Recap NBL1 East | Round 6 Saturday

Feature images via: James O'Donohue / Dan Bennett

It was an eventful Saturday in the NBL1 East with Lauren Jackson and Davo Hickey starring again for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits while the Illawarra Hawks men won their first game and the Hills Hornets men handed Maitland Mustangs a first loss.

In Saturday's women's action, the Sutherland Sharks beat the Sydney Comets 75-61, the Newcastle Falcons defeated the Centre of Excellence 73-64, the Central Coast Crusaders downed the Canberra Nationals 92-79, and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles won 72-54 against the Inner West Bulls.

The Hills Hornets defeated the Maitland Mustangs 72-56, the Illawarra Hawks beat the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 83-58, the Albury-Wodonga Bandits downed the Bankstown Bruins 92-73, and the Norths Bears won 78-68 against the Penrith Panthers.

Then in the men's match ups, the Canberra Gunners beat the Crusaders 97-67 while the CoE downed the Falcons 76-53, the Comets defeated the Sharks 86-66, the Bears won 96-86 against the Panthers, and the Bandits downed the Bruins 106-84.

The Hawks also won 101-91 over the Spiders with the Hornets defeating the Mustangs 101-86 and the Sea Eagles downing the Bulls 82-79.

RECAP NBL1 EAST | ROUND 5 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Norths Bears (78) defeated Penrith Panthers (68)

The defending champion Norths Bears withstood strong performances for Penrith Panthers from Tahlia Tupaea and Mia Heide to come away with the 78-68 home victory.

The Bears were back home at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre having won their past four matches ahead of hosting a Panthers team also coming off a win last week against the Canberra Nationals.

Norths didn’t take long to take control of the contest going on an 18-0 scoring run to close the first quarter by leading 20-7.

The lead continued to grow for the Bears in the second quarter with that scoring run getting to 21-0 and the margin would eventually blow out to 32 and they went into half-time on top 48-23.

To the credit of the Panthers after falling down 34 in the third frame, they did show some impressive fight led by Tupaea and Heide as they did get back as close as 10 by the final buzzer thanks to a triple from Tupaea.

The Bears still scored the fifth straight victory to improve to 7-1 on the season with Caitlyn Martin putting up 20 points and five rebounds on 5/9 three-point shooting.

Emily Simons added 18 points, 12 boards, four assists and three steals with Carla Pitman delivering 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Ae'Rianna Harris five points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals.

Tahlia Tupaea delivered another 39 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists for Penrith on 12/19 shooting from the floor, 3/6 from beyond the arc and 12/14 at the foul line.

Mia Heide fought hard too for 17 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots with Chloe Williams adding seven points, three assists and two rebounds.

The Panthers back up at home against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Sunday with the Norths Bears on the road to the Illawarra Hawks.

NORTHS BEARS 78 (Martin 20, Simons 18, Pitman 13)

PENRITH PANTHERS 68 (Tupaea 39, Heide 17, Williams 7)

Bankstown Bruins (73) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (92)

Lauren Jackson delivered yet another standout performance to lead the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to the 92-73 win on the road over the Bankstown Bruins.

The Bandits put their perfect record on the line on the road at Bankstown Basketball Stadium against a Bruins team attempting to snap a two-game losing slide.

Bankstown were able to start well to take the challenge up to Albury-Wodonga in the first half with scores level at 21-21 by quarter-time before the Bruins narrowly led 43-42 going into the half-time break.

After completing a 13-0 run to start the third quarter, Bankstown's lead was out to three and the challenge was thrown down to the Bandits, who responded like an undefeated championship favourite should.

From there, Albury-Wodonga scored nine points in-a-row themselves to open up an 11-point lead.

That advantage grew to 21 points for the Bandits in the fourth period before they settled on the 19-point victory to improve to a perfect 8-0 record on the season.

The legend herself, Lauren Jackson, was again a dominant presence for Albury-Wodonga with another 33 points, 16 rebounds and three assists on 14/28 shooting from the field.

