NBL1 South Recap | Saturday Men's Round 15

A triple-double from DJ Vasiljevic and 30 points and 13 rebounds from Jacob Lampkin were just two of the match-winning performances in the NBL1 South Men's competition on Saturday night.

The second last round of the regular season on Saturday night saw victories for the Bendigo Braves, Casey Cavaliers, Sandringham Sabres, Diamond Valley Eagles, Eltham Wildcats, Keilor Thunder, Kilsyth Cobras and Mount Gambier Pioneers.

Round 15 in the NBL1 South got underway on Friday night with the Geelong Supercats defeating the Nunawading Spectres 89-75 at home while the Sandringham Sabres knocked off the league-leading Hobart Chargers 85-77.

Then on Saturday night, the Bendigo Braves consolidated fifth spot and stayed in touch of the top four beating the Melbourne Tigers 70-60.

Kuany Kuany finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Bendigo, and Sidy Djitte 16 points, 10 boards and five assists. Mason Gaze top-scored for Melbourne with 15 points and six rebounds.

Two teams out of the playoff race locked horns at Casey Stadium with the Casey Cavaliers defeating the Dandenong Rangers 93-80.

Jordan Bell had a huge night for the Cavs with 28 points and 13 rebounds with Davo Hickey adding 24 points, six boards and five assists. Jacob Davison top-scored for Dandenong with 21 points and six rebounds.

The Sandringham Sabres kept their top spot hopes alive by defeating the North West Tasmania Thunder on the road on Saturday night, 91-78.

Seven Sandringham players scored in double-figures led by 17 points from Tohi Smith-Milner and a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds from Dave Barlow. Fabijan Krslovic had a huge night for North West with 31 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and four assists.

A triple-double from DJ Vasiljevic led the way in the 101-79 victory for the Diamond Valley Eagles against the Ballarat Miners.

Along with Vasiljevic's 22 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, Ngor Manyang had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Eagles, and BJ Symons 18 points and 10 boards.

Koen Sapwell top-scored for Ballarat with 22 points with Preston Bungei adding 21 points.

The Eltham Wildcats claimed a hard earned 68-63 victory at home against the Ringwood Hawks.

Mitch Dance put up 20 points and eight rebounds for Eltham while Sam Short scored 12 points, Josh Sykes 12 and Sam Whelan 11. Kyle Daggett top-scored for Ringwood with 15 points to go with eight rebounds.

Keilor Thunder produced perhaps their best performance of the season to defeat the Geelong Supercats 98-74 on their home floor.

Jacob Lampkin delivered 30 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Keilor with Tyler Kidd adding 22 points and seven assists. Demarcus Gatlin and Isaac Turner both scored 19 points for Geelong.

The Kilsyth Cobras consolidated fourth position on the table with a 72-66 victory against the Nunawading Spectres.

Corey Jeffs finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Kilsyth while CJ Asuncion-Byrd top-scored for Nunawading with 21 points.

The Mount Gambier Pioneers then came from behind to beat the Knox Raiders 81-80 in a thriller at The Ice House.

Michael Harris put up 20 points for the Pioneers, Nick Marshall 18, Jordan Rawls 16 and Kane de Wi 14. Reuben Te Rangi finished with 18 points for Knox, Jacob Foy 18, Deng Acouth 14 and Dylan Hare 14.

There are three more matches on Sunday afternoon to close Round 15 in the NBL1 South Men's competition with the Frankston Blues hosting the Kilsyth Cobras, the Melbourne Tigers taking on the Ballarat Miners, and the Waverley Falcons facing the Ringwood Hawks.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 15 – SATURDAY NIGHT

BENDIGO BRAVES 70 defeated MELBOURNE TIGERS 60

The Bendigo Braves further consolidated their hold on a playoff position in the NBL1 South Men's competition by beating the Melbourne Tigers at home by 10 points on Saturday night.

Just the fact that two NBL greats were locking horns as coaches was enough to be fascinated by this Round 15 Saturday night match up at Selkirk Stadium with Stephen Black's Braves up against Andrew Gaze's Tigers.

