East Recap | Round 7 Sunday

Image credit: @DiscoveryOne_Photography (Greg Francis)

The Centre of Excellence scored a pair of Sunday NBL1 East wins at the expense of the Bankstown Bruins while the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles did the same at home to the Sutherland Sharks.

EAST RECAP | ROUND 7 SATURDAY

WOMEN

Centre of Excellence (92) defeated Bankstown Bruins (83)

Sitaya Fagan and Zara Russell continued their imposing form for the Centre of Excellence and led their team to the 92-83 win on Sunday over the Bankstown Bruins.

Even with Fagan and Russell performing well on Saturday too, the Centre of Excellence did see their seven-game winning run ended at the hands of the Norths Bears ahead of returning home to host the Bruins on.

Bankstown also played on Saturday and had a win at home against the Hills Hornets setting up a fascinating match up at the Australian Institute of Sport.

The Centre of Excellence did open up a 10-point lead during the first quarter but by quarter-time the Bruins had cut that margin back to five points.

It was a similar story in the second term with the CoE going back up but then the Bruins hitting back going on an 8-0 scoring run themselves and by half-time it was the Basketball Australia outfit clinging to the 44-43 lead.

Bankstown even hit the front briefly to open the second half but then the Centre of Excellence again pulled away with nine straight points to go up 11.

That turned into a 15-point lead in the final quarter and from there the CoE were able to complete the nine-point win with the 54 rebounds to 43 and 23 of those offensive to 17 ending up being critical in the final result.

The Centre of Excellence finish the round in third position with an 8-2 record after a win that came when coach Melissa Downer virtually only had her five starters to count on for the most part.

All five played at least 32 minutes with Zara Russell playing every second while off the bench only Ava Tawake came on for 19:30 and Molly Lacey for just under seven minutes.

Russell was terrific for the CoE finishing with 31 points and nine rebounds with 7/16 from three-point land while Sitaya Fagan added another 24 points, 13 boards, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Isabel Smith added 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Emilija Dakic 11 points, seven assists, four boards and three steals, and Aspen Crase 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.

The Bruins now sit on a 2-8 record with Juliunn Redmond having top-scored with 21 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Jada Rice added 20 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals, Jade Dunlop 15 points and two steals, Shalome Dunlop nine points and three rebounds, and Sienna Tutani seven points, eight boards, five assists and three steals.

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 92 (Russell 31, Fagan 24, Smith 11, Dakic 11, Crase 11)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 83 (Redmond 21, Rice 20, J Dunlop 15)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (96) defeated Sutherland Sharks (62)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles made it five straight wins with Taylor Hurtz once again starring in the 96-62 Sunday victory at home against the Sutherland Sharks.

The Sea Eagles were back on their home floor at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre fresh off making it four straight wins the previous night with the win over the Maitland Mustangs.

The Sharks arrived having lost their previous five matches after playing in last year's grand final including a defeat on Saturday against the Sydney Comets.

It was a dazzling start from the Sea Eagles as they put up 33 points to 12 in the first quarter while shooting 11/22 from the floor including knocking down 5/10 from three-point range.

Manly Warringah put up another 5/11 from three-point range in the second quarter for 25 more points to 18 and that saw the home team head into the half-time break leading 58-30.

The lead continued to grow throughout the second half too getting out to 34 points in the third quarter and 37 in the fourth before the Sea Eagles wrapped up the 34-point victory.

As a result of the win, Manly Warringah improve to a 7-2 record on the season having won five straight with Taylor Wurtz continuing her hot form with another 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks on 7/13 three-point shooting.

Josie Bulman also had 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Kim Dickinson 13 points, four boards, two assists and two steals, and Sari Mowbray 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

The Sharks are now 1-8 on the season having lost their past six with Laci Hawthorne finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds with Vanessa Panousis contributing 10 points, two boards, two assists and two steals, and Aliza Fabbro nine points, two rebounds and two assists.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 96 (Wurtz 27, Bulman 14, Dickinson 13)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 62 (Hawthorne 16, Panousis 10, Fabbro 9)

MEN

Centre of Excellence (94) defeated Bankstown Bruins (82)

Jacob Furphy took his confidence from playing with the Australian Boomers back with him for the Centre of Excellence and led his team to the 94-82 win over Jason Cadee, Jaylin Galloway and the Bankstown Bruins.

