Nyadiew Puoch was the game winner for Dandenong Rangers over Ringwood Hawks in NBL1 South on Sunday as was Bijan Johnson for the Bendigo Braves, Taj Chehhal in overtime for the Melbourne Tigers and Jonathan Lawton for the Hawks.
Sunday's women's NBL1 South results saw the Geelong United Supercats beat the Eltham Wildcats 103-64 while the Dandenong Rangers defeated the Ringwood Hawks 75-74, the Frankston Blues downed the Melbourne Tigers 88-75, and the Bendigo Braves won 72-54 against the Keilor Thunder.
Then in the men's fixtures, the Supercats defeated the Wildcats 96-81, the Hawks beat the Rangers 98-96, the Tigers prevailed 98-86 against the Blues, and the Braves won 89-88 over the Thunder.
NBL1 SOUTH RECAP | SATURDAY ROUND 11
WOMEN
Supercats dominate Wildcats for bounce back win
The Geelong United Supercats hit back emphatically from Friday's loss to Mount Gambier by beating the Eltham Wildcats 103-64 at The Arena on Sunday.
Geelong's three-game winning run ended against the Pioneers on Friday while the Wildcats were fresh off beating the Knox Raiders on Sunday as they continue to jostle over positions in the top eight.
Geelong was already leading by six points at the end of the first quarter before continuing to dominate with the lead growing to 20 in the second term before the Supercats led 56-38 at the major break.
The Supercats didn’t let up in the second half either going on to outscore the Wildcats 47 points to 26 to lead by as much as 39 points which doubled as the final margin.
The result means both teams split their games this weekend with the Supercats now 11-5 while Eltham is 9-8 with three rounds remaining.
Agnieszka Skobel delivered 26 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists for Geelong United on the back of shooting 10/12 from the floor and 4/6 from beyond the three-point line.
Eve Braslis continued her terrific form with another 24 points, 11 boards and two steals with Ella Tofaeono adding 23 points, 15 rebounds and four assists, and Sarah Elsworthy 18 points, seven assists, six boards and four steals.
Hailey Leidel top-scored for Eltham with 21 points with Taylah Wynne contributing 18 points and three assists, Louise Forsyth 11 points and four rebounds, and Bec Pizzey eight points, 11 boards, three blocks and two assists.
Puoch fires Rangers to thrilling win over Hawks
The Dandenong Rangers kept themselves right in the NBL1 South playoff hunt thanks to a terrific late finish from Nyadiew Puoch to deliver them the 75-74 victory away to the Ringwood Hawks.
Ringwood was trying to consolidate their top eight spot and stay in touch of the top four while Dandenong was just looking to stay in the playoff hunt setting the stage for Sunday's match up at The Rings.
The Hawks were also coming off a loss to the Sandringham Sabres the previous night while the Rangers beat the Frankston Blues.
NYADIEW PUOCH WINS IT FOR DANDENONG ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 25, 2023
With barely seconds left on the clock, the young Opals star delivered! ?
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Ringwood raced out to a nine-point lead and were still up six by quarter-time before stretching that advantage out to 12 in the second term before Dandenong stayed within touch to cut the Hawks lead to 46-45 by the major break.
Then throughout the second half there was never more than five points separating the two teams and it was time for some big plays down the stretch.
The experienced Toni Farnworth was the first to come up huge in the dying stages taking the ball to the rack and completing a tough finish to give the defending champions the one-point advantage.
Then out of a timeout, the Rangers put their faith in Nyadiew Puoch to make the play. She also drove to the hole, finished impressively through contact and was fouled. She missed the extra but the job was done and Dandenong scored the 75-74 win.
The victory improves the Rangers to a 9-9 record having won twice this weekend while the Hawks have lost twice in Round 11 at 10-8.
Not only did Puoch hit the game winner for Dandenong, but she had a huge afternoon with 30 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
She had plenty of help too with Sarah Boothe finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, Amber Smith 15 points, five assists and four boards, and Luisa Fakalata 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Reigning Grand Final MVP Marena Whittle put up 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Ringwood while Zoe Jenkins contributed 17 points with 5/7 three-point shooting, Toni Farnworth eight points, eight boards and five assists, and Shelby Britten eight points.
Zoe Jenkins raced the buzzer and ??? ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 25, 2023
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Blues fire back to beat Tigers
The Frankston Blues bounced back from a loss the previous night to beat the Melbourne Tigers 88-75 on Sunday with Ella Batish and Chelsea D'Angelo combining to hit nine three-pointers.
The Tigers were attempting to snap a six-game losing streak and started well at home against the Blues with 24 points to 19 in the first quarter and then to lead by as much as 11 during the second.
The Tigers were still leading 47-40 at half-time and even by nine points again in the third and then by five in the fourth, but the Blues eventually wore them down and overrun them.
