Recap NBL1 North | Round 10 Friday

Ariana Moorer, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard, Mitch Norton and Tyrell Harrison starred in NBL1 North Friday night wins for the Southern Districts Spartans as did Alex Fowler for the Townsville Flames and Ethan Betts for the Heat.

The two Friday night women's matches saw the Southern Districts Spartans beat the North Gold Coast Seahawks 81-71 and the Townsville Flames defeat the Gold Coast Rollers 77-60.

The men's matches then saw the Spartans defeat the Seahawks 107-84 and the Townsville Heat beat the Rollers 102-83.

RECAP NBL1 NORTH | ROUND 9 SUNDAY

WOMEN

North Gold Coast Seahawks (71) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (81)

A combined 49 points and eight three-pointers from Ariana Moorer and Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard has seen the Southern Districts Spartans make a statement beating the North Gold Coast Seahawks 81-71.

The Seahawks were back on their home floor at Runaway Bay Stadium looking to maintain second spot in the NBL1 North but up against them were a Spartans team gaining momentum and hunting a third successive win.

It would end up being a game of wild fluctuations and it was the Spartans who were holding onto the 24-18 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The lead for Southern Districts went out to an 11-point lead in the second term but the Seahawks scored seven straight points to work back into the contest and to cut the Spartans lead to 41-38 at the main break.

The Seahawks were then able to keep that momentum going in the third quarter with 21 points to 13 to grab the lead over the Spartans, and then to push that advantage out to 12 points with the first seven points of the fourth term.

What happened next was nothing short of remarkable with Southern Districts turning the momentum and going from that 12-point deficit the Spartans put on a stunning showing to score the next 24 points in-a-row.

To turn a 12-point deficit into a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter was quite the incredible effort from Southern Districts with three-point bombs from Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard and Kalani Purcell along the way, and an and-one play from Ariana Moorer.

The Spartans ended up winning by 10 points to now improve to 7-4 on the season with three straight wins with Ariana Moorer coming up huge once more with 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals on 11/20 shooting.

Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard is fitting in nicely in her first season in the NBL1 North after her NBL1 West career at the Warwick Senators. The Perth Lynx WNBL forward hit 6/7 from three-point land for 22 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Kalani Purcell added 11 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two assists, and Odette Isaac six points, two boards and two steals.

The Seahawks slip to 9-3 on the season having now lost two of the past three despite another 27 points, six rebounds and two assists from Miela Goodchild.

Mikaela Ruef ended up with another seven points, 24 rebounds and 11 assists with Grace Champion contributing 14 points and three steals, and Chailee Ward nine points and two boards.

The Seahawks back up on Saturday away to the Northside Wizards while the Spartans will play host to the Darwin Salties.

NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 71 (Goodchild 27, Champion 14, Ward 9)

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 81 (Moorer 27, Clinch Hoycard 22, Purcell 11)

Townsville Flames (77) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (60)

The Townsville Flames kept pace for a top two position in the NBL1 North with Alex Fowler shining once more in the 77-60 home victory against the Gold Coast Rollers.

The Flames are locked in a battle over second position with the North Gold Coast Seahawks with both teams coming into the round at 9-2 with Townsville hosting the Rollers at StarFM Stadium.

The Flames were hosting a Gold Coast team struggling to stay in playoff contention but it was a tight battle throughout the first half. Townsville was just leading by a point at quarter-time and then by two points at half-time.

Townsville took over the contest in the third quarter holding Gold Coast to just five points in the entire 10 minutes. As a result the Flames ended up leading by 16 points, and then that extended to 25 in the fourth period before the home team ended up winning by 17 points.

The win improves Townsville to a 10-2 record on the season with Alex Fowler delivering another dominant showing made up of 25 points and five rebounds on 9/12 shooting from the floor and 6/8 from the foul line.

Ella Tofaeono also had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Flames, Indiah Bowyer 14 points, two boards, two assists and two steals, and Shaylee Browning eight points on 2/3 shooting from downtown.

Gold Coast slips to 3-8 with the loss to start its road trip up north to start the weekend with Taylor Lee top-scoring with 11 points while Myah Selland added 10 points and eight rebounds, Kate Deeble nine points, three assists and two steals, and Layla-J Cameron nine points, three boards and three steals.

