Recap NBL1 East | Round 8 Saturday

Featured images: Greg Francis

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Norths Bears split two dramatic NBL1 East match ups while Jessie-May Hall led Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders to another win and Shyla Heal made a winning return for Sydney Comets.

The women's results on Saturday saw the Canberra Nationals defeat the Inner West Bulls 98-51, the Albury-Wodonga Bandits downed the Penrith Panthers 99-76, the Newcastle Falcons beat the Sutherland Sharks, and the Sydney Comets won 71-55 against the Maitland Mustangs.

The Illawarra Hawks also defeated the Bankstown Bruins 74-69, the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders downed the Hills Hornets 91-81, the Norths Beats beat the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 68-52, and the Central Coast Crusaders won 88-66 against the Centre of Excellence.

Then in the men's fixtures, the Canberra Gunners beat the Bulls 80-78 while the Bandits defeated the Panthers 86-71, the Sharks downed the Falcons 74-67, the Mustangs won 100-78 against the Comets, the Hawks beat the Bruins 90-79, the Hornets defeated the Spiders 89-81, the Sea Eagles beat the Bears 83-82, and the CoE downed the Crusaders 96-89.

RECAP NBL1 EAST | ROUND 7 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Centre of Excellence (66) lost to Central Coast Crusaders (88)

The quality and experience of the Central Coast Crusaders saw them prevail 88-66 on the road to the Centre of Excellence to open Round 8.

The CoE were back home at AIS Basketball and Netball Centre looking to hit back from a loss to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits playing host to a Crusaders team also out to rebound from a defeat at the hands of the Newcastle Falcons.

The Centre of Excellence were again without key players Bonnie Deas and Monique Williams, but they were still able to start well to open up a nine-point lead in the opening quarter.

That was back to just three by quarter-time and eventually Central Coast began to work on top in the second period with a 13-0 scoring run to go up by 11.

The Crusaders were then still leading 42-34 by the half-time break and went on with the job from there with 22 points to 16 in the third frame, and 24 to 16 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 22-point win.

The victory improves the Crusaders to a 7-3 record on the season with their experienced players standing tall led by Mikaela Dombkins who had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Kristina Moore also had 18 points, three boards and two assists, Leilani Mitchell 16 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals, Darneka Rowe 14 points and three assists, and Jasmine Forcadilla 13 points, seven assists, four boards and three steals.

The CoE are now 5-6 following back-to-back defeats with Jade Crook finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Sienna Harvey added 15 points and five boards, and Monique Bobongie 14 points and six rebounds.

The Centre of Excellence back up on Sunday again at home to the Illawarra Hawks with the Crusaders also backing up on the road to the Bankstown Bruins.

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 66 (Crook 18, Harvey 15, Bobongie 14)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 88 (Dombkins 19, Moore 18, Mitchell 16)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (52) lost to Norths Bears (68)

The defending champion Norths Bears have handed the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles their first defeat of the season with the 68-52 win in the Grand Final rematch.

It always shaped as a terrific contest with the two teams meeting for the first time since last year's Grand Final and Manly Warringah were looking for revenge and coming into the game unbeaten this season.

The Sea Eagles were at home too at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre with the Bears now on a seven-game winning streak too having built momentum to their championship defence.

The Bears were in lockdown mode right from the outset and they were able to hold Manly Warringah to just six points in the first quarter while scoring 17 themselves.

Norths were then able to blow the game wide open in the second quarter completing a 14-0 scoring run to move out to a 24-point lead to leave the Sea Eagles shell shocked who had been dominant in their eight games so far in 2024.

The defending champions would end up leading 39-17 at half-time and while the Sea Eagles did manage to score a little better in the second half with 35 points including holding the Bears to just six in the final period, the damage had been done.

Norths were able to go on to record the 16-point win to make it eight victories in-a-row on the season at 10-1 with Maddie O'Hehir once again leading the way with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Emily Simons also had 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Caitlyn Martin 10 points and four boards, Carla Pitman nine points, two rebounds and two assists, and Ae'Rianna Harris eight points, 11 boards and three assists.