The Braves opened up a six-point lead by the end of the first quarter but the Tigers stayed in touch and had cut Bendigo's lead to 41-38 by the half-time break.

Things remained tight at three quarter-time too with Bendigo still leading by just three points before the Braves pulled away down the stretch with an 8-0 run to record the 70-60 victory.

The win improves Bendigo to a 13-7 record to be in fifth position with one round remaining while the Tigers are 4-15 ahead of facing the Ballarat Miners at home on Sunday.

The Braves collected 51 rebounds on the night to 31 from Melbourne while they got to the stripe for 25 free-throws to eight.

Kuany Kuany put up 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Bendigo with Sidy Djitte contributing 16 points, 10 boards and five assists, Mitch Clarke 12 points and six assists, and Luke Rosendale nine points and six rebounds.

Mason Gaze top-scored for the Tigers with 15 points and six rebounds with Taj Chehhal contributing 12 points and six boards, Michael Wearne seven points, four rebounds and three assists, Felix von Hofe seven points and four boards, and Luke Van Rijn seven points.

 

CASEY CAVALIERS 93 defeated DANDENONG RANGERS 80

Two teams looking for a strong finish to the season locked horns at Casey Stadium and it was the Casey Cavaliers defeating the Dandenong Rangers by 13 points.

Both teams are just trying to end the NBL1 South season with some momentum and it was the home team who got rolling early with the Cavs up 28-19 already by quarter-time.

The Cavs kept that momentum going in the second quarter to open up an 18-point lead and end up outscoring the Rangers 26 points to 19 to lead 54-38 at the major break.

Casey then scored another 10 straight points going into the third quarter to lead by as much as 23, and then end up winning 93-80 even after Dandenong went on a late streak of scoring seven straight points.

The victory improves the Cavaliers to a 7-13 record on the season with one round remaining while Dandenong is now 5-15.

It was a good shooting night for both teams with Casey going at 54.6 per cent from the floor opposed to 47.2 per cent from Dandenong.

Jordan Bell had a monster night in the win for the Cavs with 28 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Matt Donlan 18 points and five boards, and Mitchell Riggs 14 points.

Davo Hickey continued his terrific season for Casey as well with another 24 points, six rebounds and five assists on 10/13 shooting.

Jacob Davison ended up top-scoring for Dandenong with 21 points and six rebounds with Nicolas Tata contributing 14 points and four boards, Calvin Enge 13 points, Deng Puoch 10 points and six rebounds, and Lawson Eales nine points and five boards.

 

KILSYTH COBRAS 72 defeated NUNAWADING SPECTRES 66

The Kilsyth Cobras guaranteed themselves a top four finish in the NBL1 South Men's competition by beating the Nunawading Spectres by six points on Saturday night.

The Cobras played host to the Spectres at Kilsyth Sports Centre and while the home team managed to lead by five points at quarter-time, Nunawading had arrived ready to make a real game of it.

It was a tight contest the rest of the way but when Kilsyth managed to pull away to a 12-point lead during the fourth quarter, that proved a match-winning advantage and they would go on to score the 72-66 win.

As a result of the victory, Kilsyth improved to a 14-6 record on the season before taking on the Frankston Blues on Sunday while Nunawading are now 7-14 following the defeat.

Corey Jeffs ended up with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Kilsyth with Deng Deng delivering 17 points and six boards, Trey Moses 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Ben Ursich nine points and Tim Lang eight points and 11 rebounds.

CJ Asuncion-Byrd continued his terrific season for Nunawading that has him knocking on the door for an NBL contract for the upcoming season somewhere around the country. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Jack Gandolfo added 13 points and three assists for the Spectres while hitting 3/4 from three-point range with Remo Simankevicius contributing nine points, and Dain Swetalla eight points and five boards.

 

BALLARAT MINERS 79 lost to DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 101

The difference with a Diamond Valley Eagles team with and without DJ Vasiljevic in 2022 has been stark and he stepped up for a triple-double on Saturday night in the eventual 22-point road win over the Ballarat Miners.