The Flames don’t play again until hosting the South West Metro Pirates next Saturday while the Rollers back up in the Far North to take on the Cairns Dolphins on Saturday.

TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 77 (Fowler 25, Tofaeono 14, Bowyer 14)

GOLD COAST ROLLERS 60 (Lee 11, Selland 10, Cameron 9, Deeble 9)

MEN

North Gold Coast Seahawks (84) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (107)

The Southern Districts Spartans hit back from last week's loss to produce a dominant performance led by Tyrell Harrison and Mitch Norton to beat the North Gold Coast Seahawks 107-84.

The Spartans arrived at Runaway Bay Stadium having lost to Brisbane Capitals last Saturday while the Seahawks were fresh off a win in a heart stopper against the Gold Coast Rollers.

It didn’t take long for the Brisbane Bullets NBL combination of point guard Norton and centre Harrison to take control of the contest.

With the added threat, size and experience of Tasmania JackJumpers NBL championship winner Jarred Bairstow too and the Spartans opened up a 12-pont lead already by the end of the first quarter.

Southern Districts was then even more dominant in the second term putting up another 32 points to 15 to head into the half-time break in control leading 60-31.

The lead for the Spartans got out to as much as 38 points in the second half as well and it was only an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter from the Seahawks that cut the final margin to 23.

The win improves Southern Districts to a 6-5 record on the season with Bullets centre Tyrell Harrison a dominant presence with 31 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and four assists on 13/16 shooting from the field and 5/5 at the foul line.

His Brisbane NBL teammate Mitch Norton just missed a triple-double finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals while Jarred Bairstow put up 18 points, six boards and four assists.

Corey Shervill also had 12 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Mason Honeyman 12 points and four assists.

The Seahawks are now 5-7 with the defeat with last week's hero Cameron Healy finishing with another 17 points, six assists and three rebounds.

Nathaniel Salmon added 15 points on 4/8 shooting with 6/8 from the foul line while Khobie De Haan contributed 14 points, five rebounds and two assists, Will Mahoney 11 points and four boards, and Kane Bishop 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

The Seahawks back up on Saturday away to the Northside Wizards while the Spartans will play host to the Darwin Salties.

NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 84 (Healy 17, Salmon 15, De Haan 14)

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 107 (Harrison 31, Norton 18, Bairstow 18)

Townsville Heat (102) defeated Gold Coast Rollers (83)

The Townville Heat produced their best performance of the NBL1 North season for the 102-83 home victory against the Gold Coast Rollers.

Gold Coast were looking to snap a two-game losing run and to start their road double in Far North Queensland on a winning note, but arrived at StarFM Stadium without Will Magnay.

Townsville was at home but on a seven-game losing slide to be sitting at the foot of the NBL1 North standings and it was a tight contest throughout the first half.

The Heat were leading by just two points at quarter-time and then scores were all tied at 43-43 by half-time.

It was in the third quarter when Townsville produced likely its best patch of basketball for the season so far as they caught fire to end up going on a 12-0 scoring run to outscore Gold Coast 32 points to 11 and end up leading by as much as 24 points.

That lead grew to 30 points in the final period as well in favour of the Heat in a confidence boosting performance on the way to the 19-point win against a Gold Coast team who has contested the past two grand finals.

Townsville improves to 3-9 on the season with the victory with Ethan Betts leading the charge with 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Michael Cedar added 19 points, four rebounds and three assists on hitting 4/6 from three-point range with Richard Peachey contributing 19 points, three assists and two boards, Harrison Pennisi 12 points and six rebounds, Kyle Leslie eight points and six boards, and Matthew Rees six points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

Gold Coast slips further from playoff calculations now at 4-7 with Boston Mazlin top-scoring with 21 points, two rebounds and two assists with 4/9 three-point shooting.

Reed Nottage also had 12 points and eight rebounds and Preston Le Gassick 10 points and two boards but it was a tough night for reigning NBL1 North MVP Jason Cadee with the 393-game NBL veteran managing just two points, two rebounds and an assist in over 33 minutes.

The Heat don’t play again until hosting the South West Metro Pirates next Saturday while the Rollers back up in the Far North to take on the Cairns Marlins on Saturday.

TOWNSVILLE HEAT 102 (Betts 22, Cedar 19, Peachey 19)

GOLD COAST ROLLERS 83 (Mazlin 21, Nottage 12, Le Gassick 10)