Stars shine as AIC Basketball season 2022 tips-off with impressive performances
Dominant double-doubles, hot shooting from beyond the arc and leaders setting the tone - see who the top performers in the opening weekend of AIC Basketball season were.
South East
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Dominant double-doubles, hot shooting from beyond the arc and leaders setting the tone for the season - the AIC Basketball season for 2022 is officially underway.
And after some impressive team and individual performances on opening weekend, The Courier-Mail has revealed the top performers from round one of the season.
See how the first games for each school went and who starred for their respective teams.
AIC BASKETBALL ROUND 1 SCORES
VILLA 82 def IONA 59
SPLC 76 def PADUA 65
SEC 58 def SPC 54
SLC 48 def ASH 33
St Edmund’s College
The Eddies’ Firsts secured a hard-fought victory to start the AIC season and keep their momentum rolling. The team came into the game confident and aggressive and were matched by a physical St Pat’s side, keen to disrupt the game.
After a nervy first quarter, the Eddies’ men started to grow a solid lead that they were able to maintain for the rest of the match.
Brodie Bettiens and Sam Caprioli showed great poise, stuffing the stat sheet and contributing to the score board when it mattered. A strong second half cemented the win—Nathan May leading the way finishing with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
Padua College
A return to the Padua Eagles nest for the first AIC fixture of 2022 saw Padua First V take on the highly respected SPLC First V.
Historically the two teams have battled it out in close and physical encounters with Padua eventual winners in 2021 in the dying seconds.
This year saw Padua decimated before the tip off with head Coach Tim Merrett struck down with Covid as with several other team members made unavailable.
The highlight of the match was the potential matchups of Padua’s power houses Jai Creed and Tom Morgan combatting the influence of SPLC’s two twin towers Cooper Rowlings and Kye Van Beest.
Roles given to Padua’s bigs excellently led by Elliott Pittman were able to contain Rowlings in the first quarter whilst rotating defence from Creed and Morgan thwarted Van Beests efforts.
Foul trouble was plentiful for Padua in the first and second with key players in trouble where Rawlings and Van Beest got loose.
The score bounced back and forth where Padua thanks to some superb shooting and creativity by Creed and fantastic defence by Morgan.
But the gap was not able to be brought back with SPLC eventual winners by 11pts.
Padua’s best were:
Creed: Creed had five three pointers, and a feast of rebounds, steals, assists and points.
Morgan: Morgan played excellent lockdown defence and ran team plays.
Pittman: Pittman role played to perfection with his rebounding, blocking and scoring.
Mansfield: Mansfield was huge as a back up big with some great one percenters for the team.
St Laurence’s College
Tomas Koko: Koko provided a huge spark from the bench with his energised defence and two straight three pointers to close out the third quarter.
Nithesh Thayabaran: in a low scoring game Nithesh was a constant source of energy on both ends. His ability to slowly keep the scoreboard ticking over was crucial in a hard fought game.
St Patrick’s College
The St Patrick’s College First V took on a traditionally strong St. Edmund’s College at Ipswich. A St. Patrick’s first quarter lead was quickly erased in the second and third quarters by a well drilled press and strong offensive rebounding led by St. Edmund’s Nathan May.
The St. Patrick’s First V rallied in the 4th quarter and pegged back a 15 point deficit to lose only by four points. This fourth quarter comeback was lead by the captain, Eli Avci who scored 12 points and 10 rebounds in the final term.
Marist College Ashgrove
Paul Strachotta handled the ball well in a low scoring game where Ashgrove went down to St Laurence’s College.
With a few tough drives to the basket early Strachotta got his team on the board as shots weren’t falling for Ashgrove.
A tough three as the shot clock wound down saw the momentum shift to Ashgrove but it wasn’t enough to get the result against a strong Lauries’ team.
Iona College
Iona began their AIC campaign against 2021 premiers, Villanova. Iona gained a lot of firepower and depth with the additions of Zane Macrea and Jack Van Veen joining the program.
The game was a tale of two halves. A back and forth seesawing game in the first half saw Iona demonstrate their ability to score buckets in quick succession.
Villanova took over in the second half as foul trouble and turnovers proved costly against the 2022 AIC favourites.
Iona’s standouts:
Zane MacRea. MacRea’s scoring prowess and silky finishes in transition kept Iona in the game. His scoring ability will prove troublesome for other Colleges.
Gabriel Lohmann: Lohmann’s hard work and defensive intensity thoroughly impressed the coaching staff. He will be a spark plug off the bench for the entire season.
Robert Hinkler: Hinkler’s versatility on both ends of the court proved a handful at times. His athleticism and ability to run the floor as a big man will give Iona success throughout the season.
St Peters Lutheran College
SPLC’s standouts:
Cooper Rowlings: With 25 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, Rowlings was impressive. He had a dominant defensive game, disrupting the Padua offence which led to fast break points.
He was a force in the paint finishing through traffic in the half court, including some thunderous dunks in transition.
Kye Van Beest: With 23 points, four rebounds, and three steals Van Beest was brilliant. He scored at will with his signature smooth offensive game, getting into the paint and finishing through contact.
He was disruptive in the mid court and was able to force turnovers.
Villanova College
Villanova’s Standout: Joey Wilson
First XV rugby star Joey Wilson showed why he is a four year First V player and captain on Saturday with 39 points against an Iona outfit that came to play taking the lead into the first break.
His craftiness and finesse was on full display at home to a packed Goold Hall as the Queensland representative showed why he is a threat from anywhere over halfway, knocking down multiple threes to give the green and gold a comfortable 23 point victory.
AIC Basketball Round 2 Draw
SPLC v VILLA
SPC v IONA
PADUA v SLC
ASH v SEC
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