Recap NBL1 South | Round 6 Saturday

Feature images via: Rachel Louise

Alicia and Keely Froling led their teams to Saturday NBL1 South wins while Gemma Potter lifted the Diamond Valley Eagles, the Waverley Falcons men won in overtime, Jack Purchase starred for the Melbourne Tigers and it was two wins for Keilor Thunder.

Saturday's women's matches saw the Frankston Blues defeat the Bendigo Braves 84-57, the Sandringham Sabres beat Geelong United 71-63, the Ballarat Miners defeat the Eltham Wildcats 75-66, and the Kilsyth Cobras down the Casey Cavaliers 79-73.

Keilor Thunder stormed home to beat the Dandenong Rangers 69-64 while the Knox Raiders defeated the Waverley Falcons 73-63, the Launceston Tornadoes won 78-67 against the Melbourne Tigers, and the Diamond Valley Eagles defeated the Ringwood Hawks 103-75.

Then in the men's matches, Diamond Valley beat Ringwood 99-91, Waverley defeated Knox 98-91, Keilor downed Dandenong 101-97, Kilsyth beat Casey 87-69, Ballarat defeated Eltham 95-82, Melbourne won 84-84 against the North West Tasmania Thunder, Sandringham beat Geelong United 84-74, and Bendigo defeated Frankston 90-79.

RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 6 FRIDAY

WOMEN

Bendigo Braves (57) lost to Frankston Blues (84)

The unthinkable has happened with the Bendigo Braves having now dropped back-to-back games after the Frankston Blues took full advantage of their shorthandedness for the 84-57 victory.

The Braves might be the defending NBL1 South and National Champions, but any team can only compete to a certain level while missing key players and they hit that tipping point on Saturday night against the Blues at Red Energy Arena.

Not only were Bendigo still missing Ally Wilson and Amy Atwell, but Megan McKay also didn’t play against Frankston and when you take out your best shooter and scorer, a gun playmaker and scorer, and a dominant inside presence, that's going to hurt any team.

Not even Bendigo could cover their absence especially against a quality Frankston outfit who did arrive on a two-game winning run with Steph Reid in ominous form.

Frankston shot out of the blocks with 23 points to eight in the first quarter and really, never looked back from there with the lead out to 49-24 by half-time.

The advantage for the Blues got out to as much as 30 points as well in the second half before they scored the 27-point victory to improve to a 4-5 record with three wins in-a-row.

Steph Reid was brilliant once more for Frankston with 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds with 7/14 from three-point range.

Courtney Wilkins contributed 18 points and six rebounds, Lou Brown 12 points and 17 boards, and Jacqui Trotto 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Having not lost at all in 2023 and then winning the first five games of 2024, the Braves have now lost three of their past five matches and now consecutive defeats for the first time.

Kelly Wilson battled hard against the odds for Bendigo with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals with Cassidy McLean contributing nine points, five boards and two assists, Kasey Burton seven points and seven rebounds, and Maddie Sexton six points and 13 boards.

The Braves are back home next Saturday hosting the Casey Cavaliers while Frankston will be hosting Geelong United next Sunday.

BENDIGO BRAVES 57 (K Wilson 22, McLean 9, Burton 7)

FRANKSTON BLUES 84 (Reid 27, Wilkins 18, Brown 12)

Geelong United (63) lost to Sandringham Sabres (71)

The Sandringham Sabres produced a big finish to make it three successive wins to defeat Geelong United 71-63 on the road.

Geelong United were back home at The Arena looking to hit back from a loss to the Kilsyth Cobras after handing the Mount Gambier Pioneers their first defeat of the season.

They were playing host to a Sandringham team arriving on a two-game winning run and the Sabres were able to open up an eight-point lead during the first quarter.

Sandringham were still leading 21-17 by quarter-time but United worked on top briefly in the second term and by half-time, it was the narrowest of leads for the Sabres at 35-34.

Geelong then opened up a nine-point lead in the third frame and were still four points up in the fourth quarter and led for most of the second half.

However, Sandringham picked up the momentum heading to the finish and ended up outscoring Geelong 24 points to 12 in the last quarter to secure the eight-point win.

The victory improves the Sabres to a 7-2 record on the season with Emma Nankervis delivering 15 points and 11 rebounds while Klara Wischer contributed 15 points and 11 boards, and Isis Lopes 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Eilidh Simpson also had 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals with Natasha Rivas Lee putting up eight points, three boards and two assists, and Juna Umezawa seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Shaneice Swain finished with 19 points and three assists for Geelong United with Lasha Petree contributing 16 points, eight boards, three assists and two blocks, Sarah Elsworthy 15 points and seven rebounds, and Jada Rice 11 points, 15 boards and two blocked shots.