The Sea Eagles are now 8-1 following the first loss of 2024 having had a tough shooting night going at just 29.5 per cent from the field and 4/18 from three-point range.

Bree Delaney finished with 13 points and four rebounds with Zoey Miller adding 12 points, four boards and three steals, Brooke Flowers eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Alex Delaney three points, nine boards and six assists on just 1/10 shooting.

The Bears again play on Sunday afternoon on the road to the Newcastle Falcons while the Sea Eagles will be away to the Maitland Mustangs next Saturday.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 52 (B Delaney 13, Miller 12, Bulman 8, Flowers 8)

NORTHS BEARS 68 (O'Hehir 20, Simons 12, Martin 10)

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (91) defeated Hills Hornets (81)

The Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders have made it consecutive victories with the 91-81 home win against the Hills Hornets.

The Spiders were fresh off the remarkable win at the buzzer last week against the Bankstown Bruins ahead of coming home to The Brickpit to host a Hornets team looking to bounce back from a loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

The Hornets made the impressive start with 27 points to 19 in the opening quarter and then were still on top 50-40 going into the half-time break.

The lead for Hills was as much as 15 points in that second quarter and still 14 in the third, and the Hornets were still up by seven in the fourth quarter, but eventually the Spiders grabbed the momentum to overrun them.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai went on an 11-0 scoring run and ended up outscoring the Hornets 28 points to 13 in the final period to end up winning by 10 and improving to 3-10 as a result with back-to-back wins.

Young gun Jessie-May Hall was again the star of the show for the Spiders with 33 points, 11 steals, four rebounds and three assists.

Keira Hudson also ended up with 22 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, Ay'Anna Bey nine points, nine boards and six assists, and Haruna Inamura eight points and two rebounds.

The Hornets are now 4-6 with consecutive losses with Meg Jefferson top-scoring with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Emma Kary added 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, and Lucy Corke 18 points, three boards, three assists and two steals on 4/11 three-point shooting.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai will be on the road to the Inner West Bulls next Saturday with Hills away to the Sydney Comets.

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 91 (Hall 33, Hudson 22, Bey 9)

HILLS HORNETS 81 (Jefferson 21, Kary 20, Corke 18)

Illawarra Hawks (74) defeated Bankstown Bruins (69)

The Illawarra Hawks came from behind to beat the Bankstown Bruins 74-69 with Ella Dent leading the way with a 33-point performance.

The Hawks were looking to back up winning two of the last three games when hosting the Bruins at The Snakepit with Bankstown having lost their past five matches.

Illawarra made a strong start to the contest to be leading already 25-16 by quarter-time before then pushing that advantage out to as much as 17 points in the second period.

However, Bankstown did stem the tide and by half-time and limited the Hawks lead to 44-36.

The Bruins then kept that momentum going in the third quarter with another 21 points to 10 to open up their own lead by as much as seven points during the final term.

It was up to the Hawks to respond on their home floor and that's what they did by going on a 10-0 scoring run which led to the eventual five-point win.

Illawarra improves to a 6-5 record on the season with the victory with Ella Dent the star with 33 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Georgia Ohrdorf also had nine points and five rebounds, Emilia Garcia Leon nine points, 16 boards and two assists, Lauren Calver eight points and five rebounds, and Asha Phillips eight points, three boards and two assists.

Bankstown has now lost six in-a-row this season to hold a 2-9 record with Britney Wright ending up with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists while shooting 5/8 from three-point territory.

Abbey Vallance also had 12 points, three assists and two rebounds, Kira-May Filemu 10 points and five boards, and Jihyun Park eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The Hawks will head to Canberra to take on the Centre of Excellence on Sunday while the Bruins will be at home to the Central Coast Crusaders.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 74 (Dent 33, Garcia Leon 9, Ohrdorf 9)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 69 (Wright 23, Vallance 12, Filemu 10)

Maitland Mustangs (55) lost to Sydney Comets (71)

Shyla Heal was back for the Sydney Comets and put up 30 points in their 71-55 road victory against the Maitland Mustangs.

