When the Ballarat Subaru Miners head to Brisbane this Saturday they face a much stronger side than the one they beat earlier this month.

The May 4th encounter saw Matt Hanson dominate with 27 points and 16 rebounds supported by 17 points from Anthony Fisher and 13 points, 13 assists from Shaun Bruce. Scott Kenny was the Spartans’ best with 21 points but lacked strong support.Since then the Spartans have won all three games against tough opponents; Dandenong, Albury-Wodonga and Kilsyth. Import Zach Henifin has come alive for Brisbane, averaging 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in those three wins – a big improvement on the 10 points, four rebounds and six assists he delivered against the Miners.

The Spartans remain at the bottom of the ladder with four wins and seven losses but are desperate to win in front of their home crowd.

The Ballarat Subaru Miners found the chemistry they’ve lacked to snatch a win from a full strength Knox Raiders. Saturday’s final score at the WIN Minerdome was 84-81.

Shaun Bruce and Lucas Walker were phenomenal in the win where Ballarat recovered from a 13 point deficit in the final term. Bruce had 12 points in the last quarter including seven free throws from seven attempts, and a three pointer to put the Miners in front with 29 seconds left in the game.

Walker dominated with a game-high 12 rebounds to go with his 17 points and four assists, but delivered the most value with his poise late in the fourth quarter. Knox applied immense pressure to every defensive situation and where Ballarat struggled to find open players, Walker used his athleticism to receive the ball, his awareness to dribble into space, and his strength to draw fouls and maintain possession.

Auslec Ballarat Rush defied the odds to hand the Knox Lady Raiders their first loss on Saturday at the WIN Minerdome, 82-81.

Kristy Rinaldi and Alice Kunek led the charge as per usual with 22 and 21 points respectively but youngster Sophie Alexander was the star. Alexander finished with 16 points on seven of eight shot attempts, eight rebounds including four at the offensive end, and three assists.

The Ballarat Subaru Miners need to beat Knox this Saturday at the WIN Minerdome to prove that they are worthy of their first finals appearance since 2006.

Inconsistency has troubled the Miners despite a roster full of talent - six players average more than 10 points per game. Matt Hanson continues to dominate under the basket with 22 points and 13 rebounds per game, and receives good help on the boards from Keena Young, Lucas Walker and Chris Smith. Shaun Bruce does well to feed his comrades, averaging a league second-best 7.2 assists per game.