Heat humbles hapless Warriors

ANY confidence the Maccabi Warriors might have had following its first win of the season two weeks ago was in tatters on the weekend, the side copping an almighty hiding at the hands of defending champs Mildura 88-40.

Missing leading scorer Jason Conway and a host of other starters, a drastically under-manned Maccabi experienced first hand the form that has seen the Heat win a staggering 37 of its past 38 matches.

The loss sees the Warriors rooted firmly to the bottom of the ladder, a game behind seventh place with just one win from seven starts so far this season.

The Warriors were able to keep pace with the Heat throughout the first quarter, even holding the lead briefly at 15-14, combining strong defence with an even offence.

The Warriors again matched it with Mildura in the second term, and at the break were just 13 points in arrears.

The second half, however, was a slaughter, with the Warriors unable to sustain a concentrated effort. The visitors were swamped by Mildura’s big men and continuous rotation of fresh players – luxuries Maccabi did not have. The Warriors conceded a whopping 35-point deficit in the second half, Mildura piling on 50 points and restricting the Warriors to a paltry 15.

Mildura’s star American import Jermaine Williams had 22 points in just 32 minutes of action, and Brent Symons lead Mildura’s domination down low with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Twenty turnovers and a pitiful 24 per cent shooting from the field told the dispiriting story. Standouts were Adam Klas, who has started to find form after a return from ankle surgery, and Warriors game MVP Benji Tamir, who finished with 17 points (8-16 FG) and 10 rebounds.

The side will welcome back a raft of big names in James Tsun, Eric Wichtel and Conway for next week’s game against McKinnon, which will see the side at full strength for the first time in 2011.

The Warriors play McKinnon on Sunday at 1.30pm at Bialik Stadium.

ADAM BLAU