Mikayla Pivec also had 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Awatea Leach 16 points, six boards and five assists, Elizabeth Murphy 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Jessica Freeman 10 points, six boards and two assists.

The Bruins are now 2-6 on the season following the loss with Azaleeah Oloapu producing 24 points and 10 rebounds with 3/4 three-point shooting.

Violet Morrow added 13 points and six rebounds, Abbey Vallance 12 points, five boards and three assists, and Lily Austin eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Bandits complete their road double against the Penrith Panthers on Sunday with the Bruins away to the Sydney Comets next Saturday.

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 73 (Oloapu 24, Morrow 13, Vallance 12)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 92 (Jackson 33, Pivec 20, Leach 16)

Illawarra Hawks (83) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (58)

The Illawarra Hawks were back home and snapped their losing slide with the 83-58 victory against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

Both teams needed the win coming into the match up at The Snakepit with the Hawks having lost three straight and the Spiders their last two after notching a first win of 2024 against the Maitland Mustangs.

It was a high-scoring opening for both teams as they combined for 50 points in the first quarter with Illawarra narrowly leading 26-24.

It was in the second quarter when the Hawks took control of the match up with 22 points to eight to see the home team heading into half-time leading 48-32.

That advantage blew out to 25 points in the third quarter as well for the Hawks and even though the Spiders were able to complete a 14-0 scoring run to keep fighting, the home team remained in control.

Illawarra went on to record the 25-point victory to improve to a 4-4 record on the season with Georgia Ohrdorf finishing with 21 points on 8/9 shooting from the floor and 5/6 from the free-throw line.

Asha Phillips added 16 points and six rebounds, Ruby MacDonald 12 points and seven boards, Emilia Garcia Leon 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Ella Dent seven points, eight boards, three assists and three steals.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai is now 1-8 on the season with a third consecutive loss with Jessie May Hall top-scoring with 12 points to go with seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Ay'Anna Bey also had 11 points, five rebounds and five steals, Keira Hudson 10 points and three boards, and Haruna Inamura 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Spiders back up to host the Sydney Comets on Sunday while the Hawks will be at home to the Norths Bears.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 83 (Ohrdorf 21, Phillips 16, MacDonald 12, Garcia Leon 12)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 58 (Hall 12, Bey 11, Hudson 10, Inamura 10)

Maitland Mustangs (56) lost to Hills Hornets (72)

The Hills Hornets continue to build some momentum this NBL1 East season with a third straight victory, beating the Maitland Mustangs 72-56 on the road.

The Mustangs were back home at Maitland Federation Centre attempting to stop a three-game losing slide up against a Hornets team arriving having won their previous two matches.

Maitland did get the better of the start to the contest to be leading 22-16 by the end of the first quarter but the Hornets took charge in the second frame to outscore the Mustangs 24 points to eight.

That saw Hills go into half-time leading 40-30 with the lead for the visitors growing to 18 points in the third quarter but the Mustangs weren’t going down without a fight.

They did score 10 straight points either side of three quarter-time to keep things interesting, but the Hornets pulled away once more to open up a 19-point lead and to go on to win by 16.

With the win, Hills improves to a 4-4 record on the season with three wins in-a-row with Meg Jefferson finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds on 6/11 shooting.

Emma Kary top-scored with 19 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists on 4/7 three-point shooting with Rachel McLimore contributing 11 points, five steals and four assists, and Hannah Griffin 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Natsumi Kohama delivered 21 points and four rebounds for a Maitland team now having lost four straight at 3-5.

Rachel Williams also had eight points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Sydney Hunter five points and 13 rebounds.

The Mustangs remain at home to the Penrith Panthers next Saturday with the Hornets away to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 56 (Kohama 21, Williams 8, Jennings 7)

HILLS HORNETS 72 (Kary 19, Jefferson 14, McLimore 11)

Inner West Bulls (54) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (72)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles maintained their undefeated start to the season with a 72-54 road victory over the Inner West Bulls.

