NBL1 North Round 4 Sunday men’s recap

Catch up on the Round 4 action from the NBL1 North men’s competition on Sunday.

Southern Districts Spartans 91 def Northside Wizards 67

Southern Districts Spartans improved to a 3-1 win-loss record after a 91-67 win over Northside Wizards at Rowland Cowan Stadium.

Spartans guard Noah Thomas, who played in his second game for Southern Districts after he returned to Australia from a four-year US college stint at Drake University, tallied a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

Southern Districts forward Josh Derksen scored a game-high 19 points and forward Thomas Ammer added 12. The frontcourt duo stepped out beyond the arc to hit four three-pointers each.

The Spartans led 55-32 at the half to set up the win, thanks in part to Ammer’s sharp shooting with all his points scored in the first half.

Northside centre Cameron Thew top scored for the visitors with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Gold Coasts Rollers 75 def by Townsville Heat 81

Townsville Heat held off Gold Coast Rollers to record an 81-75 victory at Carrara Stadium.

Locked at 68 apiece with 7.47 left on the clock, Heat guard Richard Peachey nailed a three-pointer to hit the go-ahead shot and spark a 7-0 run to set up the win. Peachey, who went cold (1 of 6 from beyond the arc) from his perfect shooting the night before, hit the one that mattered.

Townsville guard Ethan Betts (pictured) scored a game-high 28 points and was joined by forward Josh Spiers (15 points) and centre Matthew Rees (14 points, 12 rebounds) in double figures.

Gold Coast forward Anthony Petrie (18 points) and guard Cameron Goldfinch (17 points) top scored for the home side.

The Heat improve their record to 4-2 and next face Spartans at home in Round 5, while Gold Coast are 2-1 with a double-header at Mackay and Rockhampton next week.

Sunshine Coast Phoenix 115 def Rockhampton Rockets 74

Sunshine Coast Phoenix produced too much firepower for Rockhampton Rockets in a 115-74 victory at Maroochydore  Stadium.

The Phoenix offence, directed by guards Darnell and Jamaal Robateau, scored at a high rate from the jump in the wire-to-wire win. Sunshine Coast made 46 of 73 (63%) field goal attempts including 9 of 19 (47.37%) from deep.

Darnell tallied a triple-double with a game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists, while Jamaal added 16 points.

Phoenix bigs Oscar Cluff (21 points) and Nelson Kahler (24 points, 11 rebounds) added to Sunshine Coast’s scoring options.

Rockhampton forward Najeal Young top scored for the visitors with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.

The Phoenix (3-1), who have a bye next week, travel to Ipswich (1-2) in Round 6, while Rockhampton host Gold Coast.