The Comets came into the contest at Maitland Federation Centre having won their last two games even before adding Heal into the line-up who has just completed her season in France with Lyon.

Despite the presence of Heal, the Comets didn’t have it all their own way against the Mustangs with Sydney only leading by two points at quarter-time, by six at half-time and then by 10 at three quarter-time.

But Sydney did keep on gradually building on that lead and ended up outscoring Maitland 24 points to 18 in the final period to score the 16-point win to improve to 5-6 on the season.

Shyla Heal finished with 30 points, six assists and five rebounds with 6/11 shooting from downtown in her first appearance of the season for the Comets.

Davida Dale also had 12 points, 11 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists with Janeen Camp contributing nine points and eight boards, and Alexandria Oliver seven points and four rebounds.

The Mustangs are now 4-7 following the loss on their home floor with Shakera Reilly leading the charge with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists on 4/8 from three-point territory.

The Comets are back home on Sunday afternoon to host the Canberra Nationals with the Mustangs to host the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next Saturday.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 55 (Reilly 16, Dobbins 8, Kohama 7)

SYDNEY COMETS 71 (Heal 30, Dale 12, Oliver 7)

Sutherland Sharks (83) lost to Newcastle Falcons (93)

The Newcastle Falcons maintained pace with the top NBL1 East teams with Nicole Munger and Isla Juffermans combining for 60 points and 29 rebounds in the 93-83 win over the Sutherland Sharks.

The Sharks were back home at Sutherland Basketball Stadium looking to bounce back from a loss to the Centre of Excellence while the Falcons responded to a first loss by beating the Central Coast Crusaders.

Sutherland had the better of the start to be leading 27-21 by quarter-time with their lead as much as nine points, but Newcastle were able to fire back and cut the deficit to just 52-48 by half-time.

The Falcons then took charge throughout the second half with 20 points to 11 in the third quarter, and 25 to 20 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 10-point road win.

The victory improves Newcastle to a 10-1 record on the season with reigning MVP Nicole Munger unstoppable with 35 points and 15 rebounds on 13/22 shooting from the field and 8/8 from the foul line.

Isla Juffermans also put up 25 points and 14 rebounds on 10/15 shooting with Elissa Brett contributing 13 points and five boards, and Kate Kingham eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

Sutherland is now 4-6 with back-to-back losses with Maddie Norris putting up 19 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 5/10 from three-point territory.

Vanessa Panousis also had 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, Aliza Fabbro 15 points, three boards and two steals, and Olivia White 15 points, 16 rebounds and four assists.

Newcastle will again be in action on Sunday at home to the Norths Bears while Sutherland will be away to the Bankstown Bruins next Saturday.

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 83 (Norris 19, Panousis 18, Fabbro 15, White 15)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 93 (Munger 35, Juffermans 25, Brett 13)

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (99) defeated Penrith Panthers (76)

No Lauren Jackson, no problem for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits who maintained their unbeaten season with the 99-76 home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

The Bandits were back home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre and even without Jackson in the line-up, it was a luxury with 2022 Grand Final MVP Unique Thompson back with the team.

Albury-Wodonga were looking to remain unbeaten this season hosting a Penrith team they beat by 58 points two weeks ago up in Sydney.

The Bandits had already opened up a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter with the advantage getting out to as much as 16 in the second frame with the lead at half-time 48-35.

Albury-Wodonga kept on building that advantage through the second half as well with 24 points to 20 in the third quarter, and 25 to 21 in the fourth to end up scoring the 23-point victory.

The win improves the Bandits to a perfect 12-0 record on the season with Mikayla Pivec making sure things ran smoothly with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Unique Thompson also put up 21 points and nine rebounds, Ash Hannan 21 points and nine boards, Awatea Leach 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Elzabeth Murphy 12 points and seven boards.