When Vasiljevic has been playing for Diamond Valley this season, the Sydney Kings NBL championship winning hero has made them one tough outfit. They have found the going a bit tougher in his absence, but he was there on Saturday night for the trip to Selkirk Stadium to take on Ballarat.

Scores were all square between the two teams at quarter-time before Diamond Valley got rolling in the second quarter with 34 points to 20 to end up leading by as much as 16 points and then being up 57-43 at the main break.

It was another 9-0 run during the third quarter from the Eagles to see the lead grow out to 20 points, it got to as much as 28 in the fourth and they would end up winning 101-79.

Diamond Valley improves to 11-10 on the season in eighth position as a result of the win while Ballarat is now 9-10 ahead of a road clash with the Melbourne Tigers on Sunday.

The Eagles ended up shooting 48.7 per cent from the field with 10/23 shooting from downtown at 43.5 per cent while the Miners went at 34.6 per cent overall and 9/33 at 27.3 per cent from long-range.

DJ Vasiljevic put together a triple-double for Diamond Valley with 22 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds with Ngor Manyang adding 20 points and 14 rebounds.

BJ Symons added 18 points and 10 boards, Ryan Bowkett 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, Luke Liesegang 10 points, seven boards and three assists, and AJ Magbegor nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Koen Sapwell top-scored for Ballarat with 22 points and four rebounds with Preston Bungei adding 21 points, six boards and four assists.

 

ELTHAM WILDCATS 68 defeated RINGWOOD HAWKS 63

The Eltham Wildcats put a serious dent in the playoff aspirations of the Ringwood Hawks with a five-point win at home on Saturday night.

Ringwood was looking for a double win in Round 15 of the NBL1 South to strengthen their hopes of breaking into the top eight to earn a playoff spot, but the Wildcats had other ideas on Saturday at Montmorency Secondary College.

It was an impressive start from Eltham on their home floor as they opened up a 12-point advantage and still were on top 24-16 by quarter-time.

The Wildcats pushed that lead out to 15 points during the second quarter and they were still in control leading 39-27 going into the half-time break.

Ringwood had too much to play for not to throw everything into a fightback and the Hawks did go on a 7-0 run during the third quarter to end up outscoring the Wildcats 22 points to 12.

However, they couldn’t quite take that next leap to grab the lead and Eltham kicked away again during the fourth term with another 10-0 run to set up the eventual 68-63 victory.

The victory improves the Wildcats to a 6-14 record on the season with one round of the season remaining while Ringwood is now 9-11 and outside a playoff spot before taking on the Waverley Falcons on Sunday.

Mitch Dance delivered 20 points and eight rebounds in the win for Eltham with Sam Short contributing 12 points, six boards and five assists, Josh Sykes 12 points, three rebounds and two blocks, and Sam Whelan 11 points, three assists and three steals.

Kyle Daggett delivered 15 points and eight rebounds for Ringwood with Emmett Naar contributing 13 points and eight assists, Tim Guers 10 points and three rebounds, and Matt Fennell seven points and seven boards. 

 

KEILOR THUNDER 98 defeated GEELONG SUPERCATS 74

Keilor Thunder delivered one of their most impressive performances of the NBL1 South season to beat the Geelong Supercats by 24 points at home on Saturday night.

Keilor might have been the team out of playoff contention and Geelong on track to be part of the post-season action, but it was the Thunder who proved the stronger outfit on Saturday night at Keilor Stadium.

It was actually Geelong who started the better to lead 25-23 at quarter-time but then Keilor began to work their way on top with a 9-0 run in the second term to head into half-time leading 47-44.

The Thunder then dominated the second half outscoring the Supercats 51 points to 30 to end up winning emphatically 98-74.

The victory improves Keilor to a 7-13 record on the season while Geelong is now 12-9 with one round of the season remaining.

The Thunder had a stunning shooting night going at 57.4 per cent overall while hitting 13/29 from beyond the arc at 44.8 per cent. Geelong shot at 38.7 per cent and hit 7/31 from long-range.