Frankston dominated the fourth quarter with 27 points to 12 to end up winning by 13 points to improve to a 12-5 record and bounce back from the previous night's loss to the Dandenong Rangers. The Tigers slip further from the playoff hunt at 4-13.
Chelsea D'Angelo finished up top scoring for Frankston with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals while knocking down 4/6 from three-point territory.
Ella Batish also hit 5/10 from behind the three-point line on her way to 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks with Tori Jackson adding 19 points, four assists and three boards, and Louise Brown 14 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Sam Simons once again top-scored for the Tigers with 23 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists while Nikki Metcalfe added 17 points, three boards and two assists, Lily Carmody 13 points and six rebounds, and Tylah Hooper 10 points, seven boards and six assists.
Lou Brown shows off the post moves ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 25, 2023
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McKay ensures Braves remain perfect
Another dominant inside display from Megan McKay ensured the Bendigo Braves remain undefeated this NBL1 South season after Sunday's 72-54 victory away to Keilor Thunder.
Bendigo put its perfect record on the line once more by taking on the Thunder at Keilor Stadium on Sunday with the home team fresh off losing to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Saturday while the Braves beat the Melbourne Tigers back on Friday.
Bendigo started well to lead by nine points at the end of the opening quarter with that lead getting out to as much as 21 in the third quarter.
The Braves were still up as much as 19 in the fourth stanza before going on to score the 18-point triumph to improve to 17-0 on the season. The Thunder are now 4-13 having lost four matches in-a-row.
Megan McKay was a dominant force once more for Bendigo as she finished with 26 points, 21 rebounds and two assists while shooting 11/18 from the floor and 4/5 from the foul line.
Cassidy McLean added 15 points, five assists and three rebounds, Kasey Burton 14 points and five boards, and Madeline Sexton nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Juna Umezawa put up 16 points and 10 rebounds for Keilor on 7/11 shooting from the field with Grace Graham adding 13 points, five boards and two assists, and Ai Yamada seven points, four rebounds and two assists.
Megan McKay is leading the undefeated Bendigo Braves to the promised land ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 25, 2023
She dropped a huge 26 point, 21 rebound double-double to keep her side at the top of the table ??
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MEN
Supercats fire late to hand Wildcats another loss
The Geelong United Supercats produced a huge fourth quarter to inflict some more pain on the Eltham Wildcats with the 96-81 win on Sunday at The Arena.
Both teams were coming off losses with Geelong going down to the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Friday while Eltham lost by 36 points to the Knox Raiders on Saturday.
Both teams made their runs in the opening period but by quarter-time it was Eltham leading 19-18 and despite the Wildcats leading by nine again in the second term, by half-time it was just 44-41.
The lead got back to 11 again in the third term for Eltham but once more Geelong clawed back and then the Supercats dominated the final stanza with 29 points to 14 to secure the 15-point victory.
The win improves Geelong to an 8-8 record on the season while Eltham is now 10-7 having lost four straight, and five of the past six after sitting at 9-2.
George Blagojevic had a tremendous afternoon for the Supercats with 30 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and three assists with Gabe Hadley adding 21 points, six assists and four rebounds, Matthew McCarthy 20 points and eight boards, and DeMarcus Gatlin 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Josh Sykes produced 25 points and 11 rebounds for Eltham on 10/15 shooting while Angus Glover put up 16 points, five boards and five assists, Callum Dalton 14 points and nine rebounds, and Sam Whelan 10 points, three boards and two assists.
Lawton the hero as Hawks beat Rangers
Ringwood and Dandenong put together an outstanding contest defying their positions in the NBL1 South with Jonathan Lawton the hero with the game winner for the Hawks against the Rangers.
Playoffs might be out of reach in the NBL1 South for the Hawks and Rangers, but that didn’t stop them putting on quite the show on Sunday at The Rings despite both coming off losses the previous night to Frankston and Sandringham respectively.
It was the Hawks who raced out to the flying start with 33 points to 25 in the opening period having led by as much as 12 points.
That lead for Ringwood was still 16 points in the third stanza and eight in the fourth, but Dandenong weren’t going away and even grabbed the lead when Mike Amius scored with seven minutes to play.
The lead continued to change hands the rest of the way but Ringwood was leading by five once more before a Lawson Eales bucket and Jack Roberts three-pointer tied scores again with the five straight points from Dandenong.
That left the result in the hands of Jonathan Lawton. He was left isolated with Deng Puoch and it might not have been pretty, but he did create enough space for himself to get off a long two and it landed.
There was still just enough time for a rushed three for the Rangers out of a timeout, but it wouldn’t go from Jesse Ghee with Ringwood winning by two for a fifth win of the season.