The Bulls were facing a significant challenge to try and get their second win of the season even at home at ELS Hall Park to host a Sea Eagles team on a mission to make up for last year's heartbreaking Grand Final defeat.

It was a tight contest for the first half with the Sea Eagles just managing to lead by two points at the end of the first quarter before the two teams only combined for 20 points in the second period with Manly Warringah leading 29-25 at the half.

The Sea Eagles did pull away further in the third quarter to open up a 13-point advantage which grew to 21 in the final term before they scored the 18-point victory to improve to 6-0 on the season.

Josie Bulman ended up top-scoring for Manly Warringah with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals while Zoey Miller contributed 14 points, three boards and three assists.

Brooke Flowers had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots while Bree Delaney added nine points, three steals and two boards, and Alex Delaney eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Inner West is now 1-8 on the season with the five straight defeats with Piath Gabriel finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

Tylah Mundine also had 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals, Bridie White 10 points, three boards and three assists, and Shiho Yamazaki nine points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Bulls will also be playing at home to the Centre of Excellence on Sunday while the Sea Eagles stay on the road to the Newcastle Falcons.

INNER WEST BULLS 54 (Gabriel 13, Mundine 11, White 10)

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 72 (Bulman 16, Miller 14, Flowers 10)

Central Coast Crusaders (92) defeated Canberra Nationals (79)

The Central Coast Crusaders hit back in style to return to the NBL1 East winner's list with the 92-79 victory at home to the Canberra Nationals.

The Crusaders were back home at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium looking to respond to last week's loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles hosting a Canberra team also out to arrest a two-game losing slide.

Central Coast was already leading by five points at quarter-time with that advantage for the home team growing to 13 points in the second term, and they were still up 43-39 by half-time.

The Crusaders pulled away further once more in the third quarter to open up a 15-point lead, which got out to 16 in the fourth frame before they would go on to score the 13-point victory.

The win improves Central Coast to a 6-2 record on the season with Kristina Moore leading the charge ending the evening with 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Leilani Mitchell continues to shine this season on the back of winning another WNBL championship at the Southside Flyers with 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Mikaela Dombkins also had 14 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, and Jasmine Forcadilla 11 points, six assists and four boards.

The Nationals have now lost three straight to sit at 3-6 on the season with Lizzy Tonks producing another 26 points, seven assists and two rebounds.

Callie Bourne contributed 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Jasmyn Boutzos 13 points and three assists.

The Crusaders are on the road to the Newcastle Falcons next Saturday with Canberra to play host to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 92 (Moore 23, Mitchell 18, Dombkins 14)

CANBERRA NATIONALS 79 (Tonks 26, Bourne 19, Boutzos 13)

Newcastle Falcons (73) defeated Centre of Excellence (64)

The Newcastle Falcons continued their undefeated start to the season with Nicole Munger continuing her MVP contending form in the 73-64 win against the Centre of Excellence.

The Falcons put their undefeated record on the line back home at Newcastle Basketball Stadium hosting the young guns out of Basketball Australia who were trying to arrest a two-game losing slide.

The Centre of Excellence did make a good start but Newcastle soon steadied with 10 straight points to end up leading 20-13 by the end of the first quarter.

The CoE went on their own 10-0 run in response and did end up outscoring Newcastle 26 to 19 in the second period which saw scores all level at 39-39 by the half-time interval.

It was then the Centre of Excellence leading by a point at three quarter-time and Newcastle were staring down the potential of a first loss of the season, but the Falcons had other ideas.

The home team had a strong last quarter in response with 24 points to 14 to end up winning by nine and improving to an 8-0 record as a result.

Nicole Munger has been in outstanding form all season long for Newcastle and that continued with another 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals while playing every second of the contest.