Jacob Lampkin was outstanding for Keilor with 30 points, 13 rebounds and six assists on 12/16 shooting with Tyler Kidd contributing 22 points and seven assists, and Zac Triplett 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Cirkook Riak also had 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

Isaac Turner finished with 19 points for Geelong with Demarcus Gatlin contributing 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, Liam McInerney 11 points and 11 boards, Gabe Hadley 11 points and five assists, and Jack Terrill six points and 11 rebounds.

 

NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 78 lost to SANDRINGHAM SABRES 91

The Sandringham Sabres locked away a top four finish and made it tougher for the North West Tasmania Thunder to reach the playoffs with a 13-point road win on Saturday night.

The Sabres opened their weekend in Tasmania by beating the Hobart Chargers on Friday night and they built on the momentum of defeating the league-leaders against North West at Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre on Saturday.

Sandringham went on a 10-0 run in the first term to end up leading already by as much as 13 points to be on top 26-17 at quarter-time.

The Sabres still led 38-28 at half-time and then Sandringham turned it on in the third term by piling on 33 points to 22 to open up a 22-point lead. That got out to 24 in the final quarter with the visitors going on to win 91-78.

The victory improves Sandringham to a 15-6 record in fourth position with a round to go while North West is 10-11 down in 11th position but still not totally out of it behind the 11-10 Diamond Valley Eagles in eighth spot.

Seven players from the Sabres scored in double-figures with Tohi Smith-Milner leading the charge with 17 points and five rebounds while knocking down 5/9 from three-point land.

David Okwera contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for Sandringham, Nick Gabsch 13 points and three boards, Campbell Blogg 12 points and two rebounds, Shea Ili 12 points and 13 assists, Dave Barlow 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Tom Koppens 10 points and five boards.

Tasmania JackJumpers big man Fabijan Krslovic delivered 31 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and four assists for North West with Joe Chilcott contributing 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Matt Kenyon 13 points, four boards, four assists and three steals.

 

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 81 defeated KNOX RAIDERS 80

The Mount Gambier Pioneers had to dig deep and come from behind to beat the Knox Raiders by a point in a terrific contest at home on Saturday night.

It remains a fascinating battle at the top of the NBL1 South standings with a round still to play and Mount Gambier ensured it ends Round 15 in second spot but it was far from easy against Knox at The Ice House.

Knox is still trying to break into the top eight as well so the stakes were high for both clubs and it was the Pioneers who managed to lead 17-13 by the end of the first quarter.

Knox was able to turn things right around in the second term by putting up 25 points to 12 and that saw them end up leading by as much as nine points, and being up 38-29 at the half-time break.

The Raiders turned that into a 16-point lead during the third quarter and they still led by as much as 10 in the fourth, but Mount Gambier stormed home.

Knox still led by seven with five minutes to play after a Dylan Hare basket, but then Jordan Rawls and Nick Marshall both hit jumpers to bring the margin back to three.

Michael Harris then tied things up with an and-one play and eventually it was a three-pointer from Rawls that put Mount Gambier a point on top.

Rawls then extended the lead for the Pioneers and Nick Marshall sealed the deal at the stripe for the home team to snatch the 81-80 victory.

As a result of the one-point win, Mount Gambier now enters the final round in second position at 15-5 while Knox is 10-10 in ninth spot. 

The Pioneers finish off at home to the Ballarat Miners on Saturday and away to the Waverley Falcons on Sunday. Knox finishes against the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday and Keilor Thunder on Sunday.

Michael Harris finished the night with 20 points and six rebounds for Mount Gambier while knocking down 3/4 from three-point land.

Nick Marshall added 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Pioneers, Jordan Rawls 16 points and three boards, Kane de Wit 14 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Tom Kubank nine points, four boards and three assists.

Reuben Te Rangi delivered 18 points, five rebounds and three assists for Knox, Jacob Foy 18 points, Deng Acouth 14 points and 18 rebounds, Dylan Hare 14 points, and Alex Robinson 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.