By Zach Moult
The NBL1 Kilsyth Cobra Men and Women have combined to go 3-1 in the daunted Tasmania road trip on the weekend.
The Cobra Men continued they strong start to 2022, squeezing by the Hobart Chargers in an 82-78 thriller on Friday, before blowing the NW Tasmania out late to finish their road trip with a 100-73 win.
A pair of Tim Lang free throws in the final seconds proved to be the difference on Friday, as the Cobras made all the big plays late to stun the Chargers on the road. Star wing Corey Jeffs (25 points, 10 rebounds) and import Trey Moses (14 points 8 rebounds) carried the Cobras down the stretch, attacking the rim relentlessly as they combined to score 17 of Kilsyth’s final 19 points. While the Cobras were firing offensively, it was their trademark stifling defence that shone late, as they held a talented Chargers team scoreless over the final three minutes to secure their third straight win.
Facing the Thunder on short turnaround on Sunday, the Cobras showed no signs of fatigue late as they rode a dominant second half performance for their biggest win of the season to date. Leading by three at the half, the Cobras exploded over the final 20 minutes of Saturday’s game, outscoring NW Tasmania, 56-30 in the second half behind a scintillating three point shooting display. Once again it was Jeffs leading the way, as he scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, while Adi Tomada recorded 16 points and a game-high seven assists and Lang, Ben Ursich, Deng Deng, and Mitch Dielemans each scored in double figures.
The Cobras impressive weekend also saw Deng Deng make his much anticipated debut, with the electric Brisbane Bullets forward showing why he is regarded as one of the NBL1’s best players with a number of spectacular plays on both ends of the floor.
The Cobra Women started their road trip off in style, riding a dominant first half on the defensive end to beat the Chargers, 75-57. Head coach Hannah Lowe received terrific contributions across the board on Friday, with Georgia Booth, Isis Lopes, Sarah Haberfield, Abi Curtin and Lauren Scherf each scoring in double figures. With their lead trimmed to 10 to start the final period it was Scherf who put the final nail in the Chargers coffin, with the Australian Opal scoring on three straight possessions to blow the game open as the Cobras cruised the rest of the way for their second win of the season.
Lowe’s team hit the wall on Saturday in Launceston, though, running out of gas late as they fell to the Tornadoes, 67-85. Playing from behind for most of the evening, the Cobras – behind Scherf and Kilsyth junior Nikita Young – led a late surge to claw to within 60-67 with five minutes remaining, but the Thunder responded with an 11-1 run as they pulled away from a visibly fatigued Cobra team late. Scherf led Kilsyth with a game-high 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds, while Young added 14 points in 19 minutes in the loss.
The Cobra Women and Men return home this Saturday night, playing host to the Ballarat Miners/Rush for their annual NBL1 Junior Domestic night event. The Cobras are offering free entry to all Kilsyth Junior Domestic players under the age of 18 who attend the night in their domestic club gear. Tickets for Saturday’s doubleheader are now on sale (intix.com.au).
