NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 18

Mikayla Pivec ensured the Albury-Wodonga Bandits will be there for the NBL1 East finals while Nicole Munger helped lock Newcastle Falcons into second, Glenn Morison led the Canberra Gunners over the Sutherland Sharks and Liam Moss hit the winner for the Hills Hornets.

The Saturday women's NBL1 East results saw the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles beat the Hills Hornets 93-36, the Central Coast Crusaders defeat the Penrith Panthers 68-53, the Albury-Wodonga Bandits down the Maitland Mustangs 71-67, the Sutherland Sharks win 92-78 against the Canberra Nationals, the Newcastle Falcons beat the Bankstown Bruins 79-63, and the Norths Bears defeat the Inner West Bulls 100-33.

Then in the men's matches, the Gunners beat the Sharks 92-87, the Hornets defeated the Sea Eagles 86-85, the Crusaders downed the Panthers 95-77, the Bandits won 117-114 in overtime over the Mustangs, the Falcons defeated the Bruins 88-66, the Bulls beat the Bears 87-78, and the Sydney Comets defeated the Centre of Excellence 95-80.

NBL1 EAST RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 18

WOMEN

Sea Eagles finish regular season with big win

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles will enter the NBL1 East playoffs in emphatic form after closing the regular season confirming top spot with the 93-36 victory over the Hills Hornets.

The Sea Eagles already had the regular season championship locked up heading into the final round but that didn’t stop them putting in another commanding performance on Saturday at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

The Hornets were chasing the ultimate upset to close their season, but the Sea Eagles weren’t in a charitable mood and raced to a 16-point lead already in the opening quarter.

That advantage from Manly Warringah continued to grow throughout the rest of the evening and was out to 25 points in the second period, 43 in the third and 57 in the fourth before the Sea Eagles settled on that 57-point winning margin.

The victory means that Manly Warringah finish the regular season in top spot with a 20-2 record while the Hornets end up at 4-18.

Bree Delaney finished up top-scoring for the Sea Eagles with 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists with Kim Hodge adding 16 points and seven boards, Antonia Henderson 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, Zoey Miller 12 points, seven boards and seven assists, and Sari Mowbray 10 points and three rebounds.

Britnee Sewell finished the season top-scoring for the Hornets with 10 points while Laura Davidson added six points and two rebounds on 2/2 three-point shooting.

What a pass by Antonia Henderson ?

Watch #NBL1East via https://t.co/NEk1I7kaV8 or the NBL1 App ?&? pic.twitter.com/wKaptMgxM0

— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 22, 2023

Crusaders finish season with a win

It might have just been pride on the line for both teams at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre but it was the Central Coast Crusaders who ended their season on a high beating the Penrith Panthers 68-53.

Neither the Panthers nor Crusaders were in the playoff hunt entering the last round of the NBL1 East, but that didn’t mean they were short on motivation to get the win heading into Saturday afternoon's match up.

The Crusaders did come into the game having won three of their past seven matches including that stunning upset of the Sea Eagles and despite being on the road, they started well to lead by as much as seven points against the Panthers in the first quarter.

Central Coast remained in control the rest of the game too leading by as much as 11 points in the second quarter, 13 in the third and 15 in the fourth before winning by that 15-point margin.

It's the last game of the season for the Crusaders who now finish on an 8-14 record with some encouraging signs in the back end of the campaign. Penrith is now 4-17 with a game to finish on Sunday away to the Inner West Bulls.

The Crusaders might have only suited up seven players but Rachel Maenpaa was brilliant in her 16 minutes with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 7/13 shooting.

Jonalyn Wittwer added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, Jasmine Forcadilla 11 points, seven boards and four assists, Mikaela Miller 10 points and eight rebounds, Darneka Rowe 10 points, five steals and four boards, and Nicole Hutchins eight points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

Emily Matthews finished up top-scoring for Penrith with 15 points and seven rebounds while knocking down 4/9 from three-point territory.

Chloe Williams added nine points, five rebounds and five assists for the Panthers, and Kelsey Waugh eight points and two boards.