Penrith is now 2-8 with three straight defeats despite Tahlia Tupaea delivering 30 points, five steals and four rebounds.

Mia Heide added 22 points and 18 rebounds with Chloe Williams contributing 12 points, five boards, four assists and three steals.

The Bandits next play next Saturday night on the road to the Central Coast Crusaders with the Panthers at home to the Centre of Excellence.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 99 (Pivec 22, Hannan 21, Thompson 21)

PENRITH PANTHERS 76 (Tupaea 30, Heide 22, Williams 12)

Inner West Bulls (51) lost to Canberra Nationals (98)

The Canberra Nationals snapped their losing slide in style with the emphatic 98-51 road win against the Inner West Bulls.

The Bulls were back at ELS Hall Park trying to snap an eight-game losing streak up against a Canberra team who arrived also having lost its past four.

Inner West were able to stick with Canberra for the first quarter with the Nationals just clinging to the 25-23 lead by quarter-time.

It was in the second period when the Nationals began to pull away, though, with 24 points to 10 in the term to end up going into the half-time break leading Inner West 49-33.

It was then an even more dominant second half display from Canberra with 30 points to nine in the third quarter and 19 to nine in the fourth.

The lead for the Nationals did grow to as much as 47 points in the final frame which would end up as the margin at the buzzer with Canberra returning to the winner's list and improving to 4-7.

Callie Bourne ended up with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals for Canberra with Amelia Motz contributing 18 points, six boards and three steals, and Lizzy Tonks 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Maddison Penn also had 14 points, six rebounds and four steals, and Nikki Worner 12 points, 11 boards and two assists.

It's a ninth straight loss for Inner West who are now 1-12 with Tylah Mundine top-scoring with 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Shiho Yamazaki also delivered 11 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Margaret Robinson 10 points, seven boards and three assists.

Canberra remains on the road on Sunday afternoon to the Sydney Comets while Inner West will host the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders next Saturday.

INNER WEST BULLS 51 (Mundine 15, Yamazaki 11, Robinson 10)

CANBERRA NATIONALS 98 (Bourne 19, Motz 18, Tonks 17)

MEN

Centre of Excellence (96) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (89)

The Centre of Excellence made it seven straight wins this season with the 96-89 victory at home to the Central Coast Crusaders.

The CoE were back home at AIS Basketball and Netball Centre on a six-game winning streak hosting a Crusaders team who did arrive having lost their previous four matches.

The emerging stars from Basketball Australia started well to work their way out to a 14-point lead in the opening quarter thanks to scoring 10 consecutive points, and to be leading 22-14 after one.

However, Central Coast were able to turn the tide in the second period with 31 points to 22 and that saw the visitors take a slender 45-44 advantage into the half-time break.

It remained a tight contest for the majority of the second half with Central Coast still leading by a point after a Luke Cassidy three-point with the 8:30 remaining.

The Centre of Excellence were able to pull away again, though, and managed to build a lead as big as 10 points down the stretch before going on to win by seven and make it seven consecutive wins to improve to an 8-3 record.

Jacob Furphy had an impressive and efficient game for the CoE with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists on 8/10 shooting with Julius Halaifonua adding 17 points, six boards and two blocked shots.

Luke Fennell also had 17 points and three assists, James O'Donnell 15 points, 14 rebounds and three steals, and Kye Savage 10 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds.

Central Coast has now lost five games straight to be 3-7 with Robbie Heath again the standout for the Crusaders with 31 points and five assists with 4/8 three-point shooting and going 11/11 at the foul line.

Ben Stevens also had 15 points and nine rebounds, Luke Cassidy 12 points, seven assists and five boards, and Theus Evan Wardlow 10 points and five assists.

The Centre of Excellence back up on Sunday again at home to the Illawarra Hawks with the Crusaders also backing up on the road to the Bankstown Bruins.

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 96 (Furphy 20, Halaifonua 17, Fennell 17)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 89 (Heath 31, Stevens 15, Cassidy 12)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (83) defeated Norths Bears (82)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles claimed the dramatic 83-82 win thanks to free-throws on the buzzer from Mason Bragg to beat the Norths Bears 83-82.

