NBL1 North Round 5 Friday night men’s recap

Catch up on the Round 5 action from the NBL1 North men’s competition on Friday night.

Mackay Meteors 101 def Gold Coast Rollers 89

The Meteors welcomed Brisbane Bullets star Harry Froling to Mackay Basketball Stadium with a 101-89 victory over Gold Coast on Friday night.

With NBL duties done for the season, the 211cm centre tallied a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Meteors.

The Meteors, up 84-83 with 5.35 remaining in the game, were sparked by a Christopher Cedar three-pointer to go on a 17-6 run to clinch the win.

Mackay swingman Emmanuel Malou scored a game-high 23 points, including three from deep, at a high rate of 66.67% from the field.

Meteors backcourt Jerron Jamerson (22points) and Cedar (17 points) added to Mackay’s attacking threats, while forward Villami Foteki chimed in with 12 points.

The Rollers will rue a 18-8 turnovers count, while the Meteors were clutch at the charity stripe with 17 of 20 free throws made compared to Gold Coast’s 7 of 14.

The Rollers had five players score in double figures with Jaryd Eustace (20 points), Levi Frankland (16 points), Callum Dalton (15 points), Cameron Goldfinch (12 points), and Jaze Morris (12 points).

The Rollers (2-2) travel to Rockhampton to play the Rockets (0-5) on Saturday night, while the Meteors (4-1) take on South West Metro Pirates at home in Round 6.

Cairns Marlins 85 def Southern Districts Spartans 68

A trio of Cairns Taipans stars joined the city’s NBL1 side to help the Marlins defeat Southern Districts 85-68 at Early Settler Stadium on Friday night.

The NBL stars combined for 45 points for the home team as forward Majok Deng (pictured) scored at a quick rate for his 16 points in 18 minutes, centre Nathan Jawai tallied a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and swingman Mirko Djeric scored 13 points with 4 of 8 from the arc.

The Marlins backcourt of Ky Stattmann (11 points) and Deba George (8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) orchestrated the attack with their new scoring weapons.

Spartans young gun Noah Thomas top scored for the visitors with 18 points including 3 of 6 from deep. The Spartans, however, made six less three-pointers and 13 less free throws in the loss.

The Spartans (3-2) travel to Townsville to take on the Heat (3-2) on Saturday night, while the Marlins (3-2) await USC Rip City at home in Round 6.