The Gators previously played Surfcoast in round three, but were dealt significant losses by 28 and 26 points respectively.
Off the back of a hot shooting night from Taine Wattie, the Gators’ men’s outfit delivered a commendable challenge to the second-placed Chargers.
A slow start had the Gators playing catch-up across the night, initially down 11 at quarter-time, but plenty of heart and resilience was on show at Wurdi Baierr Stadium.
Wattie (28 points), Joseph Allen (14 points) and Samuel Hawkins (13 points) led a third-quarter charge that saw the Gators win the term by six points, before halving the contest in the last with strong shooting from inside the paint and mid-range.
The 12-point loss at the final buzzer, 89-77, is a 16-point turn around in differential compared to round three’s result, indicating the growth in the new-look Gators squad Shepparton has witnessed this season.
In the women’s, the Gators copped a knock on the chin, but will roll on to round 13 with some positives from the result.
Besides a second-quarter lapse which saw the Gators struggle offensively, Shepparton paced evenly alongside Surfcoast for most of the match, including the first and third quarters where it was outscored by one point both times.
The Gators would record a 66-46 loss, but it is a six-point improvement on the last outing against the Chargers.
Tan Fung Ma’s 19 points top scored for the girls in red, while Regina Sarrubo had seven rebounds.
Shepparton returns to the Swamp to host Blackburn in the men and women’s for a Shepparton Sports Stadium double-header tipping off at 5pm on Saturday.
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