The Sea Eagles were at home at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre looking to improve on a 6-2 record up against the Bears who arrived on a three-game winning run.

It turned out quite the dramatic evening with Manly Warringah leading 23-19 by quarter-time but Norths took control of the contest in the second frame scoring eight consecutive points.

They were able to build up a 10-point lead and still be up 47-42 at the main break.

The momentum swings continued with the Sea Eagles outscoring the Bears 19 points to 11 in the third quarter to reclaim the lead, and to lead by as much as six in the fourth quarter.

However, it was always a game destined to go down to the wire with Lewis Holey putting the Bears back in front with just under two minutes to play.

It was then still a one-point lead for Norths with 1.8 seconds left on the clock and the Sea Eagles looking to get off a good look out of a timeout.

Mason Bragg caught the ball in the corner right in front of the Bears bench, went up for the three and was fouled. Eventually he stepped up to take the free throws and made the first, missed the second and made the third to secure the stunning one-point win.

The Sea Eagles are now 7-2 with the victory with Bragg finishing with 24 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

It was Jonas Harper top-scoring with 25 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals with Matthew Eldridge contributing 21 points and 13 boards, and Zackary Kimball nine points.

The Bears are now 6-5 on the season following the loss with Mandrell Worthy delivering 31 points with 5/6 three-point shooting.

Michael Yoong also had 16 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, Lewis Holey 14 points and 12 boards, and Robert Moore 11 points.

The Bears again play on Sunday afternoon on the road to the Newcastle Falcons while the Sea Eagles will be away to the Maitland Mustangs next Saturday.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 83 (Harper 25, Bragg 24, Eldridge 21)

NORTHS BEARS 82 (Worthy 31, Yoong 16, Holey 14)

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (81) lost to Hills Hornets (89)

Chris Bryant inspired the Hills Hornets to a come from behind 89-81 victory on the road to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The Spiders were back home at The Brickpit looking for that elusive first victory of the season up against a Hornets team arriving attempting to bounce back from a last up defeat to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

After falling down four points early, Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai took control of the contest with 15 consecutive points on the way to leading 30-14 by quarter-time.

That lead for the Spiders grew to as much as 17 points in the second period as well but then the Hornets worked back into the contest and by half-time had cut the home team's lead to 44-40.

The scores were then all square by three quarter-time before the Hornets outscored the Spiders 20 points to 12 in the final quarter on the way to the eventual eight-point victory.

The win improves Hills to a 6-4 record on the season with Chris Bryant outstanding with 33 points, 11 rebounds and two steals on shooting 10/13 from the field, 3/3 from behind the three-point arc, and 10/10 at the free-throw line.

Liam Moss also had 14 points, five assists and four rebounds, Ishmael Sanders 12 points, four boards and three assists, and Mitchell Smith 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Spiders are now 0-13 despite again showing some encouraging signs with Steven Hall producing 24 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Nathaniel Chappell added 18 points and seven rebounds on 8/11 shooting with Brian Ansuh-Yeboah contributing 17 points and five boards.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai will be on the road to the Inner West Bulls next Saturday with Hills away to the Sydney Comets.

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 81 (Hall 24, Chappell 18, Ansuh-Yeboah 17)

HILLS HORNETS 89 (Bryant 33, Moss 14, Sanders 12)

Illawarra Hawks (90) defeated Bankstown Bruins (79)

The Illawarra Hawks continue to show their growth this season with the 90-79 win over the Bankstown Bruins on the back of another 29 points from Riley Abercrombie.

The Hawks might have lost their past two games, but back at The Snakepit they were looking to continue their improved form over the last three games that included their lone win of the season so far.

They were coming up against a Bruins team on a two-game winning streak, though, and it was Bankstown managing to lead 21-18 by the end of the opening quarter.

Bankstown was still clinging to a one-point lead by half-time and the Bruins were back out to a six-point edge in the third period, but then the Hawks took control of the match up on their home floor.

