NBL1 North Recap | Friday Men's Round 11

Spencer Parker, Kobe McDowell-White, Jordan Hunter, David Gurney and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk were among the standout performers in Friday night wins in First Nations Round of the NBL1 North.

There were wins on Friday night to begin Round 11 in the NBL1 North competition for the Southern Districts Spartans, Red City Roar, USC Rip City and North Gold Coast Seahawks.

It was a thriller at Mackay Basketball Stadium with the Southern Districts Spartans claiming the 86-85 win against the Mackay Meteors despite the late heroics from Jaylin Galloway.

Kobe McDowell-White finished with 30 points on six three-pointers for the Spartans while Jaylin Galloway finished with 28 points for Mackay.

The Red City Roar proved too good for the South West Metro Pirates on Friday night, winning 102-78 on their home court.

Spencer Parker delivered 30 points for Red City with Brendan Teys putting up 24 points for the Pirates.

USC Rip City put together a terrific second quarter that ended up setting up their eventual 85-76 victory against the Brisbane Capitals.

Ahead of going to the FIBA Asia Cup to play with the Boomers, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk put up 27 points on seven three-pointers in the win for Rip City. Ben Volkman top-scored for the Capitals with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

A David Gurney triple ended up being the sealer for the North Gold Coast Seahawks in the eventual 103-97 victory on the road to the Townsville Heat.

Jordan Hunter delivered 25 points, 19 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots in the win for the Seahawks with Gurney adding 29 points with seven three-point bombs. Richard Peachey finished with 32 points for Townsville and Ethan Betts 27 points and 12 assists.

First Nations Round in the NBL1 North continues on Saturday evening with the Brisbane Capitals playing the Sunshine Coast Phoenix with the Gold Coast Rollers hosting the Northside Wizards and USC Rip taking on Red City Roar.

The Rockhampton Rockets are also at home to the Southern Districts Spartans with the Cairns Marlins hosting the North Gold Coast Seahawks and the Darwin Salties playing host to the Ipswich Force.

The Round 11 NBL1 North action then wraps up on Sunday with the Logan Thunder hosting the Gold Coast Rollers.

NBL1 NORTH – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 11 – FRIDAY NIGHT

MACKAY METEORS 85 lost to SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 86

It was quite the dramatic finish at Mackay Basketball Stadium with the Southern Districts Spartans ending up beating the Mackay Meteors by a point.

The Meteors played host to the Spartans as part of First Nations Round in the NBL1 North and it always was a game destined to go right down to the wire.

While the Meteors did lead by five points during the first quarter, scores were all square by quarter-time but Southern Districts worked their way on top during the second term going on a 5-0 read to lead by seven, and still be up 48-44 at half-time.

The Spartans then took control further in the third quarter scoring eight straight points to end up leading by 12 points, but Mackay had stayed in touch and had pulled the deficit back to four points by three quarter-time.

By the time Kobe McDowell-White knocked down a big triple with two and-a-half minutes left it was the Spartans up by eight points. However, it was back to being a one-point ball game when Jaylin Galloway drained a three ball, then pulled off a steal and a spectacular dunk in transition.

The final stages were all about missed free-throws. Galloway missed two of them for the Meteors and then so did Chris Cedar and McDowell-White up the other end which meant the Spartans held on for the 86-85 victory.

As part of First Nations Round during NAIDOC Week, Kobe McDowell-White rose for the occasion to lead the charge for Southern Districts finishing the night with 30 points, three rebounds and two assists including hitting 6/11 from three-point range.

Chris Cedar was another Indigenous player coming up big for the occasion for the Spartans with 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals while Ngor Nai contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Jalen Canty eight points, 11 boards, three assists and two blocked shots.

Jaylin Galloway ended the night with 28 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists for Mackay while Manny Malou returned with 20 points and four boards.

Kye Medhurst also had 10 points and four rebounds for the Meteors, Rhys Martin nine points and seven assists, and Kyrin Galloway six points, eight boards and four blocked shots.

 

RED CITY ROAR 102 defeated SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 78

The Red City Roar put together a strong showing at home on Friday night to beat the South West Metro Pirates by 24 points.

