East Recap | Round 6 Sunday

Image credit: @floyd.mallon

Kasey Neubert for Maitland Mustangs, Caitie Jones for Albury-Wodonga Bandits and Jordan Vasquez for Penrith Panthers delivered match-winning performances in the NBL1 East on Sunday afternoon.

EAST RECAP | ROUND 6 SATURDAY

WOMEN

Hills Hornets (80) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (96)

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits made it a double win weekend with Caitie Jones again starring with another 30 points in the 96-80 road victory against the Hills Hornets.

The Bandits opened the weekend beating the Bankstown Bruins on Saturday before they geared up to back up against the Hornets at Hills Basketball Stadium on Sunday.

The Hornets came into the match up losing the previous evening to the Centre of Excellence by 42 points so they had a big job ahead of them to try and hit back and avoid a sixth straight defeat.

The Bandits got the better of the start to lead 26-22 by the end of the first quarter even while only making 1/7 from behind the three-point line before they put up another 21 points to 14 in the second term to head into the half-time break leading 47-36.

That lead only continued to grow the longer the game went with the Albury-Wodonga advantage getting out to 19 points in the third quarter and then 31 in the fourth on the back of a 14-0 run.

Hills did finish the game strongly and even managed their own 8-0 streak but the Bandits still finished with the 16-point victory to make it two wins for the weekend to improve to a 6-2 record.

Caitie Jones continues to thrive on her move to join Albury-Wodonga last season on the back of her previous NBL1 West career and then coming into this season after a strong season in Germany, and she again starred on Sunday afternoon.

Jones put up 30 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 8/17 shooting from the field, 3/8 from downtown and 11/12 at the foul line.

Brynn Masikewich added 29 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals on 11/14 shooting, Riley Lupfer 14 points and four assists, and Emma Mahady eight points and eight assists.

The Hornets have now lost six straight at 1-6 with Jade Kirisome finishing with 23 points, six assists and three rebounds while Elizabeth Smith contributed 18 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, and Lucy Corke 15 points on 4/7 three-point shooting.

HILLS HORNETS 80 (Kirisome 23, Smith 18, Corke 15)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 96 (Jones 30, Masikewich 29, Lupfer 14)

Penrith Panthers (81) defeated Illawarra Hawks (76)

Jordan Vasquez produced a second straight huge performance of the weekend and this time it led the Penrith Panthers to a win with the 81-76 home victory against the Illawarra Hawks.

The Panthers were back home at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre looking to hit back from a loss the previous day to the Norths Bears as they tried to avoid a sixth consecutive defeat.

They were playing host to a Hawks team who were coming off a win on Saturday also against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

It was a tight contest right throughout the afternoon with the Panthers threatening to open up handy leads but each time they did the Hawks would have the answers.

That happened in the first quarter with Penrith leading by as much as seven but it was back to just two at quarter-time.

Again the Panthers got up six in the second term but were only leading 46-41 at half-time but gradually they were getting further clear and their lead was out to six by three quarter-time.

Penrith managed to push out to the first double-figure lead in the fourth quarter leading by as much as 10 and then ended up securing the five-point win to improve to a 3-6 record and snapping a five-game losing slide.

Jordan Vasquez came up big in the losing effort on Saturday against the Norths Bears and backed up in a winning performance on Sunday with another 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 10/20 shooting from the field and 8/11 at the free-throw line.

Mia Heide added 15 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and two blocks, Jolzyne Impreso seven points, five rebounds and two assists, and Chanel Bastin seven points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

The Hawks are now 2-6 on the season having won two of their previous four matches before Sunday's game with Asha Phillips putting up 26 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Ella Dent also provided 16 points and four rebounds on 4/9 three-point shooting while Ruby MacDonald went 4/11 for 14 points, five boards and there assists, and Tsubasa Nisbet finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists.

PENRITH PANTHERS 81 (Vasquez 29, Heie 15, Bastin 7, Impreso 7)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 76 (Phillips 26, Dent 16, MacDonald 14)

Maitland Mustangs (82) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (73)

The Maitland Mustangs completed a double win weekend with Kasey Neubert delivering 28 points and 21 rebounds in their 82-73 home Sunday victory over the Central Coast Crusaders.

