As Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers coach Mark Heron left the change room after addressing his players post-game, and when asked what happened in the second half he said “have you see Space Jam?”.

He said, jokingly, a bit of “Hezza’s special stuff” was to credit for the Buccs’ remarkable second half turn around.

It would not surprise because something happened in the change room during half-time.

Geraldton found it hard to make shots consistently in the first half before a third quarter explosion sparked their 108-102 win over Lakeside on Saturday night.

Down 58-49, Geraldton played arguably their best quarter on the back of disruptive defence they turned the deficit into a 82-75 lead at the final change.

A Jerrah Young slam dunk with three minutes to go in the third term put the Buccs up 72-70, they did not trail after that.

Carter Cook was the star with 32 points on 13 of 19 shooting.

After the game, Carter said he was not feeling 100%, not that you could tell from the stands.

“I came out flat and half way through the first quarter I was a bit light headed and felt a bit dizzy,” he said.

“They shot the hell out of it, our defence did not change in the second half, they just made a lot of contested shots in the first half.

“This is the reason I came back for another season with the Buccs, well not yet.”

Lakeside’s Brad Tinsley was unstoppable in the first half and despite a quieter second half, finished with 41 points.

Nearly every Geraldton player got a chance to guard him in the first half, but nothing the Buccs did slowed him down.

Intense ball denial from Bennie Lewis and Cook was the catalyst to minimising his influence.

Geraldton’s Young played his best game for the club.

He erased his quiet first half with a blistering third term with his rebounding critical and defensive outstanding.

Captain Mat Wundenberg was also outstanding, limiting the impact of the league’s best rebounder Jarrad Prue.

Prue recorded 20 rebounds, but that reads better than his impact on the game was.

Wundenberg himself had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Article by Taylor Courtland: Geraldton Guardian

Photo by Mick Cronin