Illawarra would go on to score nine straight points to open up an 11-point lead for a 29-17 third quarter with the Hawks ending up winning by that margin to improve to 2-9 on the season with a vastly improved last four matches.

Riley Abercombie is becoming the breakout star of this Illawarra team with him producing another 29 points, five rebounds and three assists on shooting 11/19 from the field, 3/6 from three-point territory and 4/4 at the free-throw line.

Matthew Frierson also had 15 points and four rebounds, Brad Ballinger 13 points and seven boards, William Rice 11 points on 5/6 shooting, and Jacob Smith 10 points and three rebounds.

The Bruins now slip to a 6-5 record on the season with the defeat with Hayden Blankley putting up 25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Naaman Hightower also had 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists, Andre Wolford 14 points, two boards and two steals, and Charlie McBeath 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

The Hawks will head to Canberra to take on the Centre of Excellence on Sunday while the Bruins will be at home to the Central Coast Crusaders.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 90 (Abercrombie 29, Frierson 15, Ballinger 13)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 79 (Blankley 25, Hightower 20, Wolford 14)

Maitland Mustangs (100) defeated Sydney Comets (78)

The Maitland Mustangs maintained their hold on top spot in the NBL1 East with another commanding performance to beat the Sydney Comets 100-78.

The Mustangs came into the round sitting atop the NBL1 East at 9-1 ahead of hosting the Comets at Maitland Federation Centre with Sydney attempting to bounce back from a loss to the Bankstown Bruins.

By quarter-time and it was the Mustangs leading 23-17 and the home team would continue to extend their advantage with another 21 points to 15 in the second term.

Maitland would end up leading 44-32 at the half-time interval and the Mustangs would continue to push out that lead further with it growing to 21 points in the third frame and 24 in the fourth.

The Mustangs would end up beating the Comets by 22 points to improve to a 10-1 record on the season and three straight since that lone defeat to the Hills Hornets.

Will Cranston-Lown delivered another 16 points and 13 assists in the win for Maitland with Daniel Millburn contributing 15 points and three rebounds, and Christian Little 15 points, four boards and three assists.

Billy Parsons also had 14 points, nine rebounds and two assists, Will Mortimore 10 points and three assists, and James Hunter 10 points and five boards.

The Comets are now 5-6 with back-to-back defeats with Obi Kyei back in the line-up and producing 17 points and six rebounds.

Christian Aukuso also had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Ernest Docker 14 points, five boards and three steals.

The Comets are back home on Sunday afternoon to host the Canberra Gunners with the Mustangs to host the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next Saturday.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 100 (Cranston-Lown 16, Little 15, Millburn 15)

SYDNEY COMETS 78 (Kyei 17, Aukuso 15, Docker 14)

Sutherland Sharks (74) defeated Newcastle Falcons (67)

The Sutherland Sharks returned to the winner's list with the defending champions regaining some troops to beat the Newcastle Falcons 74-67.

The Sharks were back at Sutherland Basketball Stadium looking to snap a three-game losing streak and they were closer to full strength with the return of Lochlan Hutchison.

They were hosting a Newcastle team on a two-game winning streak and it was the Falcons out to an eight-point lead early on, but by quarter-time the Sharks had assumed the 16-15 lead.

Sutherland ended up scoring 11 consecutive points to open up a double-figure advantage and to still be leading 35-27 at half-time.

Newcastle fired back in the third quarter with 27 points to 17 to regain the lead and to be out to a four-point lead in the final period, but then Sutherland hit back to breathe some life back into their championship defence.

Sutherland would end up scoring eight points in-a-row to secure the seven-point victory and to improve to a 4-6 record and end the losing run at three.

Brian Williams put up 27 points, six steals and four rebounds in the win for the Sharks on the back of shooting 9/12 from the field and 9/11 at the free-throw line.

