Pair of defeats for Pirates in round one

The first game was much closer than the second, with Wallan’s first-quarter blitz proving the difference in an otherwise close encounter.

The Panthers took at 17-27 advantage into the first break before the Pirates turned it on in the second period, going tit-for-tat with Wallan but unable to cut down the lead.

Echuca’s Joey Mizzi was the standout in the match, his 26-point game led all Pirates in scoring, with Keoni Anderson the next best with 12.

The Pirates managed to outscore the Panthers in the third term 23-21 to cut the lead to 10 before knocking another point off Wallan’s advantage down the stretch but unable to catch-up.

The final score was 87-78.

After a tight first quarter against Seymour the following day, the Blasters pulled away in the second and third quarters to blow out the Pirates by 31 points.

Echuca had a minor 13-15 deficit at quarter time, but Seymour got busy in the lead-up to half-time, with a barrage of threes outscoring the Pirates 27-15 to take a 14-point lead into the main break.

Dylan Payne (12) was the only Pirate to hit double digits in scoring for the match with Seymour’s Tyler Best lead all scoring with a 20-point game.

While the Blasters’ lead only continued to grow through the remainder of the match, Echuca stuck to its task, being outscored by eight in the third and nine in the fourth to go down 85-54.

The Pirates will have an opportunity to steady the ship in round two, playing the Blasters again in Seymour at 7pm on Saturday.