Country Basketball League live stream: Colac Kookas facing stiff challenge from Mt Gambier Lakers

The Lakers have made an emphatic statement on the eve of the Country Basketball League’s Christmas break. Re-watch every minute of their win over the Colac Kookas.

Christmas has come early in Mount Gambier.

The Lakers completed a perfect road trip on Sunday, to head into the Christmas break on top of the Country Basketball League south-west ladder.

While they were slow out of the blocks, the Lakers hit top gear in the second term and never looked back as they cruised to a 122-70 victory over the Colac Kookas.

RE-WATCH THE MATCH WITH OUR EXCLUSIVE REPLAY ABOVE

It made it two-from-two for the weekend after the Mount Gambier side had dispatched of Surfcoast Chargers on Saturday as part of their two-game Round 12 road trip.

Led by a sizzling back court of Simon Berkefeld (32 Points), Toby de Wit (23 Points) and Ben Young (25 Points), the Lakers could not be stopped from all parts of the floor.

The resurgent Kookas, who had won two on the trot leading into Round 12, attempted to fight back in the final term, but couldn’t make up the 40-point difference from three-quarter time.

The Hall brothers, Mitchell (12) and Brady (10), led the scoring for the home side.

The Lakers now sit one win clear of Ariat Redbacks at the top of the southwest men’s leader with the competition returning to action on January 8.

PREVIEW: Resurgent Colac determined to finish the year on a high

Colac is embracing every challenge thrown its way in the Country Basketball League this season.

Long-term injuries to key players have seen the Kookas’ young guns thrown into the deep end in the South West Men’s conference.

But the core group of up-and-coming players has proven they’re more than up for the challenge propelling their side to a 5-8 record and sixth position on the ladder.

Colac's Matt Lloyd is an important player.

And this weekend, they’ll face another huge test in the form of Mt Gambier who sit second on the ladder with nine wins from 11 outings.

In the last meeting between the two sides, the Lakers ran out 30-point winners.

Colac coach Bruce Hultgren is confident his side are up for the challenge.

“Mt Gambier are loaded with NBL1 talent but we’re still going to go out there and throw everything at them,” he said.

“With the challenges we’ve had this season, we had to adjust our goals early, but we’re about where we expected to be.

“To the boys’ credit, they’ve stepped up in the last month and played some really good basketball, especially our last two games that we’ve won.

“We’re trying to transition our young guys from role players to leaders of the team. That usually takes years, we’re trying to do it in a matter of weeks.

“With the improvement we’ve shown in the last few weeks, I couldn’t be happier with this group.”

The Kookas will look to the likes of Jared Boyce and Matthew Lloyd this weekend to carry the load offensively, with the pair both enjoying fantastic seasons.

Kane de Wit has a three-point whiz this season.

Mitch Hall and Jamieson Hultgren have also shown the ability to swing a game in their side’s favour.

“Sunday is our last home game so we want a big finish,” Hultgren said.

“Hopefully we can try and put on a show for our home crowd.”

Mt Gambier possesses two of the most prolific scorers in the South West conference.

Simon Berkefeld is averaging well over 20 points a game while Kane de Wit has established himself as one of the league’s best three-point shooters this season, having scored the second most of any player.