Buccs rue ‘missed opportunity’

The coach of the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers says the club missed a big opportunity when it bowed out of the 2016 SBL finals series.

Aaron Trahair said the players were hurting after the nailbiting 92-86 semifinal loss to the Cockburn Cougars on Saturday night, but he was confident the next generation would keep the Buccs competitive in coming years.

Trahair said it was too early to know whether he would continue in his role next year but thanked the fans for their support.

“We’ve got to go away and reflect, so once the dust settles we’ll have a clearer thought process on what our real achievements were but the wound is still fresh at the moment,” he said.

“I think a few of the local guys really stepped up this year with Alex Ducas and Charles Thurkle coming a long way in a short period of time.

“Obviously, I’m still extremely disappointed we haven’t gone further because I believe we missed a big opportunity, but we can’t change that now.”

Despite a strong start by the Buccs, the Cougars pounced late in the second term to clinch a five-point buffer heading into the major break.

The third quarter was an arm-wrestle, setting the scene for an epic final term, with the Buccs down by two points at the change.

The Cougars came out firing, with point guard Najee Lane (28 points, 16 rebounds) cleaning up multiple rebounds and providing a steady flow of second-chance points.

With an 11-point deficit and five minutes remaining, the Buccs looked lost at sea before an inspiring comeback was forged, thanks to some clean shooting from Jackson Hussey and Carter Cook.

With less than two minutes left, a Hussey jump shot tied up the game.

From there, Cockburn used their big bodies to drive to the bucket, drawing multiple fouls and jamming up the Buccs’ momentum.

A final free throw from Cockburn big man Marcus Goode ended the Buccs’ hopes of taking the series to game 3.

Trahair praised his side’s defensive effort but said Cockburn’s clean-up work at the net was the deciding factor.

“I thought defensively we did a good job but the thing that really killed us was giving up 26 offensive rebounds,” he said.

“We gave them too many opportunities to score and they had 100 shots for the game, which is a ridiculously large amount.”

Maurice Barrow (15 rebounds, 12 points) led the charge defensively for the Buccs, with Hussey (27 points) and Cook (25 points) making an impact on the scoreboard.

But it was Goode’s (29 points) imposing 208cm frame and pinpoint accuracy that hurt the Buccs most.