Isla Juffermans added 15 points, four rebounds and two assists, Kate Kingham 13 points, three steals and two boards, and Aarion Nichols 11 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The Centre of Excellence have now lost three straight to be 3-4 on the season with Monique Bobongie finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Zara Russell contributed 19 points and three boards, and Jade Crook 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

The CoE back up on the road to play the Inner West Bulls on Sunday while the Falcons will be at home to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 73 (Munger 20, Juffermans 15, Kingham 13)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 64 (Bobongie 22, Russell 19, Dakic 6)

Sydney Comets (61) lost to Sutherland Sharks (75)

The Sutherland Sharks got back to the NBL1 East winner's list with the 75-61 road victory over the Sydney Comets.

Sydney were back home at Comets Stadium attempting to back up last Saturday's win against the Centre of Excellence as they hosted a Sharks team trying to bounce back from last week's loss against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

It was quite the eventful opening quarter with Sutherland racing out to an early 12-point lead but then Sydney responded with 15 straight points of their own to go into quarter-time on top 22-17.

It was the Sharks who grabbed the momentum again in the second period to outscore the Comets 18 points to 11 and go into the half-time break with the narrow 35-33 advantage.

The Comets did start the second half well to end up back in front briefly, but the Sharks soon took control for good to end up leading by as much as 17 points in the final period on the way to the 14-point victory to improve to 4-4 on the season.

Vanessa Panousis finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals for the Sharks with Olivia White contributing 17 points, seven boards and three assists, and Maddie Norris 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Aliza Fabbro also had 10 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Taya Webb seven points, nine rebounds and two steals.

The Comets slip to 2-6 with the defeat with Piper Anderson putting up 13 points and two steals, Alexandra Kayrouz 12 points and four boards, Arisa Takamoto nine points, and Davida Dale nine points, eight rebounds, six steals and three assists.

The Comets are in action again on Sunday away to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders with the Sharks to take on the Centre of Excellence at home next Saturday.

SYDNEY COMETS 61 (Anderson 13, Kayrouz 12, Dale 9, Takamoto 9)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 75 (Panousis 18, White 17, Norris 11)

MEN

Norths Bears (96) defeated Penrith Panthers (86)

With Mandrell Worthy having a standout night, the Norths Bears got back to winning with the 96-86 home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

The Bears arrived back at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre having won their past two matches this season coming up against a Panthers team with just one win to their name so far in 2024.

Despite the Bears threatening to pull away a couple of times in the first half leading by six points in the first quarter and by eight in the second, by quarter-time the lead was just 23-22, and by half-time only 45-43.

The Panthers were doing well to hang in there but Norths pulled away further in the second half to lead by as much as 13 points in the third quarter, and 16 in the fourth to end up winning by 10 and improving to 4-4 on the season as a result.

Mandrell Worthy produced a terrific performance in the win for the Bears finishing with 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots on 11/21 shooting from the field, 2/5 from downtown and 5/8 at the foul line.

Patrick Fraser added 15 points and four rebounds, Lewis Holey 14 points and eight boards, Michael Yoong 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Jake Weinstein 11 points, four assists and three boards.

Brian Schwarzer did all he could to keep the Panthers in the contest finishing with 26 points and four rebounds on 9/13 shooting which included 5/6 from behind the three-point arc.

Ben Kearins added 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe 10 points, four boards and four assists, and Josh Kalwy 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.

The Panthers back up at home against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Sunday with the Norths Bears on the road to the Illawarra Hawks.

NORTHS BEARS 96 (Worthy 29, Fraser 15, Holey 14)

PENRITH PANTHERS 86 (Schwarzer 26, Kalwy 14, Fetui-Fa'amoe 10, Kearins 10)

Bankstown Bruins (84) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (106)

Another triple-double from Davo Hickey has helped the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to the 106-84 road victory against the Bankstown Bruins.

The Bruins were back home at Bankstown Basketball Stadium looking to back up last week's win against the Newcastle Falcons as they hosted a Bandits team attempting to respond to a loss to the Maitland Mustangs.

