Lawson Park took out the 2016 A Grade Men’s basketball title downing defending champions Crystal Clear Rams 52-44 in the Mudgee Basketball Association grand final on Sunday.
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It was another epic battle between the long time rivals and a reversal of last year’s decider result.
Blowes Player of the Match, Justin Howden, scored first for Lawson Park and after a few missed shots Anthony Hamson got Crystal Clear on the board with two free shots.
As expected with these combatants it was a close match throughout, with Lawson Park leading 11-9 at the end of the first quarter and keeping them at bay until the big break outscoring them 11-8 in the second quarter.
Crystal Clear seemed to struggle to lift to the level they were at last Monday night when they overcame minor premiers Mayso’s Pro Shop to qualify for the grand final.
The Rams also weren’t helped by Ben Edmunds not appearing to be at his best having injured his ankle the previous game, he only scored four points where he would normally contribute around 20 even against the likes of Lawson Park.
Even though the score was close in the third quarter Lawson Park dominated, winning it 16-12, giving them a 38-29 lead after the final break.
Appearing to have the game in hand all Lawson Park had to do in the last quarter was to continue on as they were.
Crystal Clear were unable to make any head way in closing the gap, even though they did outscore them 15-14 in the final quarter, the buffer Lawson Park had established was too much to overcome.
Most Valuable Player Howden and Chris Spinner led the way for Lawson Park in the point scoring, collecting 13 points each, while Jordan Woolmer and Matt Purtell scored eight apiece, and Clinton Wilkie seven.
While Howden was named the winner of the Blowes MVP award, Spinner and Woolmer also played particularly well for the champions and their two big men – Purtell and Wilkie – did quite a bit of damage too.
For Crystal Clear Rams points scorers were Anthony Hamson scored 15, Steve Consadine 13, John Close and Blake Joseph six each, and Edmunds four.
As the numbers suggest, Hamson was their best with some good work by Close and Consadine as well.
For the women’s and men’s B Grade grand finals, see Page 23.