Christian College Eagles have used a 22-4 run to close out its preliminary final meeting with Lara Giants and book a berth in next week’s RL Signs Geelong United Basketball Men’s Winter Championship Grand Final.
Trailing 54-53 early in the final period, the Eagles made the most of Giants’ leading scorer Joel McFall fouling out with just under eight minutes remaining to claim a 75-58 victory at AWA Alliance Bank Stadium.
Veteran big man Liam McInerney’s impressive finals series continued, adding a game-high 22 points to the 36 he posted in last week’s first semi-final win over YMCA.
Jamieson Hultgren and Marc Allan-Goodwin added 12 points, with Jye Boyle contributing 12.
WOMEN’S PRELIMINARY FINAL WRAP
Trailing by seven points at halftime, Lara gave itself every chance of booking a spot in the decider when it outscored the Eagles 19-10 to take a two point three-quarter time lead.
However, when McFall fouled out, Christian College was quick to snatch back the lead to ensure a meeting with Pivot City in next week’s decider at Geelong Arena.
McFall finished with 21 points for the Giants, with MVP candidate Jackson Bentley scoring 16, which included three three-pointers.
Rhys Petroff was next best with seven points.