It was a tight contest through the first quarter with Bankstown leading 19-17 by quarter-time, but then Albury-Wodonga flexed their considerable muscle to take control of the contest.

The Bandits scored 15 consecutive points and ended up outscoring the Bruins 34 points to 13 in the second term to blow the game wide open and to go into half-time on top 51-32.

The lead for Albury-Wodonga stretched to 23 in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth before the eventual 22-point victory which improves the Bandits to a 6-2 record on the season.

Having won two championships at two clubs in the NBL1 West, Lochlan Cummings is hoping to do the same with Albury-Wodonga and put up 24 points, six assists and five steals on shooting 9/12 from the floor and 4/7 from downtown.

Illawarra Hawks NBL guard Davo Hickey had another triple double consisting of 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds along with four steals and four blocks on 7/9 shooting.

Shawn Montague also had 22 points and five rebounds, Kevion Blaylock 15 points and six boards, and Mitchell Dance 16 points and six rebounds.

Naaman Hightower top-scored for Bankstown with 19 points and nine rebounds with Hayden Blankley adding 18 points, six boards and five assists, and Thoams Buvac 11 points, six steals, five rebounds and three assists.

The Bandits complete their road double against the Penrith Panthers on Sunday with the Bruins away to the Sydney Comets next Saturday.

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 84 (Hightower 19, Blankley 18, Buvac 11)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 106 (Cummings 24, Montague 22, Hickey 14)

Illawarra Hawks (101) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (91)

The Illawarra Hawks have opened their account with a first win of 2024 with Riley Abercrombie starring in the 101-91 overtime victory against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

It was the battle of the last two remaining winless teams in the NBL1 East at The Snakepit with the Hawks and Spiders both desperate to taste victory for the first time this season.

Illawarra were able to open up a nine-point lead in the first quarter and then that lead grew to 22 points in the second term on the back of 36 points to 19 from the home team.

The Hawks were leading 58-36 at half-time on the back of that and the lead was 23 points in the third period and still 16 in the fourth, but the Spiders produced a stunning final quarter fightback.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai went on a 14-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter and eventually Aaron Redhead hit a triple to make it a four-point ball game with a minute to play.

Redhead then scored again to bring the deficit back to two and then Nathaniel Chappell levelled scores with the game going into overtime when the Hawks missed a couple of attempts just prior to the buzzer to regain the lead.

Then in overtime, it was the Hawks who proved too strong regaining the momentum to outscore the Spiders 17 points to seven in the extra five minutes on the way to the 10-point win to improve to 1-7 on the season.

Riley Abercrombie had the best performance of his career to lead Illawarra to the win with 32 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals on 12/18 shooting from the field and 6/11 from three-point territory.

Matthew Frierson also had 23 points, seven steals, six rebounds and five assists, Philip Dopud 19 points, eight boards, three steals, three blocks and two assists, Brad Ballinger 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Ethan-James Laudato eight points, eight assists and five boards.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai remain the last winless team in the NBL1 East at 0-9 despite Nathaniel Chappell putting up 18 points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and two assists.

Isaiah Walter also had 14 points and five rebounds, Steven Hall 13 points, 11 boards and six assists, Aaron Redhead 13 points and six rebounds, and Brian Ansuh-Yeboah 12 points and four assists.

The Spiders back up to host the Sydney Comets on Sunday while the Hawks will be at home to the Norths Bears.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 101 (Abercrombie 32, Frierson 23, Dopud 19)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 91 (Chappell 18, Walter 14, Redhead 13, Hall 13)

Maitland Mustangs (86) lost to Hills Hornets (101)

There is no longer an undefeated team in the men's NBL1 East with the Hills Hornets producing a supremely impressive performance to beat the Maitland Mustangs 101-86.

