Queanbeyan Roadrunners 78

A FIRST-ever win against the Queanbeyan Roadrunners has rocketed the Griffith Demons to equal first in the State League Basketball competition.

Coach-captai n Andrew Cullen said the Demons dominated the game and kept the Roadrunners guessing all the way to the bell.

"We had a great start and played well across the floor," Cullen said. "Everything we did kept us winning."

The only reason the former league leaders stayed in the game was because of the foul count Cullen said, which stood 27-20 at the buzzer.

"We dominated most of the game and it was just the foul count that kept them in the game, I reckon we could have won by a lot more if they didn't get so many fouls," he said.

Despite a dominating game by the Demons, Queanbeyan was on form, chasing them all the way down to the buzzer.

But the home team were too good, shutting down the Roadrunners' main point scorers and keeping them at arm's length.

"Everyone, from go to whoa, put their two cents in and stepped up," Cullen said.

"A lot of positive things came out of this game."

Cullen said this win takes pressure off the players, who face a tough draw with a couple of doubleheaders and a few away games still to play.

"It was so good for us to get that win, especially if we drop one later down the track with a very hard schedule still to come," Cullen said. "It gives us some breathing space."

But despite tough times ahead the coach isn't worried, saying the players still have more to give.

"We're still not 100 per cent," Cullen said. "We've got to keep the same mental state but we can be better and with the way we're going I think we're going to be a very tough team to beat."

While the whole team dug deep to bring home a win Cullen said Michael Duncan put in a massive effort after playing for the Swans just a hour before the clash at the "Demon Dome".

"He was excellent," Cullen said. "He had a couple of crucial shots and put solid pressure on the other team in defence. But everyone had a role to play and it was a nice balance in the end. You have to have some good players if you're going to beat a team like that."

Top scorers for the Demons included Andrew Cullen (20 points), Lean Rosborough (18 points), Nick Cullen (18 points) and Michael Duncan (12 points).