Geelong United hit the road on Sunday against the Ringwood Hawks while the Sabres are next in action on the road to the Eltham Wildcats next Saturday.

GEELONG UNITED 63 (Swain 19, Petree 16, Elsworthy 15)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 71 (Nankervis 15, Wischer 15, Lopes 13)

Ballarat Miners (75) defeated Eltham Wildcats (66)

The Ballarat Miners made it back-to-back NBL1 South wins by defeating the Eltham Wildcats 75-66 at home on Saturday night.

The Miners were looking to start building some momentum on the back of last week's 18-point win against Keilor Thunder while the Wildcats arrived at Selkirk Stadium on a four-match winning streak.

Ballarat shot out of the blocks impressively to lead by as much as 14 points in the first quarter before Eltham worked back into it by scoring seven consecutive points.

The Miners were still leading 28-19 by the end of the opening period but the Wildcats then took charge to close the first half and going into half-time scores were all level at 41-41.

Things were still tight going into the fourth quarter, but that's when Ballarat used the momentum from the home crowd to get back on top and score nine straight points to end up leading by nine.

From there the Miners would end up scoring the nine-point win to improve to a 4-4 record on the season with Chloe Bibby still putting up 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals even if she didn't have the best shooting night going 8/19 from the floor.

Alex Bunton produced another 18 points and nine rebounds for Ballarat, Abbey Wehrung 15 points, six boards and five assists, and Mehryn Kraker 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.

The loss ends the four-game winning streak of the Wildcats who are now 4-4 on the season with Bec Pizzey putting up 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Lily Scanlon added 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds, Erin Riley 11 points, seven boards and three assists, and Taylah Wynne 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Ballarat hits the road on Sunday to take on the Kilsyth Cobras while the Wildcats will host the Knox Raiders.

BALLARAT MINERS 75 (Bibby 22, Bunton 18, Wehrung 15)

ELTHAM WILDCATS 66 (Pizzey 17, Scanlon 12, Riley 11)

Casey Cavaliers (73) lost to Kilsyth Cobras (79)

The Kilsyth Cobras came from behind at three quarter-time to score the 79-73 road victory against the Casey Cavaliers.

The Cavs were back home at Casey Stadium looking for a third win of the season hosting a Cobras team hunting their second so both teams saw it as a real opportunity to kickstart their campaigns.

As a result it was a tight contest virtually all evening with Casey managing to lead by five points at quarter-time but by half-time the Cobras had cut that lead for the Cavs to 42-40.

Casey did manage to push out to an eight-point lead in the third quarter, but again Kilsyth fired back to make it just a one-point ball game by three quarter-time.

It was then the Cobras that made the first sizeable break of the contest to start the fourth term to end up completing an 11-0 scoring run to open up a 12-point lead, and then holding on to win by six.

The victory improves the Cobras to a 2-7 record on the season and it gives them back-to-back wins after the 0-7 start with Georgia Booth delivering 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Tegan Cunningham also had 18 points and seven rebounds, Tyra Marie Whitehead 14 points and seven boards, Nikita Young nine points, five rebounds and four assists, and Paige Price eight points and three assists.

The Cavaliers are now 2-7 following the loss with Alice Kunek into the line-up and delivering 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Taylah Simmons also had 16 points, three rebounds and two assists, Sharne Robati 13 points, eight boards and two blocked shots, and Alex Wittinger 11 points and two rebounds.

The Cobras back up to host the Ballarat Miners on Sunday with the Cavaliers away to the Bendigo Braves next Saturday.

CASEY CAVALIERS 73 (Kunek 22, Simmons 16, Robati 13)

KILSYTH COBRAS 79 (Booth 19, Cunningham 18, Whitehead 14)

Dandenong Rangers (64) lost to Keilor Thunder (69)

Keilor Thunder pulled off a famous comeback victory on the road storming back from 23 points down with 15 minutes to go to end up winning 69-64.

The Rangers were back home at Dandenong Basketball Stadium hunting a fifth consecutive win up against a Keilor team arriving on an identical 7-2 record so the stage was set for a fascinating match up.

Dandenong took charge in the first half leading 22-13 by quarter-time then going into half-time in control still at 40-23.

That lead for the Rangers got out to as much as 24 in the third quarter as well and it was a 53-30 lead with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter when Dallas Loughridge scored for the home team.

There was no sign of what was to come but it was a stunning turnaround from there and over the last 15 minutes of the contest, Keilor outscored Dandenong 39 points to 11 to turn that 24-point deficit into a remarkable win.

It was a Grace Graham three with 1:30 to play that put the Thunder up four and they would go on to win by five to improve to an 8-2 record.

Penina Davidson finished the night with 19 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and two steals on 8/15 shooting for Keilor with Lilly Rotunno contributing 17 points, five boards and two steals.

