Buccs build a home fortress

Another week, another home win for the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers.

Led by new recruits Mo Barrow (32 points, 13 rebounds) and Mat Adekponya (30 points, nine rebounds, four steals) the Buccs built a healthy advantage in the first half before holding the highly-rated Stirling Senators at bay to record a 96-87 victory — their fourth in a row at home this season.

However, while the final margin appeared comfortable, the Buccs didn’t have it all their own way.

Starting point guard Beau Samuelson went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return, while a late Senators charge had them within striking distance with just under a minute left to play.

But the Buccs held firm and a dagger three from Adekponya killed off the contest and sent the crowd at Activewest Stadium into a frenzy.

Coach Aaron Trahair said both sides got a little bit scrappy in the second half but was pleased with the overall effort of his players in what was a physical game.

Key players Barrow and Adekponya scored the bulk of the Buccs’ points, but Trahair said he was just as impressed with their defensive efforts on the night.

“Mat and Mo were fantastic last night at both ends of the court,” he said.

“Offensively (Barrow) was really good, but defensively to restrict Cody Ellis to 11 points was outstanding.

“For the most part the boys have been looking after the ring and protecting the paint really well and having big Mat (Wundenberg) in there has made a really big difference as well.”

Wundenberg only scored two points, but the captain brought down a game-high 16 rebounds and put his body on the line with numerous hustle plays and defensive efforts.

“He’s had a couple of weeks under his belt now so he’s starting to get a little bit of touch back and he really anchors us down at the defensive end,” Trahair said.

“The majority of the things he does don’t come up on the stats sheet, but he leads by example and is a big physical beast down there that makes things incredibly difficult for opposing teams.”