 

Defending champs lock in playoff position

The defending champion Albury-Wodonga Bandits guaranteed themselves an NBL1 East playoff spot bouncing back from a Friday night loss to beat the Maitland Mustangs 71-67 on Saturday.

The Bandits needed to win one of their two games this weekend to secure a finals spot but they lost to the Sydney Comets in overtime on Friday night at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.

That put the pressure on Albury-Wodonga ahead of hosting the Mustangs who were coming into the round in sixth position having won seven of their previous eight matches.

The Bandits started well on their home floor with 19 points to 10 in the opening quarter with that lead out to as much as 11 points. 

However, the Mustangs fired back and went on an 11-0 scoring run to grab the lead in the second quarter, but once the Bandits worked back on top, they never looked back.

Albury-Wodonga led by as much as 10 points again in the final term and then had to withstand a spirited finish from Maitland to secure the four-point win.

With the Bankstown Bruins also losing, the Bandits are guaranteed of playing finals from eighth spot with a 12-10 record while the Mustangs end their campaign at 14-8 also guaranteed a playoff position.

Mikayla Pivec continued her brilliant finish to the season for Albury-Wodonga with another triple-double consisting of 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.

Emma Mahady added 13 points, five boards, four assists and two blocks for the Bandits, Liz Murphy 12 points and four rebounds, Jade Crook 11 points, three boards and two assists, and Ashlee Hanan eight points and eight rebounds.

Shakera Reilly top-scored for Maitland with 21 points and two steals with Sydney Hunter adding 14 points, 10 boards, four steals and two assists, Rachel Williams 10 points and nine rebounds, and Madison Washington 10 points, three boards and two assists.

Nicholson sparks Sharks to big win in Canberra

The Canberra Nationals still needed a lot of luck even with a win, but the Sutherland Sharks ended their finals hopes once and for all with the 92-78 victory on the road on Saturday evening.

Even with two wins in the last round the task for the Nationals making the NBL1 East playoffs was a steep one, but the combination of Albury-Wodonga winning and them losing on Saturday means they are no longer in contention.

The Sharks arrived at Belconnen Basketball Stadium looking to secure their hold on fifth position too in their last game of the season and delivered a dominant opening quarter to the contest.

Sutherland outscored Canberra 34 points to seven in the opening quarter including scoring 18 points consecutively to put the game beyond doubt quite early.

From there, the Sharks would lead by as much as 33 points in the second quarter and then hold a lead somewhere in the 20-point range most of the second half before ending up winning by 14.

The result means the Sharks end the season in fifth position at 15-7 while the Nationals are 9-12 with a game to finish away to the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday.

Lauren Nicholson was brilliant once more for Sutherland finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals on the back of shooting 11/16 from the field, 2/2 from downtown and 8/9 at the foul line.

Aliza Fabbro added 21 points and five rebounds with 4/9 three-point shooting for the Sharks with Maddy Norris contributing 19 points, 11 boards and two blocks. 

Munger fires Falcons to confirm second position

The Newcastle Falcons ensured they take winning form into the NBL1 East playoffs after beating the Bankstown Bruins 79-63 at home on Saturday evening.

The Falcons were coming off a loss to the Maitland Mustangs also at Newcastle Basketball Stadium last week so did need to beat the Bruins this Saturday to confirm second position for the end of the regular season.

It was a tight start to the contest with Bankstown also needing a win if they wanted to remain a chance of playing in the finals too having to rely on the Albury-Wodonga Bandits losing at the same time.

The Bruins managed to lead by a point at quarter-time but then the Falcons put their foot down in the second term. They outscored Bankstown 22 points to seven to open up a 17-point lead and to still be up 46-32 by the main break.

From there, Newcastle controlled the contest with the lead growing to 22 points in the third quarter before the Falcons won by 16 to finish the regular season in second spot with a 19-3 record.

The Bruins finish at 11-11 to narrowly miss out on a top eight finish.

Nicole Munger came up huge once more for Newcastle to finish with 20 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and three steals with Mykea Gray adding 24 points and four steals.

Abigail Curtin also contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds despite shooting 4/19 from the floor while Hannah Chicken had 12 points, four boards and two assists, and Kate Kingham nine points and five steals.