Both teams played on Saturday with the Mustangs beating the Canberra Nationals while the Crusaders went down to the Inner West Bulls unable to back up their first win of the season last Saturday against the Illawarra Hawks.

The two teams did battle on Sunday at Maitland Federation Centre and while it was the Mustangs leading by a point at quarter-time, the Crusaders worked on top in the second period with 22 points to 12 on the back of shooting 7/14 from the floor and going 8/9 at the foul line.

That saw Central Coast lead 39-30 at half-time an that advantage got out to as much as 12 in the third term with the Crusaders still on top 10 by three quarter-time with that second win of the season within touching distance.

However, Maitland produced a monstrous fourth quarter with 36 points to turn that 10-point deficit into their own nine-point victory while shooting 13/22 from the field in those last 10 minutes.

The victory improves the Mustangs to a 6-2 record on the season with Kasey Neubert coming up huge with 28 points, 21 rebounds and three assists on 12/19 shooting from the floor and 4/7 at the free-throw line.

Shakera Reilly also had 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks, and Sydney Hunter 15 points, 13 boards and four assists.

The Crusaders are now 1-7 on the season but they did a good job considering they only had seven players available and each of the five starters played at least 35 minutes.

Elizajane Loader put up 30 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing every second of the game with Leilani Mitchell adding 15 points and five rebounds, Jasmine Forcadilla 14 points and three boards, Bronte Moore eight points and three steals, and Tai Wakelin-Gray six points and 14 rebounds.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 82 (Neubert 28, Reilly 20, Hunter 15)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 73 (Loader 30, Mitchell 15, Forcadilla 14)

Inner West Bulls (77) lost to Centre of Excellence (83)

The Centre of Excellence made it seven consecutive victories this NBL1 East season with a double win weekend capped off by beating the Inner West Bulls 83-77 on Sunday.

The Centre of Excellence arrived at Concorn Recreation Centre on a six-game winning streak including beating the Hills Hornets by 42 points on Saturday as the first leg of their weekend double.

The Bulls also played on Saturday with an away game to the Central Coast Crusaders which they went on to win by 15 points.

That set up the Sunday match up and it was the Centre of Excellence who made the fast start to already be leading 27-19 by the end of the first quarter.

It was another 23 points to 18 in the second frame for the CoE which saw them turn into half-time leading 50-37.

The Bulls did score 14 straight points in the third quarter to work back into the contest, but they could never quite complete the comeback all the way with the Centre of Excellence having the answers in the end to secure the six-point victory.

It's a seventh straight win this season for the CoE as they improve to a 7-1 record to only be sitting behind undefeated teams Newcastle and Norths.

It was Isabel Smith's turn to play a starring role for the Centre of Excellence with 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Sitaya Fagan continued her blistering form with another 17 points and eight rebounds with Jade Crook adding 17 points, nine boards, three steals and two assists, Zara Russell 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Emilija Dakic 11 points, seven assists and five boards.

The Bulls are now 4-3 for the season having split their double this weekend with Mizuki Wakamatsu producing another 23 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Tahlia Tupaea also had 21 points, six assists and four rebounds, Kristina Moore 21 points, six assists, five boards, three blocks and two steals, and Tylah Mundine five points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

INNER WEST BULLS 77 (Wakamatsu 23, Moore 21, Tupaea 21)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 83 (Smith 22, Crook 17, Fagan 17)

MEN

Hills Hornets (91) defeated Albury-Wodonga Bandits (82)

The Hills Hornets returned to the winner's list and consigned the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to a fifth straight defeat with the 91-82 Sunday victory at home.

Both teams had also played on Saturday with the Hornets also hosting the Centre of Excellence but going down by 10 points while the Bandits started their road double with a 20-point defeat at the hands of the Bankstown Bruins.

The two teams backed it up on Sunday at Hills Basketball Stadium with Albury-Wodonga started well with an early nine-point lead before the Hornets did respond with a 7-0 scoring run to get back within a point by quarter-time.

