NBL1 Central Recap | Men's Round 14

Eagles have Malith: It was the Malith of Machar that marched the Eagles over the Warriors and the Lions amassing 54 points and 29 rebounds | Kelly Barnes/AllStar Photos

Saturday 9/07/22

Forestville Eagles vs Woodville Warriors (Kayo Game of the Week)   

Eagles oust Warriors in revenge rage

The Eagles have ended the Warriors streak at twelve as the clock struck for the homeside 108-79 at the Nest. It was revenge o’clock as the Eagles rage rose them to a 31-16 start bursting out the blocks with a defensive mindset holding the Warriors to 33 percent from the field. Jack Purchase who missed their last meeting was the missing link as he poured in 31 points with 6 triples and 8 rebounds and Malith Machar went to another level with a punchy season high 32 points at 63 percent, 17 rebounds (9 offensive), 3 steals and 2 blocks. Greg Mays came off the bench to impact heavily with 23 points and Adam Doyle was as efficient as ever with 11 assists and 7 points. A stunningly lean night for the top of the table Warriors showed only Jawan Stepney coming up with numbers of 26 points but several other key Warriors were down in their figures we’ve seen this season.    

Sturt Sabres vs Southern Tigers

Rigoni rush buries tenacious Tigers   

It was a star performance from Jacob “Tregoni” as his rush in the second and last quarters buried the tenacious Tigers 93-71 at the Cave. Rigoni dropped 12 points in 3 minutes of action-packed hoops early in the second quarter to give his Sabres an 18-6 first five minutes that turned into a halftime lead of 51-35. The Tigers Lachy Olbrich in his last game before returning to college brought the Tigers back into the game with an 11-point, 5 rebound contributions including an 0-8 run to bring it back to 69-60. The Tigers hung around and made life difficult but Rigoni’s back to back triples and three thunderous dunks including one that rocked the supports literally from Devin Haygood sealed a strong win for the Sabres. Rigoni racked up a career high 33 points and 15 rebounds, Haygood emerged when it counted to finish with 15 points and 3 block shots and Joel Spear (14 points, 7 assists and rebounds) and Jack Turnbull (14 points and 7 rebounds) both added pivotal parts throughout the night. Olbrich lifted for 22 points and 13 rebounds while Machar Machar who had 9 first quarter points came up with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.     

North Adelaide Rockets vs Eastern Mavericks

Winn TV on full display for resurgent Rockets 

It was all about the show and display of the Rockets import Terry Winn as he produced a blinder to lead the Rockets to back-to-back wins and into third place on the table with a 95-76 win over the plucky Mavericks at the Launch Pad. Winn starred with 35 points at 70 percent and 13 rebounds to lead all while Jamar Akoh had an encouragingly huge performance of 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. The “Greek Freak of Central” Ioannis Dimakopoulous put in another eye-catching hand with 29 points and 13 rebounds to keep them in touch at half-time before Winn blew them away in the third 27-10 on the back of 57 percent from beyond the arc. Legan also grabbed 19 points and 6 assists for the Mavs.  

South Adelaide Panthers vs Central District Lions

Mid-Range marvel and Star-ling do it again to Lions     

Jeremy Smith was the thorn in the Lions and proved it once again as he took his Panthers to second the ladder with an 84-68 win at the Jungle. Smith stepped his way to 27 points and was well back up by a vintage Alex Starling with 17 points, 16 rebounds (8 offensive), 5 assists and 4 blocks. It was a very open lane game as expected with fast break points 12-13 for each side while there was a raft of second chance points 17-12. The Lions got a good one out of Branden Jenkins with 18 points and Kalani Sapwell accumulated 11 points and 7 rebounds.

West Adelaide Bearcats vs Norwood Flames  

Go West; stay alive with upset over Flames     

A blistering third term from the West of Adelaide has kept their faint final five hopes alive with an upset 76-68 win over the Norwood Flames at the Bearcat Cave. The third term was bookmarked by a 25-8 scoreline setup by 8 points in in term from star Nik DeSantis who produced 23 points and 6 rebounds. Nate Sheppard was pivotal across all four quarters with 17 points and 8 rebounds while the vital contribution of the night came from big man Lachlan Hunter with 11 points and 8 rebounds. The Flames saw Ray Harding return to his early season form with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and Trey McBride had 18 points and 4 steals but several key players were down in contribution. The Bearcats claimed the split by 4 points which could re-arrange ladder positions at the end of the season. 

Sunday 10/07/22

Central District Lions vs Forestville Eagles

Malith doubles up and flies Forestville back to second

Malith Machar made it back-to-back double doubles as he flew the Eagles back to second with a 74-88 win over the Lions at the Den. Machar dropped 22 points and 12 rebounds while Jack Purchase produced his best stretch of the season with another 24 points and 6 rebounds. The Eagles got off to an ideal start with a 14-29 opener before sealing it well and truly in the third quarter with 9-18 on the back of 12 second chance points. Branden Jenkins led the way for the Lions with 14 points and 6 rebounds while Nathaniel Koko collected 12 points off the pine with Magok Manyang, Kalani Sapwell and Bijan Johnson well held to single figures and limited assists and rebounds.