THIS weekend will see the Mount Gambier Lakers with a double-header at home in Round 4 of the Country Basketball League South West competition.
The side is set to host the Portland Coasters tomorrow night, which will be followed by a meeting with the Colac Kookas Sunday afternoon.
Riding the high of last week’s triumph over Millicent Magic, the Lakers will be out for more blood as they ready themselves for the action packed weekend.
Kane deWit was a dominant force in the Round 3 match against the Magic, with an impressive 34 points, consisting of five three-point bombs and nine two-pointers, along with a single free throw.
DeWit will be eager to put on another spectacle for his home crowd this week.
Zach deWit was also in form last round, with 15 points to his name, 12 of which came from three-pointers.
He was joined by Sam Stafford, Matthew Berkefeld and Lachlan Atkinson in the double-figure range, which demonstrates the depth of the Mount Gambier side.
Each of these players will likely perform again over the weekend and if their opposition can not find a way to account for some of the hard hitters in the Lakers’ lineup, the hosts will be well on their way to bagging both wins.
Luke Black fell just short of a double-figure score against the Magic, finishing with eight for the match, a slight improvement on his seven-point game in Round 1.
The 17-year-old Atkinson will be one to watch over the weekend and it will be interesting to see if he can back his 11-point tally from the previous round, while Brodie Jolley is another young player for the Lakers who will be out to prove his worth.
And Saturday night will be the perfect chance for these youngsters to shine, as their team hosts a Portland side yet to taste success this year.
The Coasters have played just one game in the 2017-18 season, where they suffered a loss to Colac in Round 1.
In this game, Colac defeated Portland by 28 points, suggesting the Lakers’ match on Saturday will be the appetiser for Sunday’s clash with the Kookas.
With Jackson Dunlop the only player to break into double figures for Portland in the opening round, the team will need to find some more contributors if it is to keep pace with the Lakers.
However, anything could happen when the Coasters take to the Icehouse tomorrow.
In comparison, Colac has reaped a similar level of success to Mount Gambier in the early stages of the season.
With two wins apiece, the Kookas currently sit in top spot, ahead of the Lakers by percentage only.
One reason for this ladder margin is the efforts of high-scorer Lewis Varley.
The Colac star bagged an impressive 37 points in the opening round of 2017-18, which he then backed up with a 29-point tally against the Ararat RedBacks in Round 2.
Varley was joined by Jacob Pupavac (17), Keith Harrison (12) and Darcy Howard (11) as the top scorers in the second round, with each of these players capable of repeating their solid performances on Sunday.
In a game which could go either way, both teams will be looking to their key players to hit hard on the scoreboard, while defenders will have their work cut out for them.
Saturday’s match with Portland will kick off at 7pm, while Sunday’s clash with Colac is set to start at 1pm.
