NBL1 South Recap | Friday Men's Round 16

The NBL1 South Men's top two teams opened the last round of the regular season with Friday night victories to see them both in prime position to hold onto those spots by the end of the weekend and heading into the playoffs.

There were just the two matches on Friday night to open Round 16 in the NBL1 South and it was wins at home for both the Hobart Chargers and Mount Gambier Pioneers to set the stage for a tantalising Saturday night and Sunday afternoon across Victoria.

It was the battle of Tasmania to open the round with the Hobart Chargers at home to the North West Tasmania Thunder, and it was the Chargers on their home floor proving too strong to win 87-83.

The win guarantees the Chargers at least a top two finish as they wait to see how the rest of the weekend pans out while the Thunder now won't be part of the playoff action as a result of the loss.

The Mount Gambier Pioneers then played their last home game of the season at The Ice House and celebrated Erik Burdon becoming the club's new games record holder with the 102-70 victory against the Ballarat Miners.

The victory improves the Pioneers to a 16-5 record but how they go against the Waverley Falcons on Sunday will ultimately determine where they finish along with what the Kilsyth Cobras and Sandringham Sabres do this weekend.

The final round in the 2022 NBL1 South regular season continues on Saturday with the Frankston Blues hosting the Diamond Valley Eagles while later in the evening the Sandringham Sabres are home to the Eltham Wildcats, and the Nunawading Spectres play the Melbourne Tigers.

The Dandenong Rangers also play the Waverley Falcons with the Keilor Thunder facing the Casey Cavaliers, Kilsyth Cobras taking on the Bendigo Braves, and the Ringwood Hawks battling the Knox Raiders.

The regular season then wraps up on Sunday with the Ballarat Miners facing the Bendigo Braves with the Knox Raiders at home to Keilor Thunder, Eltham Wildcats facing the Dandenong Rangers, Melbourne Tigers taking on the Frankston Blues, and Waverley Falcons playing the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 16 – FRIDAY NIGHT

HOBART CHARGERS 87 defeated NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 83

The Hobart Chargers maintained top spot in the NBL1 South and guaranteed themselves at least a top two finish with a hard fought four-point win over the North West Tasmania Thunder.

The Chargers and Thunder ended their regular season on Friday night at Kingborough Sports Centre and it proved to be a terrific contest between the Tasmanian foes.

Hobart needed a win to guarantee a top two finish while North West was just looking to end the season on a high and after a tight first quarter, it was the Thunder who made the first break in the second period.

They went on a 9-0 run to lead by those nine points at one stage and to end up still leading 34-31 by half-time.

Hobart fired up in the third term, though, piling on 33 points to 25 and that was enough to see them end up securing the narrow 87-83 victory.

The win means that the Chargers remain in first place at 16-5 and they are guaranteed of at least finishing in the top two depending on what happens the rest of the weekend. The Thunder finish their season at 10-12.

Sam McDaniel had a terrific night for Hobart finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 11/17 from the floor and 3/5 from long-range.

Harry Froling added 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Chargers, Ole Angerstein 14 points and 14 boards, Jamar Sandifer 13 points and four rebounds, and Jarred Bairstow nine points, five boards and two steals.

Sean Macdonald had a huge outing for the Thunder with 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists with Joel Chilcott contributing 14 points and three steals, Fabijan Krslovic 14 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, Cameron Brown 12 points and three boards, and Matt Kenyon 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 102 defeated BALLARAT MINERS 70

The Mount Gambier Pioneers enhanced their prospects of a top two finish in the NBL1 South by beating the Ballarat Miners by 32 points at home on Friday night.

The Pioneers were celebrating plenty in their last home game of the regular season on Friday night including Erik Burdon playing his 268th game for the club to set a new games record overtaking Jason Joynes.

The Pioneers were also playing to stay in second spot and to remain likely to at least finish in the top two, and they delivered a dominant performance against the out of finals contention visitors.

Mount Gambier went on a 10-0 scoring streak during the first quarter to lead by as much as 14 points and to still be on top 28-16 by quarter-time.

The Pioneers pushed that lead out to 20 in the second term before being in control still 58-41 at the half-time break.

It was more of the same throughout the second half from the Pioneers as they extended their lead to 26 points during the third quarter, and then it was 32 by the final buzzer with Mount Gambier beating Ballarat 102-70.

The victory improves the Pioneers to a 16-5 record on the season with a game to finish on the road to the Waverley Falcons while the Miners are now 9-12 before hosting the Bendigo Braves on Sunday.

Fresh off being announced as being signed as a development player by the Perth Wildcats, Michael Harris starred for Mount Gambier with 26 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists while hitting 4/9 from downtown.

Nick Marshall added 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, Clevon Brown 18 points and eight boards, Jordan Rawls 15 points and seven rebounds, and Tom Kubank 13 points, six boards and three steals.

Koen Sapwell top-scored for Ballarat with 19 points while David Crisp added 13 points, Nic Pozoglou 10 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists, and Deng Gak nine points and eight boards.