Geraldton Buccaneers step up without star scorer to seal 10-point victory over Senators

The Geraldton Buccaneers are starting to gain momentum, claiming their third win of the season with a 92-82 victory over the Warwick Senators.

Second-leading point scorer Zac Gattorna was ruled out before the game, but head coach Dayle Joseph said the Buccs were ready for that.

“We knew Zac had been unwell for a couple of days, so we had semi-prepared for him not being around,” he said.

“We had a few guys step up and fill that role pretty well.”

Starting fast was part of the script for the Buccs, who scored the first points of the game and never let the lead go.

“We got off to a good start, it’s always helpful, we put them under pressure early with good stuff at the defensive end,” Joseph said.

“That set us up early and we kept them under 20 points for the quarter.”

In the second quarter Fletcher Klasztorny scored seven straight as the Buccs roared to a 21-point lead.

The Senators cut the gap all the way, and were only six points behind in the fourth quarter.

But Buccs stars Shaun Stewart and Malik Meunier made sure the lead never got away from them, with 13 points between them in the final quarter to seal the win.

Meunier backed up last week’s performance with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, with Joseph saying he was beginning to have the impact they would like.

“He was probably a bit quiet our first two games, I thought he had a little bit more left to offer, he has responded the last two games,” he said.

“A lot of teams have high praise for Malik, so he has got a bit to carry forward week in and week out.

“He probably didn’t shoot that well from the perimeter, but the way he got to the rack was awesome.”

With Gattorna out, Klasztorny stepped up and impressed, finishing with 19 points, 13 boards, three assists and two steals.

“Fletcher probably played one of his better games since moving to Geraldton,” Joseph said.

“Fletch is a very good player … the way he crashed the offensive boards and went hard.”

“In offence he just waited until things came his way … hopefully we can see more of that moving forward.”

Stewart had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The fourth-placed Buccs take on the sixth-placed Eastern Suns at home on Saturday, and will look to keep things rolling.

“I’m pretty sure Zac will be back,” Joseph said. “We’ll have a look at some video stuff during the week and see where we can find some weaknesses in the Suns defensive structure and take advantage of them.”