The Hornets then took control of the contest by putting up 36 points in the second quarter and by the half-time break that saw them leading 56-42.

The lead got out to 20 points in the second half as well for the Hornets and even with the Bandits going on a 16-0 scoring run, they could never quite get back close enough to threaten and Hills went on to score the nine-point victory.

The win sees the Hornets improve to a 4-4 record on the season with Meekness Payne finishing with 21 points and three rebounds on shooting 8/15 from the field and 3/6 from behind the three-point arc.

Liam Moss also had 15 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals with 3/6 three-point shooting while Saxon Orsini added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Pafe Momoisea seven points, 11 assists, five boards, three steals and two blocked shots.

The Bandits now sit in bottom place in the NBL1 East by the end of six rounds having lost five in-a-row with a 1-7 record with Matthew Gray producing 26 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Ahren Freeman added 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, and Francis Wineera-Mulvihill 14 points, six boards and six assists.

HILLS HORNETS 91 (Payne 21, Moss 15, Orsini 15)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 82 (Gray 26, Freeman 17, Wineera-Mulvihill)

Penrith Panthers (81) lost to Illawarra Hawks (86)

Lachlan Dent stepped up to help the Illawarra Hawks still win in the absence of Todd Blanchfield with the 86-81 Sunday road win over the Penrith Panthers.

Both teams also played on Saturday with the Hawks losing by 31 points to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders while the Panthers also suffered a fifth straight defeat at the hands of the Norths Bears.

The two teams did battle at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre and it was a tight opening quarter with the Panthers leading 23-22 by quarter-time.

Penrith then scored 11 straight points and went on to open up a 12-point lead in the second term before still being up 40-35 by the half-time break.

Then after the Panthers were back up nine in the third quarter, the Hawks were able to turn the momentum and scored 31 points the rest of the third term, and eventually went on to score the five-point victory despite the absence of Blanchfield who was with the Australian Boomers.

The victory improves Illawarra to a 5-3 record on the season with Lachlan Dent delivering 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Kobe McDowell-White also had 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, Matthew Mims 17 points, five boards and two assists, Brad Ballinger 14 points, two rebounds and two blocked shots, and Christian Maran 13 points, eight boards and two blocks.

Penrith slips to a 2-7 record on the season having now lost six straight matches with Makur Jongkuch finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Zeke Evans added 15 points and 10 rebounds, Brodie Schwarzer 15 points and two boards, and Oliver Amajoyi 12 points and seven rebounds.

PENRITH PANTHERS 81 (Jongkuch 21, Evans 15, Schwarzer 15)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 86 (Dent 21, McDowell-White 19, Mims 17)

Maitland Mustangs (83) lost to Central Coast Crusaders (91)

The defending champion Maitland Mustangs weren’t able to back up their grand final rematch win the previous night with the Central Coast Crusaders instead backing up their Saturday victory by prevailing 91-83.

Both teams were in action on Saturday with the Mustangs winning an emotional grand final rematch against the Canberra Gunners also on their home floor at Maitland Federation Centre.

The Crusaders started their weekend with a home win on Saturday over the Inner West Bulls which set the stage nicely for the Sunday contest.

It was a strong start away from home from Central Coast against the defending champions with 22 points to 16 in the first quarter but Maitland responded with 21 points to 16 themselves in the second period.

That saw Central Coast narrowly leading 38-37 by half-time but then the Crusaders produced a big third quarter where they scored 27 points on 11/15 shooting from the floor to open up a 13-point lead.

That lead got out to as much as 18 points in the final term as well and it was too much for even the Mustangs to come back from with the Crusaders going on to secure the eight-point victory.

The double win weekend improves Central Coast to a 4-4 record on the season with Klairus Amir terrific with 25 points and five rebounds with 5/8 shooting from behind the three-point line.

He had plenty of help too with Garric Young finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Ilisia Washington 17 points, six boards and two assists, and Lino Manhom 16 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three assists.