The Mustangs were back home at Maitland Federation Centre putting their undefeated record on the line against a Hornets team coming off a loss but building some form with the combination of Ishmael Sanders and Chris Bryant.

That set up a fascinating Saturday match up and the Hornets were leading 24-19 by quarter-time, and then produced a stunning second quarter to blow the game wide open.

The Hornets would end up going on an 11-0 run and outscored the Mustangs 34 points to 21 in the period to lead by as much as 25 points, and to go on to lead 58-40 by the half-time break.

Hills maintained a double-figure advantage throughout the second half and were back out to a 19-point edge in the final period before winning by 15 to hand the Mustangs a first defeat of the 2024 season.

The Hornets improve to a 5-3 record as a result with Ishmael Sanders delivering 29 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals on 5/13 three-point shooting.

Chris Bryant also had 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Joel Patmore adding 17 points, four boards, two assists and two steals, and Pafe Momoisea 13 points.

Maitland is now 7-1 following the defeat with Matthew Gray putting up 15 points and six rebounds, Billy Parsons 13 points and five boards, Will Cranston-Lown 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Daniel Millburn 11 points, and Christian Little nine points, eight boards and six assists.

The Mustangs remain at home to the Penrith Panthers next Saturday with the Hornets away to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 86 (Gray 15, Cranston-Lown 13, Parsons 13)

HILLS HORNETS 101 (Sanders 29, Bryant 27, Patmore 17)

Inner West Bulls (79) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (82)

Two of the hottest teams in the NBL1 East went to battle on Saturday in a dramatic affair with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ending up prevailing 82-79 over the Inner West Bulls.

The Bulls were back home at ELS Hall Park for the match up with the home team on a six-game winning streak and the Sea Eagles having won four straight with both teams having suffered just the one loss so far in 2024.

Manly Warringah would open up a 10-point advantage in the first quarter but Inner West worked back into the contest and by half-time the Sea Eagles were just clinging to the 44-42 advantage.

The visitors again opened up a nine-point lead in the third frame but once more the Bulls hit back with an 11-0 scoring streak to retain the lead themselves, and by three quarter-time scores were level at 61-61.

It was always destined for a thrilling finish but when the Sea Eagles opened up a seven-point lead thanks to a Mitch Evans jumper with 1:30 to play it would prove a match-winning advantage.

The Bulls still kept coming and late triples from Alex Higgins-Titsha and Jacob Ohmer kept things intriguing, but the Sea Eagles held firm for the three-point victory.

The win for the Sea Eagles improve them to a 5-1 record on the season with the fourth straight win with Mason Bragg continuing his standout form as point guard with 24 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Jonas Harper added 22 points, nine rebounds and four steals with Matthew Eldridge contributing nine points and 22 boards, and Stefan Valkovic nine points and two rebounds.

Jacob Ohmer ended the night with 26 points, five rebounds and three steals for Inner West with Zachery Hudson contributing 21 points, nine boards, four blocks, two assists and two steals, Alex Higgins-Titsha 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Tony Tolovae 11 points and eight boards.

The Bulls will also be playing at home to the Centre of Excellence on Sunday while the Sea Eagles stay on the road to the Newcastle Falcons.

INNER WEST BULLS 79 (Ohmer 26, Hudson 21, Higgins-Titsha 12)

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 82 (Bragg 24, Harper 22, Eldridge 9, Valkovic 9)

Central Coast Crusaders (67) lost to Canberra Gunners (97)

The 2022 champion Canberra Gunners continue to loom large this NBL1 East season with a seventh straight win after beating the Central Coast Crusaders 97-67 on the road.

The Gunners arrived at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium putting their six-game winning streak on the line up against a Crusaders team attempting to snap their own two-match losing slide.

Canberra started strongly on the road to already be leading by 10 after one before another 16 points to nine in the second frame saw the Gunners lead out to 19 points, and at half-time they were in control 41-24.

