Basketball
17 November, 2025
Mixed results for Hornets
The Horsham Hornets men’s split their round seven road trip games in the Country Basketball League, defeating Millicent on November 15 before losing a tight encounter to Portland the following day.
The Horsham Hornets men’s split their round seven road trip games in the Country Basketball League, defeating Millicent on November 15 before losing a tight encounter to Portland the following day.
The women’s side recorded losses to both Millicent and Portland, and as a result, is out of the finals race for the 2025 season.
On Saturday night in Millicent, the men’s team overcame a spirited start from the Magic to win 111-71.
Coming into the game in fourth place on the ladder against the eighth-placed Magic, the Hornets led 33-30 in a high-scoring opening quarter.
But a dominant second quarter from Horsham extended the lead to 18 at halftime.
After the home side reduced the deficit to 15 midway through the third quarter, the Hornets stamped their authority on the game, outscoring the Magic 47-22 for the remainder of the game to claim a 40-point victory.
Micah Livingstone led the Hornets with a dominant 34-point performance, with Tarkyn Benbow (16), Mitch Martin (14) and Levi Munyard (14) providing key contributions on the scoreboard.
Hornets coach Scott Benbow was happy to get the road trip started well, acknowledging Tim McCormick’s influence on the Hornets’ dominant second half.
“Micah was outstanding on Saturday night, and I thought Tarkyn was really solid; he shot the ball pretty well,” Benbow said.
“Timmy McCormick, that's the best game that Tim's played for us this season for the Hornets.
“I thought his ball pressure was unreal and that was a big key into what we did in the second half to get us playing our way.”
On Sunday afternoon in Portland, the Horsham side was defeated by the Coasters 101-95 in a hard-fought contest.
After trailing 23-18 at quarter time, the Hornets took a five-point lead in the second quarter, but Portland retook the lead, going up 72-58 late in the third quarter.
The Hornets fought back in the final quarter to make it 95-92 with just under a minute to play before the Coasters held on for the victory.
Captain Mitch Martin led the Hornets with 25 points, with Livingstone (24), Munyard (16) and Cody Bryan (15) also reaching double figures.
Despite the loss, Benbow was proud of the team’s resilience, crediting Martin with leading the fightback.
“I'm really proud of the way the guys fought it out,” Benbow said.
“It was a really, really physical encounter, and there were 53 fouls called for the game.
“Portland made a couple of tough shots to get a double-digit lead, but the guys stuck up and gave themselves a chance.”
“I thought Mitch Martin was outstanding yesterday.
“He really led from the front and just tried to get the game back our way.
“Micah was solid again, even though they had a couple of big guys who put some work into him, plus Cody Bryan was good again as well.”
While still in fourth place, the weekend’s results mean Horsham may need to win one or both of their final round games against Ararat and Mount Gambier to advance to the finals, with Portland and Colac right on their heels.
“We’ll have to learn from that game, and it puts us back in the field now and makes for a challenging weekend ahead, which we will welcome,” Benbow said.
The women’s side travelled without several players, including captain Georgia Hiscock, Jedda Heard and Ilze Van Zyl.
The key outs proved too much for the young Hornets side to overcome on Saturday, as they went down 88-50 to league leaders Millicent.
The Magic dominated the first half to take a 54-18 lead, but a determined Hornets outfit played out a closer second half.
Jorja Clode finished with 19 points, while youngsters Hannah Plazzer and Indy Webb chimed in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lady Hornets carried over their impressive finish early against second-placed Portland on Sunday to take a brief lead in the first quarter.
But the Coasters quickly swung the momentum and eventually took a 41-25 lead.
After Portland extended the lead to 23 early in the fourth quarter, a 14-2 Hornets run brought the score to 65-54 with over four minutes to play, before the home side closed strongly to defeat Horsham by 24.
Clode and Plazzer backed up their Saturday night performances, with Clode hitting a game-high 23 points, while Plazzer added 14.
The Lady Hornets will now close out their season with home games against Millicent and Mount Gambier in round eight this weekend.