A TWO-faced Altona Gators was on the receiving end of a disappointing 80-66 loss to Warrandyte Venom in the Big V Basketball men’s division 1.
The Gators started like a house on fire, racing to a commanding 15-point lead by half-time.
They had it all their own way in the first half, shooting above 55% in the half.
John Wilkinson (16 points and seven rebounds), Shaun Phelan (16 points and five rebounds), Matthew Jon (14 points) and Joey Mausar (10 points and five assists) led the Venom a merry dance in the first half.
But it all unravelled for the Gators after half-time.
Where they had previously been shutting out the Venom offence, they began leaking points at an alarming rate.
The healthy shooting percentages they enjoyed spiralled out of control and the Gators could not buy a basket in the last two periods.
It wound up a heavy loss for the Gators and one that will put their Terril group top-four berth at risk.
The Gators need to re-group quickly with a tough double header against Southern Peninsula away on Saturday night and Geelong Supercats at home on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the two steps forward, one step back season of the Altona Gators continues in the Big V women’s division 1.
The Gators suffered a severe blow to their confidence with a 90-60 loss to Latrobe City Energy on their home court at Altona Sports Centre on Sunday.
Too much was left to too few for the Gators with Katrina Vogelezang (20 points), Ashley Patterson (15) and Jayne-Maree Sant (12) the stand outs.