Maitland is now 5-3 as defending champions having now lost two of their past three matches with Billy Parsons top-scoring with 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists on shooting 7/10 from the floor, 2/3 from downtown and 3/3 at the free-throw line.

Christian Little added 16 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists, Daniel Millburn 11 points, four boards and three assists, Jay Cole 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Mandrell Worthy 10 points and two assists.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 83 (Parsons 19, Little 16, Cole 11, Millburn 11)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 91 (Amir 25, Young 17, Washington 17)

Newcastle Falcons (75) defeated Canberra Gunners (69)

Myles Cherry and Ryan Beisty were once again instrumental in a Newcastle Falcons win combining for the 35 points and 29 rebounds in the 75-69 victory at home to the Canberra Gunners.

Both teams were fresh off losses on Saturday with the Falcons going down to the Sutherland Sharks by 29 points while the Gunners suffered their first loss of the season in a grand final rematch against the Maitland Mustangs.

So both teams arrived at Newcastle Basketball Stadium looking to respond on Sunday afternoon and it was Canberra looking to make the statement early with 23 points to 16 in the first quarter and having led by as much as 12.

Newcastle were able to turn the tide in the second quarter by going on an 11-0 run to grab the lead and be clinging to a 40-39 advantage by half-time.

The Falcons were able to continue to build on that by getting out to an eight-point lead in the third quarter and then by 10 in the fourth before holding on for the eventual six-point victory.

Despite the loss, Canberra had 12 more shots than Newcastle, eight extra free-throw attempts and pulled down 20 offensive rebounds, but they just couldn’t convert with the Falcons shooting 45 per cent from the floor opposed to the 34 from the Gunners.

Newcastle improves to 3-5 on the season with the win with Myles Cherry providing another 21 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two assists with Ryan Beisty adding 14 points, 14 boards, three assists and two steals.

Eylijah Stephens also had 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Jaidyn Goodwin dished out 10 assists.

Having come into Round 6 as the last remaining undefeated team in the competition, Canberra have lost twice in less than 24 hours despite Glenn Morison providing 22 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three assists.

Will Mayfield added 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals, and James Toohey 13 points, nine boards, three steals and two assists.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 75 (Cherry 21, Shannon 15, Beisty 14)

CANBERRA GUNNERS 69 (Morison 22, Mayfield 20, Toohey 13)

Inner West Bulls (73) lost to Centre of Excellence (83)

Some of the best young talent in the country continued their hot form on the road on Sunday afternoon with the Centre of Excellence moving to top spot in the NBL1 East beating the Inner West Bulls 83-73.

Both teams also played on Saturday with the Bulls suffering a third straight loss on the road to the Central Coast Crusaders while the CoE began their double-header on the road with a win against the Hills Hornets.

Both of them backed up on Sunday at Concord Recreational Centre and it was a tight opening with the Centre of Excellence leading 18-17 by quarter while shooting 7/16 with the Bulls going at 5/16.

Things remained closed in the second period as well with the CoE clinging to the 38-36 lead going into the half-time break where they were shooting better from the floor but the Bulls stayed in touch by getting to the foul line 12 times to six.

It was in the third quarter when the Basketball Australia rising stars pulled away and they completed a 12-0 run and pushed out to a 17-point lead.

The Bulls did fire back and scored 10 straight points of their own in the final period but the Centre of Excellence still scored the 10-point win to make it five consecutive wins to improve to a 7-1 record to sit in top spot as a result.

Sebastien Emenalo delivered 22 points and three rebounds on shooting 6/11 from downtown in the win for the CoE with Luke Fennell contributing 17 points and four boards, and Ajak Nyuon 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Bulls have now lost their past four matches to sit on a 3-5 record for the season with Ramon Cao top-scoring with 23 points while hitting 5/11 from three-point territory.

Dalen Ridgnal added 19 points, six rebounds and three steals, Maxwell Clark 15 points, five assists, three boards and two steals, and Mirko Djeric five points, 10 assists and four rebounds while only going 1/8 from downtown.

INNER WEST BULLS 73 (Cao 23, Ridgnal 19, Clark 15)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 83 (Emenalo 22, Fennell 17, Nyuon 14)