The CoE were fresh off the Saturday win on the road to the Norths Bears by 23 points ahead of returning to the Australian Institute of Sport on Sunday to host the Bruins.

While it is a Bankstown team featuring the likes of Cadee and Galloway, there were short on bodies including being without Hayden Blankley, Kaylan Bayer and Jesse Edwards who all played the previous evening in the home win over the Hills Hornets.

It was a dominant start from the Centre of Excellence who piled on 28 points to 17 in the first quarter including going on an 11-0 run and leading by as much as 16 points.

The lead got out to as much as 18 points in the second frame too before the CoE were leading 52-41 by the half-time break.

However, with a team featuring Galloway and Cadee, the Bruins were always going to keep on fighting and they outscored the CoE in the third quarter 26 points to 19.

They couldn’t quite get close to pose any serious threat, though, with the CoE going on to score the 12-point victory even with Bankstown getting to the foul line 38 times and knocking down 27 of those.

The win improves the Centre of Excellence to a 9-1 record to retain top position to be the only team in the NBL1 East having not lost at least three matches so far.

Once again all 12 players were given opportunities by CoE coach Robbie McKinlay with everyone playing at least four minutes and nine of the 12 out on the court in double-figure minutes.

Jacob Furphy played for the Boomers last week in the Trans-Tasman Throwdown and showed what an exciting talent he is by delivering 34 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists on 4/6 three-point shooting.

Alex Dickeson added 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, Che Brogan 12 points and four assists, and Mading Kuany 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Bruins slip to a 5-5 record to be clinging to a place inside the top eight and they did fight hard despite being shorthanded with virtually just a six-man rotation for coach Curtis Sardi to work with.

In his second game back from the shoulder injury that ended his NBL season early at the Sydney Kings, Jaylin Galloway was terrific with 34 points, six rebounds and two steals even with shooting 4/15 from three-point range.

Jason Cadee added 19 points, 10 assists and five rebounds with 11/15 shooting at the line with Dominique Keyes contributing seven points, three boards, two steals and two blocks while Gum Majak pulled down nine rebounds.

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 94 (Furphy 34, Dickeson 19, Brogan 12)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 82 (Galloway 34, Cadee 19, Keyes 7)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (89) defeated Sutherland Sharks (84)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles were able to take advantage of an off shooting afternoon from Kouat Noi to make it a double win weekend with the 89-84 victory over the Sutherland Sharks.

The Sea Eagles were fresh off beating the defending champion Maitland Mustangs on Saturday ahead of remaining home at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday playing host to the Sharks.

Sutherland had lost to the Sydney Comets on Saturday and were looking to hit back with a line-up featuring Sydney Kings NBL pair Noi and Jason Spurgin.

Manly Warringah managed to open up a six-point lead in the first quarter and were still on top 22-18 by quarter-time before the Sea Eagles opened up a lead a big as 15 during the second term.

The home team were still leading 47-35 by half-time on the back of shooting 19/35 from the field opposed to the 12/31 from the Sharks.

Manly Warringah did maintain a double-digit lead for a lot of the second half and withstood the late charge from Sutherland on the way to securing the five-point victory.

It's a double win weekend for the Sea Eagles as they improve to a 5-4 record on the season with Preston Purifoy knocking down 5/10 from long range on his way to 22 points, three rebounds and three steals.

He had plenty of help too with Mason Bragg providing 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, Matthew Eldridge 13 points, seven boards and three assists, Stefan Valkovic 12 points and seven rebounds, and Isaiah Lee 11 points, six assists and two steals.

The Sharks had lost just once coming into Round 7 but now finish it with a 6-3 record after the defeats at the hands of the Comets and Sea Eagles.

It was a rough shooting afternoon for Kouat Noi who went just 1/10 from the field for four points and four rebounds.

Jason Spurgin stepped up, though, for 22 points, 15 rebounds and three assists on 10/15 shooting with Luke Jamieson contributing 16 points, eight boards, four assists and two blocks, Lochlan Hutchison 12 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, and Harrison Raynor 11 points.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 89 (Purifoy 22, Bragg 14, Eldridge 13)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 84 (Spurgin 22, Jamieson 16, Hutchison 12)