Basketball
12 November, 2024
Hornets blow Hurricanes away
On Saturday night, the Horsham Hornets put on a show in front of their home crowd, defeating the Hamilton Hurricanes by 45 points in round six of the Country Basketball League at the Horsham Basketball Stadium.
The Hornets were on fire in the first quarter, with Mitch Martin nailing two three-pointers to get the crowd buzzing, Austin McKenzie and Micah Livingstone contributing as they ran out to a 29-12 lead at quarter-time.
In the second quarter, Charlie Campbell made his presence felt as the Hornets piled on another 25 points to extend their margin to 27 points at the main break.
Despite having the lead, the Hornets didn't stop, putting on another 23 points in the third to extend the lead to 35 at three-quarter time.
The Hornets kept stinging in the fourth quarter, scoring another 32 points to win 109-63.
Austin McKenzie shot a game-high 33 points in the win, with Micah Livingstone scoring 18. Charlie Campbell scored 16, and Mitch Martin was the other player scoring double-digits with ten. Joshua Miller led the way for the Hurricanes with 30.
Hornets coach Scott Benbow praised his players, highlighting Mitch Martin and Charlie Campbell.
"Mitch electrifies the crowd, and you saw that in the first quarter, and we told him to go for the shots, and we feed off his energy, and he is shooting the ball the best he ever has," Benbow said.
"Mitch and Aussie McKenzie had a great first quarter and got the ball rolling, then in the second quarter, Charlie Campbell came on, and his first play was a dunk that electrified the crowd.
"Charlie is a high-energy, athletic player, and we used him off the bench. He can chop out a Cody Bryan and is finding his stride.
"In the last quarter, he made an alley-oop off Hugh Dougherty, which got the junior crowd buzzing as they love Charlie because he is fun to watch."
With a big lead, Mitch Martin took himself off in the third quarter, and Benbow could play his bench and give everyone court time, which is important leading into the business end of the season.
"It was very mature of Mitch to go to the bench and to sit back and be a barracker on the bench, and we didn't need to play Aussie or Cody in the last quarter and a half, so the bench got good court time," Benbow said.
"Ryan Pfitzner took his opportunity, and Hugh Dougherty scored points and provided assists and took his opportunity.
"Fred Frew, as a backup guard, played well, and everyone contributed and had an influence in some way."
The Hornets have tough matchups coming up and are sitting nicely on top of the ladder, and Benbow credited culture with their current success.
"Everyone is having fun and playing that way," Benbow said.
"I have never seen a more fun, inclusive culture, and that's why we are playing well.
"Everyone is supportive of each other and gets around each other, and our defense has been the benchmark this season, which is a bit different to previous seasons."
This coming Saturday, the Hornets travel to Warrnambool in the top-of-the-ladder clash. It will be a hard match, and Benbow pointed out Warrnambool's defense as hard to crack.
"They have a good defense and play a similar style to us where they get up the floor, and they are a deep side," Benbow said.
"We won't have Micah Livingstone, so we must change a few things.
"Charlie Campbell may get more of an opportunity, and we will have to play Jono and Matty Lovel as we will need their size and experienced heads."
