NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Men's Round 17

The NBL1 East's top three teams, the Canberra Gunners, Maitland Mustangs and Illawarra Hawks, along with the Sutherland Sharks and Hills Hornets all scored Saturday night NBL1 East Round 17 victories.

Round 17 began in the NBL1 East on Friday night in Tuggeranong with the Maitland Mustangs winning a thriller on the road 91-90 against the Canberra Gunners.

Then on Saturday evening, the Maitland Mustangs made it a perfect 24 hours by winning another thriller this time beating the Bankstown Bruins 98-96 to consolidate their hold on second position.

Matthew Gray delivered 28 points and 11 rebounds in the win for the Mustangs while Lachlan Anderson put up 28 points for the Bruins and Jack Lopez 27.

The Canberra Gunners bounced back from their Friday night loss to lock away the regular season championship beating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 92-63.

Glenn Morison finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds for Canberra while Matthew Wacher top-scored for Manly-Warringah with 14 points and five assists.

The Sutherland Sharks kept their hold on sixth position and ended the playoff hopes of the Albury-Wodonga Bandits with the 106-74 victory on their home court.

Geoff Gerlach scored 23 points for the Sharks, Archer Woodhill 22 and Adrian Cabrera 19. Duom Dawam top-scored for Albury-Wodonga with 21 points.

The Hills Hornets continue to play well late in the season despite being out of the playoff hunt by defeating the Central Coast Crusaders 86-76.

Paul Brotherson finished with 23 points in the win for the Hornets with Oliver Robilliard putting up 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Crusaders.

The Illawarra Hawks are in third position with a round to play of the regular season after beating the fourth placed Norths Bears 91-77.

Kiwi Gardner strengthened his MVP claims in the NBL1 East with another 29 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Hawks with Tim Coenraad adding 23 points and 12 boards.

Iggy Mitchell top-scored for the Bears with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Round 17 in the NBL1 East will now wrap up on Sunday afternoon back at The Snakepit with the Illawarra Hawks hosting the Albury-Wodonga Bandits while the Newcastle Falcons are also taking on the Bankstown Bruins.

NBL1 EAST – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 17 – SATURDAY NIGHT

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 96 lost to MAITLAND MUSTANGS 98

The Bankstown Bruins threw everything at what would have been their biggest win of the season but the Maitland Mustangs hung tough for a two-point win.

The Mustangs opened Round 17 in the NBL1 East on Friday night winning a one-point thriller on the road to the Canberra Gunners before they headed to Bankstown Basketball Stadium on Saturday to take on the bottom placed Bruins.

However, Bankstown was ready to make a statement before the season came to a close and it was a remarkably close contest the entire way with no more than six points ever separating the two teams.

Scores were tied at 20-20 at quarter-time before Maitland took a one-point lead into half-time and then it was Bankstown up by one at three quarter-time.

Nothing continued to separate the two teams and in the end it was a Matthew Gray three-pointer with time running out that brought the Mustangs back level at 86-86 with the Bruins.

Alex Foster's attempt at a game winner for Bankstown wouldn’t fall and the game went to overtime which began with a three-pointer for the Bruins from Jack Lopez.

Lopez then stretched his team's lead to six points with two minutes to play but the Mustangs weren’t going to be denied and it was Jack Edwards who put them back in front with a turnaround jumper.

A three-point play from Will Cranston-Lown then stretched the Maitland lead to four and despite a Bankstown triple from Dragan Elkaz, it was the Mustangs who held on to win 98-96.

That gave Maitland two wins inside 24 hours by a total of three points to improve to a 13-7 record in third position with one round to play. The Bruins are now 5-15 ahead of taking on the Newcastle Falcons on Sunday.

Matthew Gray finished the game with 28 points and 11 rebounds for Maitland with Will Cranston-Lown contributing 18 points and four boards, James Hunter 12 points and nine rebounds, and Jay Cole 10 points and seven boards.

Lachlan Anderson delivered 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Bankstown with Jack Lopez adding 27 points, seven boards and six assists, and Nathaniel Musters 12 points and eight rebounds.

 

CANBERRA GUNNERS 92 defeated MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 63

The Canberra Gunners bounced back from a tough loss on Friday night at home to beat the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles by 29 points on Saturday.

The Gunners opened the round by losing to the Maitland Mustangs by a point on Friday in Tuggeranong so they were motivated to bounce back on Saturday against the Sea Eagles at Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

It was Manly-Warringah who started the better too opening up an early eight-point lead before Canberra worked back into the contest to lead 18-16 by quarter-time.

The Gunners then kept that going with 26 points to eight in the second term to be in control leading 44-24 by half-time.

Canberra kept that roll going in the third quarter with another 30 points to 19 to end up leading by as much as 34 points, and the Gunners went on from there to score the 92-63 victory.

The result sees the Gunners maintain their hold on top spot in the NBL1 East with the 15-6 record going into the final round while the Sea Eagles slip to 8-13 in ninth spot.