Violet Morrow finished the season with another strong showing for Bankstown with 23 points, 11 rebounds and three steals with Kiahna Davis-White adding eight points, five boards, three steals and two assists, and Bree Maimone seven points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Bears thrash Bulls to lock in second position

The Norths Bears guaranteed themselves a third place finish in the NBL1 East to close the regular season with a 100-33 thumping of the Inner West Bulls at ELS Hall Park on Saturday night.

The Bulls have two home games this weekend to close the regular season but things didn’t get off to a promising start for them against the Bears on Saturday.

Norths took charge early in the contest with 29 points to nine in the first quarter having scored 23 consecutive points and to be up by as much as 22 along the way.

The Bears continued to dominate the rest of the contest with 22 points to 10 in the second quarter, 29 to seven in the third and 20 points to seven in the fourth on the way to the eventual 67-point victory.

As a result of the win, the Bears improve to a 17-4 record to lock away third position before finishing at home to the Sydney Comets on Sunday. The Bulls are now 5-16 before finishing also at home to the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.

Emily Simons finished with 23 points on 11/18 shooting for the Bears with Madeleine O'Hehir contributing 20 points, six boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

Jessica Bygate also had 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Caitlyn Martin 15 points, two boards and two assists.

Maja Peric top-scored for Inner West with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Naiobe Reid scored seven points with Shiho Yamazaki pulling down six rebounds and dishing out four assists.

MEN

Moss the hero as Hornets overcome Sea Eagles

The Hills Hornets caused the turnover to set up the game winning bucket from Liam Moss to beat the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 86-85 on Saturday night to keep their top four NBL1 East hopes alive.

Coming into the last round of the season and the Hornets had to win both games they had and then for a whole lot to fall their way to break into the top four, but firstly they had to just take care of business themselves on the road to the Sea Eagles.

Manly Warringah had lost their past four matches and were desperate to finish their season on a high but it was the Hornets with plenty to play for to try and finish as high up in the top eight as possible.

That saw Hills start well to lead 22-16 by quarter-time before still holding on to a 39-35 advantage at half-time.

Both teams then caught fire in the third quarter combining for 59 points with Manly Warringah outscoring Hills 31 points to 28 to trail by just a point at three quarter-time.

The Sea Eagles then looked on track to score a fifth win of the season in their last game when completing a 12-0 run and to lead by eight points.

They would remain on top most of the last quarter and were back up by a point when Mitch Evans knocked down a huge three-pointer with 24 seconds to go.

The Sea Eagles then got a stop and had the chance to extend their lead with the shot clock turned off, but inexplicably they turned the ball over in the back court.

The Hornets took full advantage with Liam Moss driving to the rack for a strong finish to put the Hornets up one with 6.9 seconds to go. 

The Sea Eagles had two good looks firstly inside from Aku Makki and then a three from Matthew Eldridge, but neither would fall and the Hornets held on to win by a point to improve to 14-7 on the season before hosting the Centre of Excellence on Sunday.

On top of hitting the game winning bucket, Liam Moss put up 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Hills with Paul Brotherson contributing 15 points and three boards, Ben Kearins 13 points and five rebounds, and Shawn Montague 13 points, six boards and two blocks.

Matthew Eldridge delivered 29 points and 13 rebounds for Manly Warringah with Aku Makki adding 18 points, five boards, four assists and three steals, and Keeto Browne 13 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Lawton ensures Crusaders finish on a high

The Central Coast Crusaders closed their season beating the Penrith Panthers 95-77 with AJ Lawton brilliant once more to end his campaign in blistering form.

Neither team could take part in the finals coming into the final weekend of the season with the Panthers attempting to snap a 10-game losing run and the Crusaders to finish on a high.

Central Coast started well away from home with 29 points to 21 in the opening quarter and they were able to go on with the job from there.

The Crusaders would grow their lead to 11 points in the second period, 15 in the third and 20 in the fourth before winning by 18 to finish the season with a 6-16 record having won three of their last four matches.

The Panthers are now 3-18 having lost 11 straight before finishing the season on Sunday away to the second placed Inner West Bulls.