The Roar were at home to the Pirates at Paul Bancroft Centre as NBL1 North's First Nations Round got underway and it was a tight opening quarter with Red City leading narrowly 21-18 by quarter-time.

Red City went on an 8-0 run during the second quarter to see their lead grow to 13 points and they were still in control 52-40 by half-time on the back of outscoring the Pirates 31 points to 22 in the term.

The home team remained in control to still lead by 12 points at three quarter-time and they then scored another 28 points to 16 in the fourth term to end up winning 102-78.

The victory improves Red City to a 4-8 record on the season while the loss leaves South West also at 4-8.

It was a dominant performance on the glass from Red City as they collected 55 rebounds to 38 including 15 at the offensive end to seven which helped them take 12 extra field goals for the night.

Spencer Parker delivered a starring performance for Red City in the win finishing with 30 points, four rebounds and two assists including going 12/14 at the foul line.

Mitch Poulain added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Roar, Jayden Hodgson 13 points, four assists and three steals, Josh Derksen 10 points and four rebounds, and Nelson Larkins 10 points and six assists.

Brendan Teys once again led the charge for the Pirates with 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists with Zac Carter adding 14 points and six boards, Taylor Young 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Jai Blackman-Corowa seven points.

 

USC RIP CITY 85 defeated BRISBANE CAPITALS 76

USC Rip City produced a huge second quarter to set up an eventual nine-point victory against the Brisbane Capitals at USC Sports Stadium on Friday night.

As part of First Nations Round in the NBL1 North, it was the Capitals who started promisingly away from home going up by as much as seven points in the first quarter before leading 22-19 by the end of one.

However, Rip City took over the contest in the second quarter by piling on 33 points to 21 which saw the home team heading into half-time leading 52-43.

USC maintained their advantage the rest of the way to lead by as much as 16 points in the third quarter and to end up claiming the 85-76 victory.

The win improves Rip City to a 7-4 record on the season while following the loss the Capitals are now 7-7.

The major difference between the teams was the three-point shooting of Rip City. They went 13/28 from three-point land at 46.4 per cent while Brisbane shot 5/17 at 29.4 per cent from beyond the arc.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is fresh off playing with the Australian Boomers last week and is getting ready to play at the FIBA Asia Cup over the next fortnight, and he finished with 27 points with 7/9 shooting from downtown for Rip City.

Kouat Noi added 15 points and 14 rebounds for USC, Eric McAlister 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, Verle Williams 10 points, nine boards, five assists and five steals, and Riley Cordwell eight points.

Ben Volkman ended up top-scoring for the Capitals with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists with Max Mackinnon contributing 13 points and four rebounds, Lachlan Dent 13 points, five assists and four boards, and Tim Soong 10 points and five rebounds.

 

TOWNSVILLE HEAT 97 lost to NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 103

The North Gold Coast Seahawks finished strongly to come away with the hard earned six-point road victory on Friday night against the Townsville Heat.

The Heat were at home to the Seahawks on Friday night at Townsville StarFM Stadium as part of First Nations Round in the NBL1 North with Townsville opening up an early 10-point lead in the first term.

The Heat were still leading 27-24 by quarter-time but the Seahawks worked their way on top during the second period with 26 points to 17 to head into the half-time break leading 50-44.

Things remained tight throughout the second half and when Ethan Betts drained a three ball with a minute and-a-half left the Heat were back level with the Seahawks.

From there it was all North Gold Coast starting with a pair of free-throws to Jordan Hunter before David Gurney drained a three-pointer and then Alex Mudronja sealed the win at the foul line as the Seahawks prevailed 103-97 against the Heat.

The victory improves the Seahawks to a 4-9 record on the season while the Heat fall to 5-9 following the defeat.

David Gurney ended the night with 29 points and seven rebounds for North Gold Coast while connecting on 7/13 from three-point territory.

Jordan Hunter added 25 points, 19 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots as he prepares for his NBL return with the Sydney Kings while Alex Mudronja added 16 points and 11 assists, and Aiden Krause 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Richard Peachey had a tremendous night for Townsville despite the loss with 32 points while hitting 4/10 from downtown and 8/11 from the free-throw line.

Ethan Betts added 27 points and 12 assists, Taine Wattie 22 points and eight rebounds, and Matthew Rees six points.