Geraldton basketball round 7: Ralph’s shooting keeps Chapman Valley’s undefeated streak rolling

Chapman Valley keep rolling through the league after taking down second side the Olympians by 15 points and moving to 7-0 in the men’s division one of the Geraldton Basketball Association. The top two teams clashed on Tuesday and the game was close with both sides tied early. With four minutes left in the opening quarter, the Valley went on a run and scored 12 unanswered points to end the first term. Aaron Ralph was on early for the side with five first quarter three-pointers. After letting the Valley go on a scoring run, the Olympians turned around and went off on their own to start the second term, as Shaedan Edwards and Richard Bartlett quickly put points on the board. Valley were forced to call a time-out after Quinton Narkle for the Olympians made it a one-point game. Mathew Wundenberg went down the court for Valley to score, but Johny Narkle scored just as quickly for the Olympians. Momentum shifted back in Chapman Valley’s favour, as their defensive pressure and scoring helped build their lead up to 11 at the halfway mark. The game pulled away in the third term, as Ralph’s heat checks couldn’t miss and the Olympians had no response. Chapman Valley came away with the 84-69 win, and Aaron Ralph had the hot hand as he scored 33 points which came from 11 threes. Quinton Narkle scored 21 points for the Olympians while Bartlett also had 17 points in the loss. The Wednesday slate started with the Pumas picking up a 23-point win over the Trades, who couldn’t put together four quarters against a tough opponent. It looked to be a highly competitive game early, with just two points separating the sides to end the first term and the Trades managed to take the lead early in the second. The Pumas managed to take back the lead with back-to-back scoring from William Galvin and Flynn Dillon, but a Lachlan Morphew pick and roll got them back ahead. Defensive breakdowns for the Trades let the Pumas score unanswered to get ahead and pull away with a 13-point lead at the half. The Pumas begin to run away with the game in the second half, and a late comeback from the Trades wasn’t enough as the Pumas walked away winning 94-71. The win helps propel them up over the Hawks and move to third on the ladder. Dillon had his best game this season with 28 points for the Pumas and Galvin dropped 24 as well, while Campbell Surtees scored 18 points for the Trades. In the other match, the Hawks got a 95-73 win over Stateside, as the Hawks scoring was too much to keep up with as the side dropped more than 20 each quarter. Ryan Blanchett had 26 points for the Hawks while Stuart Egan was Stateside’s top scorer with 17 points. In men’s division two, Chapman Valley got their second win of the season with a 62-57 victory over the Olympians, Stateside blew out the Hawks 102-59 and the Trades remain undefeated with a 76-55 win over the Pumas.