It was a case of close, but not close enough for the Craigieburn Eagles in Big V men’s division 1 basketball at the weekend.
The Eagles hosted Melton on Saturday before visiting Altona on Sunday, going down by a total of 14 points over the two games.
The Thoroughbreds started Saturday night’s game the better of the two teams, taking a 26-19 lead into quarter-time after hitting three shots from beyond the three-point line.
The teams were even in the second term, but it could have been different if either side had taken advantage of free-throw opportunities. The Eagles made nine of 18 shots from the line, while the Thoroughbreds went five from 10.
The Breds took control in the third, with a 28-17 quarter. Their tally included 13 points from the free throw line, with the Eagles committing 14 fouls for the quarter. The Eagles reduced the margin by five points in the final term, but fell short 97-85. Kewal Shiels top-scored for Craigieburn with 17.
The Eagles’ second game for the weekend went down to the wire, with the Gators winning by two points in Altona.
The Eagles were again in foul trouble early, sending the Gators to the free throw line 13 times in the first quarter.
The Eagles outscored the Gators by two points in the second. The visitors managed to get off more shots than Altona in the third but were hurt by the Gators’ three-point shooting, with the home side hitting five from 11 attempts.
Despite outscoring the Gators 24-19 in the final term, the Eagles couldn’t get over the line, losing 80-78.
Eagle Kane McNamara top-scored with 23 points.
The Eagles women’s side also dropped both its matches at the weekend, losing to Camberwell Dragons, 52-41, on Saturday night and Geelong Supercats, 80-60, on Sunday.
