Seymour Blasters are on the cusp of locking in a finals berth in the Country Basketball League North East Men competition following a hard-fought win over Albury Cougars at the weekend.

Returning to the court for round six following a bye last weekend, the Blasters travelled to Lauren Jackson Sports Centre in Albury to take on the third-placed Cougars, clinching a 78-75 victory to earn some breathing room in second spot on the ladder.

From the tip-off it looked as though the round five bye had re-energised the Blasters, who made a hot start to the contest, adding six points unanswered either side of Albury’s first score to lead 12-3 midway through the opening quarter.

The home side would fight back late, however, drawing back within one point with the final score of the quarter, a three-pointer just before the buzzer, although it was Seymour ahead 20-19 as the two sides went into the huddle.

Albury had the momentum, however, and quickly found the front for the first time in the game as the second quarter began, scoring 13 of the first 17 points to race out to a 32-24 advantage as the Blasters stalled.

Jesse Brock and Tyler Best would do the majority of the scoring for the rest of the quarter, however, with a Best three-ball tying the scores at 35 apiece with just over a minute remaining in the half, although Albury snuck ahead with a three of its own to leave the Blasters trailing 35-38 at the main break.

After the two sides emerged from the half time interval, it was advantage Seymour, with the Blasters wresting back the momentum and the lead within the opening two minutes of the third quarter.

The two sides traded scores for a few minutes, the lead never exceeded two points either way, yet back-to-back scores from Seymour to first tie the match, then go ahead, handed the Blasters what seemed to be a match-winning lead.

From 51-49, the Blasters forged ahead, building a 64-57 advantage by the final change courtesy of a 29-19 third term, and looked to have found the match-winning break.

But as had happened throughout the first three quarters, there was a violent momentum swing to start the fourth, with Albury putting up the first eight points to snatch back a one-point lead with just over two minutes played.

Seymour would answer back with 11 of the next 15 points to reinstate the seven-point advantage, however, which proved to be enough to hold on, even with a late Albury charge whittling the final margin down to three points.

Best and William Stewart led the way on the score sheet for Seymour, piling on 25 and 22 points, respectively, with 15 of Stewart’s points coming in the third term to help give the Blasters the edge going into the last, while Brock (8 points), Jordan Hockley (7 points) and Harry Stones (7 points) all chipped in with valuable contributions.

The win leaves Seymour (5-1) on 16 points in second spot with four games remaining, meaning the Blasters will secure 20 points for the season at a minimum with one point awarded for a loss, which has them right on the cusp of a finals berth.

Either a win from any of the four remaining games or a loss to fifth-placed Wodonga (14 points, two games remaining) will clinch the post-season spot for the Blasters, who have the chance to challenge for top spot against the undefeated Wallan this Saturday.

It is a slightly more complicated road to the finals series for the Blasters women, who suffered an 11-point loss at the weekend against an undefeated Albury, however, they remain in a solid position in fourth spot on the ladder.

Despite winning the second half by a point, a slow start and a 12-point half-time deficit meant the Blasters went down 48-59 against the Cougars, with Alex Martorella and Chloe Dimkopoulos adding 13 and 10 points, respectively, in a solid showing against the unbeaten ladder leaders.

A win this weekend against fifth-placed Wallan would almost certainly secure the final spot in the post-season for Seymour, as it would leave the Blasters three games and percentage clear of the Panthers with three games remaining.

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Monday, 6th March 2028

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