AJ Lawton was once again the star for Central Coast with 29 points, nine steals, four rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 11/18 from the field, 3/6 from three-point territory and 4/5 at the foul line.

Luke Cassidy added 18 points, six assists and three steals, James Trustum 14 points, nine boards and two assists, William Bates 10 points and five rebounds, and Aaron Redhead 10 points and nine boards.

Bandits beat Mustangs in OT classic

One team might have been locked into finals and one team out of contention, but it didn’t stop the Albury-Wodonga Bandits and Maitland Mustangs putting on quite the overtime show to close their seasons on Saturday night.

The two teams locked horns at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre with the Bandits out of finals contention and the Mustangs guaranteed of playing finals, but also a chance to break into the top four with a victory.

With Albury-Wodonga trying to finish the season on a winning note and Maitland trying to finish top four, there was still plenty to play for and both teams went at the contest like that.

It was a tight first half with Maitland leading by three points at quarter-time and then only just clinging to a one-point advantage at the half.

Then after the Mustangs managed to lead by seven in the third quarter, the Bandits took charge and would soon lead by 10 themselves before it was Maitland's turn to fire back.

That set up a big finish and with Albury-Wodonga leading by three, Maitland had one last possession to try to force the game into overtime. It was Will Cranston-Lown who found James Hunter for the three-point shot and that he drilled and scores were locked at 102-102.

Then in the extra five minutes, the Bandits went up five with just under 30 seconds to go following a pair of free-throws to Lochlan Cummings, but then Kevin Warren kept Maitland in touch with a three ball.

However, in the end both Michael Parks and Cummings iced the game at the foul line for the Bandits as they held on for the three-point win when Cranston-Lown's attempt to force a second overtime wouldn’t go.

Lochlan Cummings finished another standout season from the guard for Albury-Wodonga with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists with 12/13 free-throw shooting. 

Jamir Coleman added 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, Michael Parks 26 points, 11 boards, four steals and two assists, and Dylan Wilkie 19 points with 4/10 three-point shooting.

Will Cranston-Lown finished with 28 points, nine assists, five steals and four rebounds for the Mustangs with James Hunter contributing 25 points, seven boards and two blocks.

Kevin Warren also had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, Matthew Gray 12 points and eight boards, Luka Vea 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jack Edwards nine points, nine boards and three assists.

Morison leads Gunners to locking in top four spot

A top four position went on the line on Saturday afternoon at Belconnen Basketball Stadium with the Canberra Gunners ending up beating the Sutherland Sharks 92-87.

The Gunners have two games this weekend to try and guarantee a top four finish while the only hope for the Sharks to still finish top four was to win and then hope other results fell their way.

Canberra started well with 28 points to 21 in the opening quarter before the Gunners extended that advantage in the second term with another 27 points to 20 to lead by as much as 14 points, and still being up 55-41 going into the half-time interval.

The Gunners were still leading by double-figures for much of the second half before the Sharks produced a big finish and got back within two points after a Deng Gek dunk with 2:30 on the clock.

While the Sharks kept coming, the Gunners did enough in the finish to hold on for the five-point win to improve to 15-6 on the season ahead of being away to the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday.

The season is now finished for Sutherland at 13-8 and a likely eighth placed finish.

Glenn Morison came up huge for the Gunners once more just as he did in last year's Grand Final to produce 29 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks on 10/20 shooting from the floor and 9/12 at the foul line.

Dhal Fieg added 19 points, eight boards, four assists and three steals, Pietro Badalassi 17 points, five assists, four steals and three boards, and Austin Clarke 16 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Lochlan Hutchison delivered 26 points, six assists and five rebounds for Sutherland with Deng Gak adding 15 points and five boards, Marquel Beasley 15 points and three rebounds, Adrian Cabrera 12 points and two boards, and Jordan Mitchell 10 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. 

Falcons gear up for finals with win over Bruins

Having already secured their playoff place, the Newcastle Falcons gave themselves a chance to finish higher than eighth with Saturday night's 88-66 home win against the Bankstown Bruins.

