Reid factor plays crucial role in Franchise victory

Jerome Reid’s importance for Franchise in the squad’s pursuit of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association’s men’s division one premiership was quantified after his hot hand underpinned an 86-82 win over CBC on Thursday night.

It was a much-needed result for Franchise, whose three victories have each been enjoyed with Reid in the line-up after they opened the season with four straight defeats.

Up against the division’s second-placed team, Reid put his stamp firmly on the clash with a game-high 34 points.

It was a match-winning display after Franchise were outplayed to quarter-time, 25-15, before Reid’s impressive shooting sparked a major form reversal as they swept the remaining three quarters.

The longtime Goldfields Giants captain’s latest haul was just short of his season-best 39 points against Olympians in round five.

He was backed by Nick Lawrence, Kieran Russell, and Krish Patel, who put up a combined 45 points.

In CBC’s camp, Sam Morrow continued his big season with a team-high 31 points.

Morrow has been held under 20 points only twice, and he leads all players in the division with 233 points for the season to date.

Despite the result, CBC remain entrenched in second place with six wins — three more than nearest rivals Franchise.

The round was completed last Friday night when Saints easily beat Olympians 112-68.

It represented an eighth win for Saints, who remain at the head of the standings by two games in pursuit of back-to-back flags.

In a one-sided clash, Saints burst out of the blocks to dominate the first half, 62-24.

Olympians, to their credit, hit back to take third-term honours but a full comeback was a bridge too far as each of Saints’ five players scored in double-digits.

Jordan Clements was the offensive leader with 38 points from Chase Stubbs (25) and Laine Warena (21).

An impressive team performance was completed by Mitchell Halse (15) and Noah Hinkley (13), while Jarrod Donaldson led Olympians’ effort with 20 points.

Round 10 starts on Thursday night when Franchise play Saints at 7.15pm, and on Friday CBC meet Olympians at 6.15pm.

In the women’s first division, Olympians extended their unbeaten record to six games after they comfortably beat CBC 62-39.

Olympians scored 31 points in each half on the back of Kate Sidebottom’s 23 points and 14 from Zaleema Bourne.

Tamsyn Pentland racked up 14 points for CBC in a losing effort.

This week’s round 10 clash will be played on Wednesday night when Saints oppose Olympians at 6.15pm.

Ladders:

Men’s division one:

Saints 25 points; CBC 21; Franchise 15; Olympians 11.

Women’s division one:

Olympians 18 points; Saints 12; CBC 6.