Buccs shake off poor road form

Two stellar performances in Perth over the weekend have helped the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers shake off their recent poor form away from home.

Before Saturday’s game, Buccs had a 1-3 record on the road despite creating a fortress back home at Activewest Stadium.

Led by Matthew Adekponya, the Buccs proved they are one of the in-form teams of the SBL, holding off Perry Lakes Hawks (106-90) and Stirling Senators (112-105).

Adekponya poured in 39 points against Senators on Sunday, finding plenty of scoreboard support in Carter Cook (21 points) and Aaron Ralph (28 points) off the bench.

Ralph’s sixth-man efforts from outside the arc were the deciding factor against Stirling, nailing eight three-pointers from 13 shots.

Buccs captain Mat Wundenberg continued his recent form with another menacing display in defence racking up 10 rebounds.

Senators’ danger man Cody Ellis picked holes in Buccs’ defensive structure on his way to 29 points with Karl Lindbergh notching a double-double for his side.

Despite a late comeback and an even spread of scorers across Stirling’s squad, Buccs played out the game.

While Mo Barrow was kept quiet against Stirling he led the charge against Hawks with 25 points, but it was an inspiring 20-rebound display from Wundenberg that ensured Buccs were given second and third chances at both ends of the court.

Coach Aaron Trahair praised the work rate of his captain but said there were still areas of Buccs’ game that needed to be improved.

“He was outstanding again even though he got into a little foul trouble throughout the game,” he said.

“We were a lot better this time but we were still down by double figures in both games so that’s something we’ll have to address.”

Perry Lakes got the jump on Buccs on Saturday and consolidated on their lead until the third period.

Barrow caught fire early in the final term landing three unanswered field goals and intercepting a wayward pass from Hawks point guard Matthew Sellers to set up Carter Cook for the lead.

Next week the historic rivalry between Buccs and South West Slammers will hit Activewest Stadium on Saturday.

The Slammers will arrive in Geraldton with plenty to prove after a poor start to their 2016 SBL campaign.