Following last week's win against the Maitland Mustangs, Newcastle was guaranteed of playing finals coming into the last round where they were hosting the out of contention Bruins.

It was a fast start from Newcastle to open up an early nine-point lead but Bankstown did well to hit back and level scores up by quarter-time.

However, when the Falcons pulled away in the second quarter it was for good and the home team outscored the Bruins 29 points to 15 to lead 46-32 at the half-time interval.

The lead for Newcastle grew to 18 points in the third stanza and 22 in the fourth on the way to that 22-point victory to see them finish the regular season at 14-8.

The season is over for Bankstown as well having lost the past six matches at 4-18.

Anthony Gaines top-scored in the win for Newcastle with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals with 5/10 three-point shooting.

Matur Maluach added 19 points, three rebounds and two steals with Thomas Akamarmoi 16 points and four boards, Myles Cherry 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Ryan Beisty nine points, 13 boards, four assists and two steals.

Miguel Campos produced 22 points, two rebounds and two assists for Bankstown while hitting 6/10 from behind the three-point line with Kobe Shannon adding 17 points and four rebounds, and Hayden Blankley 13 points, seven boards, five assists, two steals and two blocks.

Bulls lock in second spot with win over Bears

It was a battle of two top four teams at ELS Hall Park on Saturday night and it was the home side the Inner West Bulls who locked away a top two finish beating the Norths Bears 87-78.

Coming into the last round of the regular season, the Bulls sat in second spot and the Bears in fourth but the two teams could still dramatically slide anywhere in the top eight with both having two matches to play.

The Bulls were at home and started well with 21 points to 14 in the opening period. Despite a brief moment in the second quarter following a 9-0 scoring streak, Inner West would lead the rest of the evening as well.

The lead for the Bulls grew to as much as 18 points in the third quarter and then after leading by 15 in the fourth stanza, Inner West held out the fast finishing Bears to claim the important nine-point win.

The result improves Inner West to a 17-4 record to be guaranteed a second place finish no matter the result on Sunday at home to the Penrith Panthers. The Bears are now 14-7 and must win on Sunday at home to the Sydney Comets to finish fourth.

Blake Morrow finished up top-scoring for Inner West with 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds while Alex Higgins-Titsha contributed 19 points, 11 boards, three steals and two assists, and Chris Bryant 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

Tony Tolovae also had 14 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists for the Bulls while hitting all six of his shots inside the arc and missing all five outside.

Lucas Morgan top-scored for the Bears with 18 points on 4/6 three-point shooting with Mackenzie Morgan adding 12 points and three boards, Michael Golding 12 points and five rebounds, Eoin Fitz-Gerald 12 points, three boards and three assists, and Junior Madut 12 points and two assists.

Comets beat CoE on their return to action

Despite the Centre of Excellence being locked into top spot and the Sydney Comets being out of playoff contention, it was the Comets prevailing 95-80 on Saturday night.

It was the start of a double-header weekend for both teams when they clashed at Comets Stadium but no matter the results this weekend, the Centre of Excellence couldn’t concede top spot and the Comets couldn’t break into the top eight.

The Basketball Australia team were playing their first game since June 18 when they beat the Central Coast Crusaders to make it a 13-game winning streak and they did start well enough against the Comets leading by nine points in the first quarter.

The lead continued to switch hands over the next two quarters before Sydney dominated the fourth stanza with 27 points to 17 to lead by as much as 20 on the back of scoring 18 consecutive points.

From there, the Comets went on to score the 15-point victory to improve to an 11-10 record ahead of finishing the season away to the Norths Bears on Sunday. the Centre of Excellence remain locked to top spot at 19-2 with a game to finish on Sunday away to the Hills Hornets.

As he gears up for a second NBL season at the Illawarra Hawks, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk delivered 25 points, nine rebounds and two steals for Sydney with Archer Woodhill contributing 23 points and 12 boards on 9/12 shooting.

Isaac Ayoubi also had 21 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Johnny Crnogorac seven points, four boards and three assists.

John Furphy top-scored for the Centre of Excellence with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Ben Henshall contributed 17 points, four steals and three rebounds, and James O'Donnell 16 points and seven boards.