Shepparton Gators hit the court with energy at the weekend, riding the support of their home crowd at Shepparton Sports Stadium.

But just a few hours later, the Swamp had fallen silent.

The atmosphere was more like a wake than a Big V Championship clash, as the home side let crucial points slip in a gut-wrenching loss.

On Sunday afternoon, July 13, Shepparton hosted Camberwell Dragons in a mid-table battle.

The Gators came out on fire, led by the hot hand of sharpshooter Aaron Dolny, who had 21 points in the first half.

Dolny would not score again and, after being down 12, the Dragons came roaring back in the third quarter to grab their first lead since the early going.

After a slow start, star import Ryan Batte began to have his way on the inside as Shepparton tried to wrestle back control of the game.

After scoring a few times in the post, Shepparton went right back to the American forward, Batte backing down his defender to try and get a look at the basket.

This time, the Dragon anticipated the contact and fell to the ground off the bump from Batte.

In a controversial call, the referee viewed this as an offensive foul, resulting in not just a turnover, but Batte being sent to the bench for the final minutes after fouling out.

Camberwell’s Sean Conway continued to hit tough shots down the stretch, scoring a game high 37 points, fuelling the comeback.

In the final minute, Shepparton had two opportunities to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Down one, an errant possession led to Kiwi point guard Josh Kooiman forcing up a tough shot that didn’t hit rim, but went out off a Dragon.

Because the ball did not draw iron, the shot clock did not reset, so Shepparton had just two seconds to throw up a prayer.

In a miscommunication, Bryce Brown received the ball at the top of the key seemingly unaware of the clock winding down, leading to a shot clock violation and turnover.

Gators had to foul to get the ball back and Conway missed one of his two free throws, making it a two-point game.

Shepparton had one last chance to either tie or win the game.

Coach Josh Waight drew up a play out of a time out, but unfortunately captain Matt Bartlett lost his footing on a drive to the basket, resulting in another turnover and an agonising defeat for Shepparton, 82-84.

“Those little possessions have probably hurt us all year, just little brain fades at key moments,” Waight said.

“That’s the difference between winning and losing, unfortunately.”

As frustrating as the final minute was, Waight felt the team lost the game in the margins, pointing out that in a two-point game, Shepparton was outscored by double digits in second-chance points (points scored after a missed shot by the attacking team).

These extra efforts from Camberwell and miscommunications on the defensive end for Shepparton was ultimately the difference between the two sides.

“We’ve shown all year that we can play really good basketball and compete with anyone, but unfortunately, we just don’t do it for four quarters,” Waight said.

“We have good patches, but then it drops off.

“We’ve been inconsistent all year and it feels like the same message every week, but it’s the truth and it has put us in a really tough position.

“We need consistency across the full game.

“That’s what we’re still chasing as a group.”

Despite the loss, Brown had an efficient 14 points along with 20 rebounds.

Batte had an all-round game with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Taine Wattie was also impressive in his return from suspension, dropping 17 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Shepparton drops down to sixth place, one spot out of finals and two games behind fifth-placed RMIT.

With four games left, including a game against RMIT, the Gators will need to finish strong if they want to play playoff basketball.

On Saturday, July 19, Shepparton Gators will travel to take on second-placed Hume City away from home in a game that could make or break their season.

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Saturday, 26th August 2023

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