It was another 33 points to 20 in the third quarter as Canberra's lead grew to as much as 35 points and they went on to win by 30 to make it seven in-a-row to improve to an 8-1 record.

Grand Final MVP from 2022, Glenn Morison, was again a dominant force in the win for Canberra with 21 points, 17 rebounds and four assists on 10/17 shooting from the field.

Cameron Pender added 19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals, James Toohey 16 points, five assists, three boards and two steals, and Derek Emelifeonwu 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Will Mayfield also delivered 11 points, 16 rebounds and two steals with Austin Clarke adding 10 points and four boards.

Central Coast is now 3-5 following a third straight loss with Robbie Heath finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Thomas Akamarmoi 14 points and two boards, and Theus Evan Wardlow 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Crusaders are on the road to the Newcastle Falcons next Saturday with Canberra to play host to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 67 (Heath 15, Akamarmoi 14, Wardlow 10)

CANBERRA GUNNERS 97 (Morison 21, Pender 19, Toohey 16)

Newcastle Falcons (53) lost to Centre of Excellence (76)

The Centre of Excellence delivered a third straight NBL1 East victory with the 76-53 win on the road to the Newcastle Falcons.

The CoE arrived at Newcastle Basketball Stadium having won their past two matches this season ahead of taking on a Falcons team still trying to build some momentum in 2024.

The young guns from Basketball Australia started well with a 10-0 run late in the opening quarter to go into the first break leading 21-13.

The Centre of Excellence turned that into a 14-0 run with the first four points of the second period as well and they would go on to lead by 19 points in the quarter, and be on top 40-21 at the half-time interval.

After Newcastle did its best to try and fight back in the third quarter, the CoE again pulled away in the final frame with another 22 points to 15 to end up winning by 23 and improving to 4-3 on the season as a result.

Yuto Kawashima top-scored in the win for the Centre of Excellence with 14 points and three rebounds with Kye Savage adding 11 points, Julius Halaifonua 11 points and six rebounds, James O'Donnell nine points and seven boards, and Josh Dent nine points, five assists and four rebounds.

Newcastle has now lost its last two to be 2-6 on the season with Ryan Beisty putting up 15 points and eight rebounds with Myles Cherry adding 14 points, 10 boards and four assists, and Kobe Shannon eight points, five rebounds and five assists.

The CoE back up on the road to play the Inner West Bulls on Sunday while the Falcons will be at home to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 53 (Beisty 15, Cherry 14, Shannon 8)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 76 (Kawashima 14, Halaifonua 11, Savage 11)

Sydney Comets (86) defeated Sutherland Sharks (66)

Anthony Mundine fired and the Sydney Comets shot another dagger into the championship defence of the Sutherland Sharks with the 86-66 home victory.

Sydney were back home at Comets Stadium looking to snap a three-game losing slide up against the defending champion Sharks who were also attempting to rebound from a loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

The Comets were on top from the outset of the contest as well going on a 10-0 scoring run in the first quarter to be leading by 15, and still on top 27-15 by quarter-time.

It was another 24 points to 17 in the second quarter with the Comets leading 51-32 by half-time with the lead continuing to grow in the second half.

The home team would end up leading by as much as 25 points in the second half on the way to the 20-point triumph to improve to a 4-4 record on the season.

Anthony Mundine was the star of the show for the Comets with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists while knocking down 7/12 from three-point territory.

Johnny Crnogorac added 22 points and eight rebounds, Ernest Docker 15 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals, and Matthew Wacher 13 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals.

The reigning champion Sharks are now 3-5 on the season with Klairus Amir top-scoring with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Lochlan Hutchison also had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Brian Williams nine points, five boards and two steals, and Chris Vera eight points and seven rebounds.

The Comets are in action again on Sunday away to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders with the Sharks to take on the Centre of Excellence at home next Saturday.

SYDNEY COMETS 86 (Mundine 23, Crnogorac 22, Docker 15)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 66 (Amir 15, Hutchison 15, Williams 9)