Adrian Cabrera also contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, Klairus Amir 11 points and five boards, and Geoff Gerlach 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Newcastle is now 4-7 with the defeat with Kobe Shannon top-scoring with 15 points while Francis Wineera-Mulvihill contributed 14 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Myles Cherry also had 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals while Ryan Beisty finished with eight points, 13 boards, three assists and two steals.

Newcastle will again be in action on Sunday at home to the Norths Bears while Sutherland will be away to the Bankstown Bruins next Saturday.

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 74 (Williams 27, Cabrera 14, Amir 11)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 67 (Shannon 15, Wineera-Mulvihill 14, Cherry 12)

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (86) defeated Penrith Panthers (71)

Kevion Blaylock and Lochlan Cummings combined for 49 points as the Albury-Wodonga Bandits snapped a losing run to beat the Penrith Panthers 86-71 at home.

The Bandits were back at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre looking to hit back from losses last weekend in the nation's capital to the Canberra Gunners and the Centre of Excellence.

They were playing host to a Panthers team on a six-game losing slide and it was Albury-Wodonga clinging to the narrow 21-18 advantage by quarter-time.

The Bandits managed to extend that advantage to 45-38 by half-time and then built on that further throughout the second half including completing a 12-0 run in the third term to open up a 19-point lead.

From there Albury-Wodonga went on to score the 15-point victory to steady their season at 8-4 with Kevion Blaylock leading the charge with 27 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots on 10/15 shooting from the field.

Lochlan Cummings also produced 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists on shooting 5/9 from downtown while Shawn Montague contributed 14 points, eight boards, five steals and four assists, and Davo Hickey 11 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

Penrith has now lost seven matches in-a-row to be 1-10 on the season with Brodie Schwarzer top-scoring with 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Ammaron McCarthy also had nine points and three rebounds, Zeke Evans nine points and seven boards, Ben Kearins eight points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals, and Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe eight points, three boards and two assists.

The Bandits next play next Saturday night on the road to the Central Coast Crusaders with the Panthers at home to the Centre of Excellence.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 86 (Blaylock 27, Cummings 22, Montague 14)

PENRITH PANTHERS 71 (Schwarzer 11, McCarthy 9, Evans 9)

Inner West Bulls (78) lost to Canberra Gunners (80)

James Toohey came up clutch for the Canberra Gunners to see them escape with the 80-78 win to keep its winning run going against the Inner West Bulls.

Canberra put its eight-game winning streak on the line at ELS Hall Park against Inner West and in the end a massive three-pointer with just over a minute to go from Toohey who then also hit an important free-throw sealed the two-point win.

The Bulls came out on a mission to bounce back from the 22-point loss to the Maitland Mustangs and opened up a double-digit lead on Canberra in the first quarter.

Inner West were still leading by six points at quarter-time and by five at half-time before they blew the game open further out to the 16-point advantage during the third period.

Canberra's winning streak was in serious jeopardy but the 2022 champions fired back in spectacular fashion and put up 21 points to 11 in the fourth quarter.

Eventually it was a huge three-pointer with just over a minute to go that was the biggest shot of the night to put the Gunners up three.

Toohey would also hit a free-throw to keep his team up two and Canberra secured the win from there.

It's a ninth straight win for the Gunners who are now 10-1 on the season with Will Mayfield finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Glenn Morison also had 14 points, six assists and five rebounds with Lachlan Smith contributing 13 points and four boards, James Toohey 13 points and three assists, and Austin Clarke 12 points on 4/5 three-point shooting.

It's consecutive losses for Inner West who are now 8-5 with Jacob Ohmer producing 18 points and five rebounds, and Alex Higgins-Titsha 18 points, 15 boards and five assists.

Viliami Foketi also had 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Nicko Timonera 10 points, two boards, two assists and two steals.

Canberra remains on the road on Sunday afternoon to the Sydney Comets while Inner West will host the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders next Saturday.

INNER WEST BULLS 78 (Higgins-Titsha 18, Ohmer 18, Foketi 13)

CANBERRA GUNNERS 80 (Mayfield 18, Morison 14, Smith 13, Toohey 13)