THE Hamilton Hurricanes were back on the court for a Country Basketball League (CBL) round three clash against Horsham on Sunday, going down by 34 points at HILAC.

The home side had typically been strong starters so far this season but was unable to match the output of the Hornets, going into quarter time trailing by 15 points.

With just 12 points to their name, the Hurricanes needed to get rolling, but Horsham’s dominance continued in the second period and put up 30 points while keeping Hamilton to just seven, to go into the main break with a 57-19 lead.

The long break gave the locals a chance to work through things and the players came out looking like a different group.

They hit their shots far more regularly, while the increased pressure saw the Hornets miss at the other end and the Hurricanes started to build confidence.

Coming from so far back, the home side was always unlikely to bridge the gap, but the Hurricanes outscored Horsham by 10 in the third term, before eventually going down, 71-105 at the final buzzer.

Josh Miller continued his impressive start to the CBL season, putting up 26 points, including three maximums, while Joel Le Roy offered support with 14 points.

Hurricanes co-coach, Scott Miller said he was proud of the way the team fought back after a tough first half.

“It was very impressive, it can go two ways and the boys looked a bit deflated at quarter time and I think we were down 38 at half time and think we’d only shot 19,” he said.

“Some of the leaders were up and about during the break, and we actually came out and won the second half.

“The first two games we came out and shot well early, but we came out and couldn’t hit any of our shots and they couldn’t miss.

“I was just trying to encourage them to stay in the game, Horsham won it two years ago and got knocked out in the prelim last year, so we know they are good.

“Our third quarter has been our downfall so far, and that was our best quarter on Sunday.”

Morgan Newns came into the side to add some size to the squad, with James Cleaver and Sam Brewer missing Sunday’s clash.

Newns was an important inclusion, with the Hornets’ big bodies doing damage across the court.

“I think their three bigs shot 40 odd points,” Miller said.

“Morgan has played before, at 6’ 7” he was handy and used all five fouls, and although he wasn’t dominant in the scoring, he was a presence for us.”

Miller also acknowledged the contributions of Miller and Le Roy, and the example they both set during the contest.

“Josh had six of our first 12 points, then came out and shot 20 in the second half,” he said.

“He played big minutes, him and Joel were massive.

“Joel would have nearly had 20 rebounds.”

The full squad got minutes again, and with two more home games across the next two weeks, the Hurricanes will continue to enjoy familiar surroundings.

“We played all 11 players on the weekend again, some of these guys are in it to learn and they are coming off the bench and knocking shots down,” Miller said.

“The same core group are getting to training each week.”

Hamilton will return to HILAC for another home game, this time against Millicent in round four action on Sunday.