Basketball
Griffith Demons 94
Shoalhaven Tigers 66
GRIFFITH import Leon Rosborough's most complete performance for the Demons has capped off the home side's comfortable 28-point win over a toothless Shoalhaven Tigers outfit, that was well short of being competitive at West End Stadium on Saturday night.
While Rosborough was his usual active self on the defensive end to dominate the paint, it was at the other end of the court where he really got the job done, to cap off another team effort by the Demons.
Griffith coach Andrew Cullen said his side knew they were going to run away with the game early on, but said the team was saving itself for its much-anticipated clash with Wagga yesterday.
"It was one of those games when we always knew we were going to win and that can work against you sometimes," Cullen said.
"We needed a few blokes to get going, which they did, but we never really got out of second gear, we had a couple of good spurts where we put the points on, but I don't think we played fantastic, we did what we had to."
The Demons leader paid tribute to Rosborough, saying his effort off the ball set the standard that was adhered to by every player that stepped on the court.
"Spratty (Dean Spratt) did well and everybody that came onto the court chipped in, I thought Leon was good early on getting in on the boards early on and I think that was crucial for us," he said
"The ball movement for us was excellent, we probably over did it at times, that's a sign you've got so much time you end up making errors."
he home side got its shooting rhythm going early as threes rained down on the Tigers to settle the nerves, with the Demons getting plenty of open looks at the basket thanks to lax defensive rotations by Shoalhaven, seeing Griffith lead 20-9 at the first break.
With the Demons hitting a flat spot in the second quarter, the Tigers were not able to capitalise as they continually handed the Demons possession through cheap turnovers, with easy points via the free-throw line seeing Griffith go into half-time up 36-23 and in control. With Spratt toiling away on the offensive glass, Rosborough found his way to the basket on a regular basis leading to a game-high 29 points.
Paul Roddam continued to throw up shots from beyond the arc for the Tigers to finish with 17 points, but it was never going to be enough to beat Griffith, who kept the visitors at an arm’s length all night.
The Demons completed their double-header in fine style yesterday as they disposed of a rugged Wagga Heat side 77-64 on the road.
In what is always a physical encounter the Heat looked to throw Griffith off its game by throwing its weight around, which worked to a degree, as they opened up an early lead.
But an impressive second quarter by the Demons, which saw them rack up 22 points, ripped away Wagga’s momentum and gave the visitors a slight lead heading into the long break.
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