Catch up on the Round 5 action from the NBL1 North men’s competition on Saturday night.
Rockhampton Rockets 92 def by Gold Coast Rollers 107
Gold Coast Rollers capitalised on a strong third-quarter performance to defeat Rockhampton Rockets 107-92 at Bravus Arena.
Down three (56-59) at the main break, the Rollers outscored the home side 25-11 as guard Levi Frankland (25 points) and forward Callum Dalton (25 points) took control of the game with six third-quarter points apiece.
Rollers guard Jarryd Eustace stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Rockhampton’s Najeal Young scored a game-high 33 points. The Rockets forward and guard Josh Wilcher (30 points, including 10 of 10 free throws) combined for 68.5% of Rockhampton’s offence.
The Rollers outrebounded the home side 53-40 and scored more efficiently with 54.8% from the field compared to the Rockets’ 39%.
The Rockets (0-7) host South West Metro Pirates (0-5) in Round 6 action on Friday, while the Rollers (3-2) host Sunshine Coast Phoenix (3-2) on Saturday.
Red City Roar 84 def by Logan Thunder 96
The undefeated Logan Thunder shook off a slow start to beat Red City Roar 96-84 at the Paul Bancroft Centre.
The Thunder trailed by seven points after the first quarter but put in a 22-11 second-aurter performance to take a four-point lead into the break.
Logan’s outside shooting was superior with 16 of 36 made (11 in the second half) compared to 4 of 19, with Boston Mazlin (5 of 10), Michael Cedar (4 of 4), and Jeremy Kendle (4 of 8) finding their range.
The Thunder’s guard trio were the top contributors for the road team with Kendle (24 points, 12 assists), Mazlin (21 points), and Cedar (18 points). Logan centre Mitch Young added 10 points and 8 rebounds and Blake Jones tallied a 12 points, 15 rebounds double-double.
Red City forward Kian Dennis scored a game-high 25 points, while guards Kobe McDowell-White (20 points) and Darryl McDowell-White (16 points) combined for 36. Roar centre Brent Wallace tallied a 14 points, 10 rebounds double-double.
The Thunder (6-0) host Brisbane Capitals (4-2) on Friday night. The Roar (1-3) await the Capitals for a Saturday night game.
South West Metro Pirates 87 def by Ipswich Force 93
Ipswich Force have claimed the NBL1 North league’s first overtime win with a 93-87 thriller against South West Metro Pirates at Hibiscus Sports Stadium.
Down three with 20 seconds left, Ipswich Force guard Nathan Sobey dribbled left from an inbound pass and hit a contested three-pointer to tie the game at 80-apiece and force overtime. The NBL Brisbane Bullets star had a quiet night up to that point with just 2 of 16 shots made from deep.
Last season’s Queensland State League MVP then took over the extra period as he scored 8 of the 13 Ipswich points to clinch the Force’s first win of the season. Sobey finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Ipswich guard Jason Ralph (15 points, nine rebouds, eight assists) and forward Manylok Malek (12 points, seven rebounds) were the Force’s other top contributors.
Pirates guard Kai Woodfall scored a game-high 29 points, while Ramy Kodi (16 points at 87.5% from the field) and NBL Adelaide 36ers guard Brendan Teys (16 points) were the main attacking weapons for the home side.
South West Metro Pirates travel to Rockhampton with both sides seeking a first win, while Ipswich (1-4) host Sunshine Coast Phoenix (3-2) on Friday.
Townsville Heat 93 def by Southern Districts Spartans 82
Townsville Heat went on a late 18-3 run to defeat Southern Districts Spartans 93-82 at Townsville StarFM Stadium.
Down 75-79 at the 5.20 mark, Townville guard Peter Crawford (9 points) scored back-to-back field goals to tie the game and spark the Heat’s winning run.
Heat guard Jalen Patton-Croker (4 of 8 three-pointers and 6 of 10 free throws) and forward Josh Spiers (7 of 13 field goals and 8 of 9 free throws) tied with a game-high 24 points each. The pair scored four free throws each down the stretch to help seal the win.
Spartans forward Josh Derksen top scored for the road team with 21 points, while Thomas Ammar added 16 points. Despite a near perfect 18 of 20 from the charity stripe, the Spartans sent the Heat (26 free throws made) to the line 39 times.
The Heat (5-2) host USC Rip City (2-2) on Friday, while the Spartans (3-3) are away to Northside Wizards (2-3) on Saturday.
USC Rip City 107 def Brisbane Capitals 90
USC Rip City won their second straight home game with a 107-90 win over Brisbane Capitals at USC Sports Stadium.
In their debut games for Rip City, NBL Brisbane Bullets star Tanner Krebs (pictured) and Winthrop University graduate Kyle Zunic slipped into the USC line-up seamlessly. Krebs scored a game-high 34 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Zunic added 22 points.
Rip City shot 12 of 29 from beyond the arc, including five from Krebs, compared to the Capitals 7 of 24 three-pointers made.
Rip City forward Eric McAlister (17 points, four steals) and guard Isaih Tueta (16 points, six assists) continued to put up big numbers for USC.
Brisbane guard Nicholas Stoddart top scored for the visitors with 31 points, including 3 of 9 from the perimeter, while Bullets guard Tamuri Wigness added 13 points in his first game for the Capitals.
The Capitals sent USC to the line 29 times with the home side shooting at 79.3%.
Rip City (2-2) travel to Townsville (5-2) on Friday, while the Capitals (4-2) have a road trip back-to-back at Logan (6-0) and Red City (1-3).