On top of hitting the game winner for Ringwood, Lawton finished with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Kyle Daggett added 24 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 9/11 shooting from the floor and 4/4 from beyond the arc while Luke Shelley added 16 points, seven boards and five assists, Adrien Sturt 11 points and three rebounds, and Matthew Roberts 10 points, seven assists and five boards.
Mike Amius produced 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Dandenong while Jesse Ghee put up 22 points, eight boards and three steals, Deng Puoch 19 points, five assists and four rebounds, Lawson Eales 12 points and four boards, and Jack Roberts 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jonathan Lawton drains the ???? ?????? for Ringwood ???
— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 25, 2023
What an ending??
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Tigers the masters of overtime once more
The Melbourne Tigers are becoming the overtime masters of the NBL1 South earning their second win of the weekend in extra time with Taj Chehhal the hero in Sunday's 98-86 win over the Frankston Blues.
The Tigers opened Round 11 in the NBL1 season by beating the Bendigo Braves 83-82 in overtime on Friday night while Frankston maintained top position beating the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday.
However, the Blues did need to keep winning to hold on to top spot and the Tigers also were out to continue to stay in touch with a playoff position setting the stage for Sunday's match up.
Frankston asserted its authority going on a 14-0 run in the first quarter to lead by as much as 16 but the Tigers did well to hit back with 12 straight points of their own to cut the deficit to four by the end of one.
However, Frankston pulled away once more in the second stanza and were in control at the half-time break leading 46-33.
The Tigers had to respond coming out of the break and that's exactly what they did with 30 points to 21 in the third quarter to grab the lead, and set up a thrilling finish to regulation.
Mason Gaze gave Melbourne the two-point lead with just under a minute to play but overtime was needed when Igor Hadziomerovic found Henry Peirce for the game tying bucket for the Blues.
Then in the extra five minutes, Melbourne dominated Frankston with 15 points to three and seven of those points from the Tigers came courtesy of Taj Chehhal to secure the 12-point win to see them improve to an 8-9 record to stay in the playoff race.
The Blues now slip to a 13-4 record to be on the same mark as fellow top three teams Knox and Sandringham.
Jack Purchase has been in outstanding form for Melbourne and that continued on Sunday where he finished 28 points, 11 rebounds and two steals while shooting 9/17 from the floor, 3/6 from downtown and 7/7 from the foul line.
Taj Chehhal added 24 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Tigers on 4/9 shooting from downtown with Felix von Hofe contributing 14 points and three boards, and Mason Gaze 13 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Daniel Trist backed up a huge performance from him the previous night by delivering another 35 points, 15 rebounds and two assists for Frankston on 9/12 shooting including 15/18 at the free-throw line.
Jordan Evans added 14 points with four three-pointers for the Blues while Lucas Barker contributed 14 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and Henry Peirce nine points and seven boards.
Taj Chehhal: overtime hero ???
— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 25, 2023
With the game on the line, he scored 7?? of his 24 points after regulation time to guide the Tigers to Victory ?
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Bendigo cap dramatic weekend with win at buzzer
What a remarkable weekend for the Bendigo Braves. A foot on the line denied them on Friday night but it was a fumbled ball that led to the game winner from Bijan Johnson that saw them beat Keilor Thunder 89-88 on Sunday.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Braves on Friday night to the Melbourne Tigers when they only missed out on forcing the gave into double overtime when a deep shot from Lat Mayen on the buzzer was ruled a two and not a three.
They had to try and bounce back on Sunday at Keilor Stadium with the Thunder also attempting to bounce back from a similarly tough tight loss to the Diamond Valley Eagles on Saturday.
Bendigo did threaten to open up a commanding lead several times including being up 12 in the second quarter and nine in the third while still being up four with a minute to play after a basket from Mayen.
Keilor grabbed the lead back with a putback from Oliver Hayes-Brown and then three-pointer from Theus Evan Wardlow before a timeout from Stephen Black for the Braves with the shot clock turned off.
Adam Pechacek missed an attempt but the rebound bobbled around and eventually spilled to the waiting Bijan Johnson. He coolly put up the mid-range jumper and it went down with 0.8 seconds left to give the Braves the one-point lead.
A rushed corner three from Rhyss Lewis wouldn’t fall for Keilor and the Braves scored the win to improve to an 8-9 record after the most dramatic of weekends. The Thunder slip to 7-10 with two tough losses.
Lat Mayen had a tremendous performance for Bendigo with 27 points, 13 rebounds and four assists with Bijan Johnson adding 17 points and four boards along with the game winner.
Luke Rosendale also had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Adam Pechacek 10 points, two boards and two blocks.
William Jenkins III produced 26 points and 15 rebounds for Keilor while Theus Evan Wardlow contributed 20 points, three boards and two assists, Oliver Hayes-Brown 18 points and two rebounds, and Zac Triplett 15 points, five boards and two assists.
