Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles star centre Luke Schenscher gave the best indication yet that he is fully recovered from pre season hip surgery with two stellar showings over the weekend for the club.
The 216cm South Australian product registered 16 points on 7/11 shooting in the Crocs narrow 85-81 loss to the Taipans in Cairns on Friday night.
Luke then backed it up with an MVP performance two nights later at ‘The Swamp’, adding a season-high 22 points and seven rebounds as the Crocs put in a dominant second half display on their way to an 18-point victory.
The Crocs started slowly against the 36ers and some red-hot shooting from the visitors saw them shoot out to a 27-21 quarter time lead. The lead was cut to five by the main break before Schenscher and his teammates found another level in the second half to stroll home to an important win.
After his most productive weekend of the season to date, Luke stressed there are still plenty of areas he needs to improve on and that he was still a long way away from his best.
"Against Cairns I only had a few rebounds, and while I got a few more on Sunday I really want to get that up into double figures. It’s a bit of a relief to be back in form but I always knew it was going to take time and there is still a lot more work I need to do," said Schenscher.
"I’m definitely not there yet, there’s still a long way to go. I just need to keep taking these positive steps and working hard in training every day to improve."
Luke’s impressive 22-point effort came in only 22 minutes on the floor but the talented 29-year-old stressed that he and the Crocs still had a long way to go to being where they want to be.
"It’s a bit of a sweet and sour feeling after that game, I mean it’s always great to get the win but we can’t afford to start game so poorly. Our start was not great and while we’re happy that we won we have still got a lot of work to do and can’t afford to rest on our laurels," said Schenscher.
In some bizarre scheduling from the NBL, the Crocs will take on the Adelaide 36ers again this week, with their trip to the South Australian capital this weekend to be the third time the two teams have met in the past two weeks.
After two solid home wins against the ‘Sixers, the Crocs will be confident of sweeping there season series 3-0 on Sunday at Adelaide Arena. The Crocs run home features several daunting road trips, including trips to New Zealand and Perth, with every remaining game vitally important to the Crocs’ championship aspirations.
The Crocs next game is against the Adelaide 36ers, tipping off at 6:00pm this Sunday 5 February at Adelaide Arena. A delayed broadcast will be shown on One later on that night at 10:40pm.
For live stats of the game visit
The Crocs next home game is their 20th season Birthday Bash Game night against the Cairns Taipans on Friday February 17, with tip-off at 7:30pm at ‘The Swamp’.
Tickets are now on sale for the clash at the Entertainment Centre, call 4771 4000 weekdays 9am - 4:30pm or anytime online at
www.tecc.net.auwww.nbl.com.au or follow the Crocs on Facebook at www.facebook/GoCrocNation