Glenn Morison produced a powerful inside performance for Canberra finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds on 12/21 shooting from the field.

Shaun Mills added 13 points and four assists for the Gunners, James Toohey 11 points, four boards and three assists, Pietro Badalassi nine points, 13 rebounds and three steals, and Reece Kaye nine points and five assists. 

Matthew Wacher top-scored for Manly-Warringah with 14 points and five assists while Kyle Painter added 11 points and four boards, and Luca Ace-Nasteski 10 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

 

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 106 defeated ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 74

The Sutherland Sharks geared up for their playoff run with a dominant performance at home on Saturday beating the Albury-Wodonga Bandits by 32 points.

While the Sharks were at home at Sutherland Basketball Stadium it was the Bandits who got the better of the start to lead by as much as 11 points during the first period, and still being on top 27-23 by quarter-time.

Sutherland responded to that challenge in the best possible way with a massive second quarter where they went on a 12-0 run to end up outscoring the Bandits 36 points to 18 to turn a seven-point deficit into a 14-point lead.

The Sharks were up 59-45 at half-time and then went on with the job in the second half stretching the lead to 22 points in the third period, and 33 in the fourth before winning 106-74.

The victory improves Sutherland to a 11-9 record on the season at the end of the penultimate round while the Bandits are now 8-12 ahead of taking on the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday.

The Sharks put on a shooting clinic going at 58.3 per cent from the field for the game opposed to a respectable 46.3 per cent from the Bandits.

Geoff Gerlach delivered 23 points and six rebounds for the Sharks on 11/16 shooting with Archer Woodhill contributing 22 points and seven boards, Adrian Cabrera 19 points and three rebounds, and Lochlan Hutchison 13 points and 10 assists.

Duom Dawam top-scored for Albury-Wodonga with 21 points and seven rebounds while Lochlan Cummings added 17 points and three steals, Jack Saunders 10 points and four assists, and Hamish Warden nine points and eight rebounds.

 

HILLS HORNETS 86 defeated CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 76

The Hills Hornets put together another strong late season showing by beating the Central Coast Crusaders by 10 points on Saturday night.

The Hornets were at home to the Crusaders at Hills Basketball Stadium on Saturday night as part of Round 17 in the NBL1 East.

The Crusaders threw the gauntlet right down to the Hornets by starting strongly going on a 9-0 run to lead by 12 points in the first quarter, and still by 21-11 after the first period.

Central Coast then managed to lead by as much as 19 points in the second quarter and remained on top at 38-27 going into the half-time break.

The Hornets had to fire up coming back out of the changerooms and they did to put up 30 points to 20 in the third quarter.

The Hornets then kept that momentum going with another 29 points to 18 in the last term to end up leading by 16 points having earlier been down by as much as 19 before winning 86-76.

The victory improves Hills to a 9-12 record to be in eighth position ahead of the last round which sees them face the Albury-Wodonga Bandits. The Crusaders are now 7-13 following the loss with games to finish next weekend against the Canberra Gunners and Inner West Bulls.

Paul Brotherson led the charge once more for the Hornets with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals on 8/11 shooting.

Lachlan Charlton contributed 15 points, four rebounds and three steals, Jayden Prakash 13 points, Liam Moss 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Joe Patmore eight points and 10 boards.

Aaron Redhead had a huge performance for Central Coast made up of 23 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots on 8/13 shooting from the floor.

Oliver Robilliard added 21 points and 10 rebounds, Nick Wooller 10 points and three boards, and Jacob Cracknell eight points and three assists.

 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 91 defeated NORTHS BEARS 77

The Illawarra Hawks strengthened their push to lock away a top two finish in the NBL1 East by beating the Norths Bears by 14 points on Saturday night.

The Hawks and Bears came into Round 17 in the NBL1 East locked in a battle over positions inside the top four with Illawarra coming in at 11-7 while Norths were 13-7.

That meant there was plenty at stake for the clash at The Snakepit with the visiting Bears starting strongly going on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to lead by as much as nine points and to be up 27-19 by quarter-time.

The Hawks worked back into the contest somewhat in the second term but still it was Norths leading 47-43 at half-time.

Scores were then all square at three quarter-time and then it was all Illawarra in the fourth quarter with 24 points to 10 including a run of scoring 12 consecutive points to end up winning 91-77.

The victory improves the Hawks to a 12-7 record on the season ahead of hosting the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Sunday while the Bears are now 13-8.

Kiwi Gardner continued his push for the MVP award in the NBL1 East by delivering another 29 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Hawks.

Tim Coenraad added 23 points and 12 rebounds for Illawarra, Harry Morris 15 points and four boards, Patrick Lancaster eight points, six assists and four rebounds, and Sean Mullan five points and five boards.

Iggy Mitchell put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Bears with Michael Golding adding 17 points, six boards and three assists, and Patrick Sanders 19 points.