The Sunbury Jets’ best performance of the Big V division 1 season earned them a 29-point win over Melbourne University on Sunday afternoon.
After trailing at quarter-time, the Jets turned it on defensively, shutting down the Black Angels and capitalising in attack.
Jets coach Andrew Summerville said the win, their fifth in seven games, represented a mission accomplished for Sunday’s game.
“We’re happy with how the boys played,” he said.
“We had some targets we set before the match and we achieved them all. I’m pretty confident that when we do that we’re going to win.”
The decision to switch from man-on-man to a zone defence proved a winner.
“We really struggled to guard them man on man, which was disappointing,” Summerville said.
“We played that way the whole first quarter and just couldn’t find our rhythm … we were fouling and guys weren’t committing to structures.
“At quarter-time, we went to zone and that was the difference … we were able to gather some momentum and get some stops [at the defensive end] and get our running and attacking going.”
The tactical move opened the game up, with the Jets restricting the Black Angels’ scoring in the third and fourth quarters.
With the win all but sealed, the Jets bench got some good minutes on court in the last term.
Four players reached double figures for the Jets in a well-rounded scoring game – something Summerville knows is essential.
He said the scoring feats extended beyond the usual contributions of Ish Sanders and Mitch Newton.
“They still scored well, but we had other guys like Jeremy Wragg and Kade Marra getting on the scoresheet.
“They [Sanders and Newton] can’t be perfect every week and if they’re having an off game we need other people to step up.
“In games we’ve won we’ve had those others step up. In some of the ones we’ve lost, I think we’ve relied on [Sanders and Newton] too much,”
Wragg played his first game for the season and impressed at both ends of the court.
“He really prepared himself for the start today,” Summerville said. “He was here late last night getting shots up and he deserved to start.”
The win was the Jets’ fifth, placing them eighth on the ladder, to go with five losses.
“We had a disrupted start to the season, but I think we’re slowly coming into form,” the coach added.
“We’re not going to win every game … we’ve just got to keep winning the ones we’re meant to win and steal a couple of the others.
“I’m pretty proud of where we’re at.”
