Griffith Demons 75

THE Griffith Demons missed a golden opportunity to defeat the reigning premiers after leading Queanbeyan by 10 points in the first half, going down 83-76 at the bell.

Despite the turnaround, Demons coach Andrew Cullen said the performance boded well for the team's coming season.

"I don't think we've ever led them at half-time before," Cullen said. "We were in control, I thought they were out on their feet but then they came back like a good team can. But I'm pretty positive about having another go at them later in the season."

With a 10-point advantage and a strong home crowd, the ball seemed to be in the Demons' court but with a few missed free throws and some calls not going their way, the home team lost momentum and struggled into the 4th quarter.

"We had a bad 3rd quarter but we closed the gap and weathered the storm going even into the 4th but we just couldn't keep with them," Cullen said. "We were struggling across the board, nothing was going our way. Our execution failed us in the second half and when the chips were down we just sank a bit more."

Even the US-import Leon Rosborough couldn't help get the team back on track as the Demons failed to get in the paint with the opposition's defence blocking them out of point-scoring positions.

"We just couldn't get the opportunity to take a lot of shots," Cullen said. "It cost us the game that we weren't getting the space to play to our strength."

But despite a strong front from the opposition, the Demons managed to sneak plenty through with Cullen, Mick Duncan and Adam O'Callaghan being the major point scorers of the game.

The massive crowd that turned up to support the home team at the "Demon Dome" on Saturday night helped push the team through to its commanding position at half time.

"The crowd was fantastic, one of the best we've ever had," Cullen said.

"They certainly helped us get back in the game but they just couldn't get us where we needed to be in the end.

"But they were a great support."