Craigieburn Eagles continue to soar

Blake Dickinson was one of three players to score double figures. Picture Shawn Smits.

The good form of Craigieburn Eagles has continued with a third straight win in men’s Big V division 2 basketball.

After a week off for the Easter break, the Eagles were looking to maintain their winning form against Mornington Breakers.

In what turned out to be a close match, the Eagles won every quarter but at no stage dominated the match.

No more than three points separated the two sides in each of the quarters, with the Eagles eventually winning 71-64.

Ten of the 12 Eagles players who took to the court hit the scoreboard, with Blake Dickinson, Dexter Graham and Lance Watt all scoring double figures.

The win is the Eagles fourth of the season. They are fifth on the ladder.

It was a tough weekend for the Eagles women’s side, which lost both its matches.

On Saturday night, a late comeback wasn’t enough for the Eagles to get the win against Mornington Breakers.

The Breakers led by as much as 14 points in the third quarter, before the Eagles reduced the margin to three points with just over two minutes to go.

The Breakers steadied to score the last four points of the game to win 55-48.

Nicola Stewart was the only Eagle to score double figures.

On Sunday against the Black Angels, the Eagles were left to rue poor performances in the first three quarters.

They struggled to find a basket and scored just 23 points up to three-quarter time.  In the second quarter they scored just four points and a single field goal.

The Eagles nearly doubled their score in the final quarter, but it was too little too late as they lost 58-42.

Stewart was again the only player to score double figures for the Eagles.

In other results, both Hume City Broncos sides had thrilling matches in state championship division.

The women’s side had a one-point loss to McKinnon Cougars.

The Broncos came from nine points down midway through the last quarter to reduce the margin but ran out of time for a 78-77 defeat.

Mua Laloifi starred for the Broncos with 37 points and eight rebounds.

The men’s side suffered heartbreaking loss to the Cougars, losing by 85-82.

Mike Rose (26 points) and Lee Jeka (24) led the way for the Broncos.

Both senior Whittlesea Pacers sides were beaten.