Tara Murray
The Sunbury Jets are starting to put the pieces together in the Big V men’s state championship division.
With a new coach and new playing group, it was always going to take some time for the group to come together.
On Saturday night, the Jets moved ahead of the ledger, beating the Knox Raiders, 81-76.
Jets coach Nathan Heywood said things were slowly working out each other.
“It was good to get across the line,” he said. “We’ve been building and there’s building stones and goals we’re trying to track at certain points of the season.
“At this point of the season there’s a few areas that need to hone in on.”
Heywood said the focus for the group heading into the game on Saturday night against the Raiders was on the start.
He said the Raiders normally start fast, so they needed to be switched on at both ends of the court.
Heywood was happy after the first break with his side leading at home, 29-18.
From there the match was a lot closer.
The Raiders won the next three quarters, each by two points.
Heywood said they let the Raiders back into the game.
“Our turnovers and the ability for them to score off them, kept them in the game,” he said.
“It’s something that we have to work on.”
Joshua Yorke-Frazer top scored with 26 points to be the star of the night.
Just one other player scored double figures as the Jets shared the load around.
The win against the Raiders was the first game for import Ray Mitchell.
Visa troubles have meant his debut for the Jets took longer than they had been hoping for.
“His first game came against his old side,” Heywood said. “He got to showcase what he can do.
“He’s only had four or five sessions with us and he’s still building on our concepts and he’s only going to be better for the run.”
The Jets now sit in sixth spot with two wins and one loss.
Heywood said this weekend would be a good test of where they are at.
“It’s a tough weekend,” he said. “We play Wyndham and Keysborough and both will be early season tests and see where we are at.
“Wyndham is one of the teams to beat and Keysborough has started well and will also be tough to beat.”
