the Magic had gained plenty of confidence the previous night at the Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre when they dismantled the Bullets by 29 points with minimal fuss.
Morwell hit the ground running under the guidance of Jordan Canovan, playing near faultless basketball in the first term, not afraid to shoot from outside the arc, leading 34-12 at the break, with the Pelicans forced to play catch up against an opponent high on confidence.
The Magic had plenty of scoring options with William Tankard (36 points), Canovan (27), Kelvin Austin (26)
and Peter Barnes (18) leading the way.
Canovan and Tankard sunk 13 three pointers between them in an outstanding night at the office.
The Pelicans’ offence became more productive as the game progressed, but they weren’t able to stop the scoring capacity of Morwell, which certainly wasn’t a one-
trick pony.
Kobe Edwards (22), Matthew Pearce (14) and James Russell (13) hit the board for Lakes Entrance, who trailed by 35 points at half time, eventually going down by 52 (127-73), their last quarter clearly their best with early season injuries really testing the depth.
The Pelicans will have six days to regroup, hosting the highly-rated Moe Meteors (second on the ladder) this Saturday at 5pm.