Issie Bourne also had 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Grace Graham eight points, four boards and two assists, and Lily Carmody eight points, three assists and two rebounds.

It was a tough loss for Dandenong who slip to 7-3 as a result with Manuela Puoch top-scoring with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Dallas Loughridge also had 17 points and two steals, Amber Smith 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Nyadiew Puoch 11 points, eight boards, three assists and two steals.

Dandenong is next on the road to the Diamond Valley Eagles next Saturday while Keilor will be hosting the Hobart Chargers on the same evening.

DANDENONG RANGERS 64 (Puoch 18, Loughridge 17, Smith 15)

KEILOR THUNDER 69 (Davidson 19, Bourne 17, Rotunno 17)

Knox Raiders (73) defeated Waverley Falcons (63)

Alicia Froling led the Knox Raiders to a fifth consecutive win with the 73-63 victory at home to the Waverley Falcons.

The Raiders came into the contest at Knox Basketball Stadium on a four-game winning run up against a Waverley team trying to snap its own five-match losing slide.

It would prove to be a tight contest through three quarters as well with Knox only leading 26-22 by quarter-time with that advantage cut to 41-39 by the half-time break.

It was a low-scoring third quarter with both teams combining for just 23 points with the Raiders leading 53-50 at three quarter-time.

That set up a big finish and it was the Raiders who would complete a 13-0 run into the fourth quarter to open up a 12-point lead and then go on to score the 10-point victory.

The victory improves Knox to a 7-1 record on the season with five straight wins with Alicia Froling the star of the night with 27 points, 16 rebounds and four assists on 11/19 shooting from the floor.

Emma Pearce added 12 points and three rebounds, Paige Bradley 10 points, six boards and three assists, and Paige Burrows eight points and six assists while Kiera Rowe collected 12 rebounds.

It's a sixth consecutive defeat for Waverley who are now 2-8 on the season despite Bec Cole putting up 23 points, three steals and two assists.

Carley Ernst also had 13 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists with Orla O'Reilly adding eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Knox will be back on the road to play the Eltham Wildcats on Sunday while the Falcons will be at home to the Kilsyth Cobras next Saturday.

KNOX RAIDERS 73 (Froling 27, Pearce 12, Bradley 10)

WAVERLEY FALCONS 63 (Cole 23, Ernst 13, O'Reilly 8)

Launceston Tornadoes (78) defeated Melbourne Tigers (67)

Cierra Dillard did her best to lead the Melbourne Tigers to another win this weekend but her 31 points wasn’t quite enough with Keely Froling leading the Launceston Tornadoes to the 78-67 win.

Launceston was back home at Elphin Sports Stadium looking for a second win of the season up against a Tigers team who started their road double in Tasmania beating the Hobart Chargers thanks to 46 points from Dillard.

After Melbourne led the game early by three points, Launceston soon took over and never trailed again, going into quarter-time leading 20-13.

After the Tornadoes lead did get out to 10 in the second quarter, the Tigers hit back and it was just a one-point lead for Launceston by half-time.

Launceston took control once again in the third frame to open up another double-figure advantage and that got out to a 14-point lead in the fourth period on the way to the eventual 11-point victory.

The win improves the Tornadoes to a 2-7 record with Keely Froling dominant with 31 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots on 10/18 shooting from the floor and 10/10 at the foul line.

Trinity Oliver added 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals with Sarah O'Neill contributing 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Macey Crawford eight points, seven assists and four rebounds.

The Tigers are now 5-5 on the season having split their double this weekend with another brilliant performance from Cierra Dillard with 31 points, six steals, four assists and three rebounds.

Tylah Hooper added 16 points and six boards, and Sam Simons 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

The Tornadoes will be on the road to the Ringwood Hawks next Saturday with the Tigers hosting the Ballarat Miners the same night.

LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 78 (Froling 31, Oliver 15, O'Neill 13)

MELBOURNE TIGERS 67 (Dillard 31, Hooper 16, Simons 11)

Ringwood Hawks (75) lost to Diamond Valley Eagles (103)

Gemma Potter came up huge with 34 points and the Diamond Valley Eagles snapped their losing slide with the 103-75 road victory over the Ringwood Hawks.

Ringwood were looking to snap its own two-game losing slide back home at The Rings to host an Eagles outfit arriving having lost their past four matches.

The Hawks were looking to get back to winning and started impressively with a 14-0 run in the first quarter, but Diamond Valley responded in kind by scoring 12 straight points themselves in a dramatic opening period.

The Eagles were leading 21-19 by the end of one and both teams managed to have a seven-point lead in the second frame before it was the Hawks leading 47-41 by the main break.

Diamond Valley took charge in the second half, though, with 34 points to 12 in the third quarter and then another 28 to 16 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 28-point victory.

The win improves the Eagles to a 3-4 record on the season and snapping a four-game losing slide with Gemma Potter the star with 34 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals on 12/22 shooting from the field and 5/9 from three-point land.

Allison Day added 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, Sophie Byrnes 11 points and eight assists, Naomi Mbandu 10 points and six rebounds, Courtney Willemse 10 points, two boards and two steals, and Eliza Bannan nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

After a terrific start to the season, Ringwood has now lost three straight to be 7-4 despite Ahlise Hurst finishing with 17 points with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Digna Strautmane also had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Hailey Wynd 11 points and two assists, Mikayla Peterson 10 points, and Lana Hollingsworth nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

Ringwood remains at home to Geelong United on Sunday while Diamond Valley will be hosting the Dandenong Rangers next Saturday.

RINGWOOD HAWKS 75 (Hurst 17, Strautmane 12, Wynd 11)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 103 (Potter 34, Day 16, Byrnes 11)

MEN

Bendigo Braves (90) defeated Frankston Blues (79)

The return of point guard Mitch Clarke has helped the Bendigo Braves back to the winner's list with the 90-79 home victory against the Frankston Blues.

Bendigo was back home at Red Energy Arena having lost their past five matches coinciding with a back injury to leading scorer Rowan Mackenzie.

They hosted a Blues team sitting in the top four, but missing key players including Lachlan Barker, Lucas Barker, Stokley Chaffee, Klay Brown, Igor Hadziomerovic and Daniel Trist due to the trip to India.

Bendigo was still without Mackenzie but did welcome back point guard Mitch Clarke for his second stint at the club having previously played with the Braves back in 2022 before returning to the NBL1 West to play with his home club the Perry Lakes Hawks.

He has just finished a season playing in England for Reading and now was an important inclusion for the Braves as they returned to the winner's list on Saturday night at home.

Bendigo went on to score the 11-point victory to improve to a 4-6 record on the season with Andrew Robinson top-scoring with 23 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Clarke had a strong return game with 16 points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds with Lachlan Somerville contributing 14 points on 4/6 three-point shooting, Dylan McCarthy eight points and eight assists, and Koch Bar eight points and 14 rebounds.

It was always going to be tough going for Frankston with the majority of their squad in India but Tom Garrett had 21 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists, Brad Newley 18 points and eight boards, Ryan Lane 14 points and eight rebounds, and Brayden Laurie 12 points and five assists.

The Braves are back home next Saturday hosting the Casey Cavaliers while Frankston will be hosting Geelong United next Sunday.

BENDIGO BRAVES 90 (Robinson 23, Clarke 16, Somerville 14)

FRANKSTON BLUES 79 (Garrett 21, Newley 18, Lane 14)

Geelong United (74) lost to Sandringham Sabres (85)

The Sandringham Sabres continue to build nicely into the NBL1 South season with the 85-74 road victory over Geelong United thanks to eight triples and 33 points from Tanner Krebs.

Geelong were back home at The Arena looking to snap a three-game losing slide ahead of hosting a Sabres team who were without Shea Ili and Campbell Blogg.

Sandringham still possessed plenty of firepower and they managed to lead 24-19 by the end of the first quarter and then gradually built on that to be leading 45-37 at the half-time interval.

The Sabres advantage did get out to as much as 17 points in the second half and they would go on to win by nine in the finish to improve to 5-4 on the season as a result.

Tanner Krebs ultimately was the major difference between the two teams with the Melbourne United NBL wing putting up 33 points, 13 rebounds and two assists including hitting 8/12 from three-point land.

CJ Asuncion-Byrd added 16 points and five rebounds for Sandringham with Joel Foxwell contributing 11 points and five assists, David Barlow nine points, five boards and five assists, and Tom Koppens seven points and 11 rebounds.

Geelong United slip to a 2-6 record with four straight defeats with Ma'alo Hicks top-scoring with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 8/11 shooting from the floor.

DeMarcus Gatlin added 13 points, five assists and three rebounds, Liam Herbert 13 points, five steals, four boards and two assists, and Latrell Jones 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Geelong United hit the road on Sunday against the Ringwood Hawks while the Sabres are next in action on the road to the Eltham Wildcats next Saturday.

GEELONG UNITED 74 (Hicks 18, Herbert 13, Gatlin 13)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 85 (Krebs 33, Asuncion-Byrd 16, Foxwell 11)

Ballarat Miners (95) defeated Eltham Wildcats (82)

The Ballarat Miners continued their impressive start to the season with Nick Stoddart delivering 26 points in the 95-82 home win against the Eltham Wildcats.

The Miners were back home at Selkirk Stadium on a two-game winning run hosting a Wildcats team having now lost two and still being without South East Melbourne Phoenix NBL guard Angus Glover.

Eltham still started the better to open up a seven-point lead in the first quarter and to still be leading 24-20 by quarter-time, but then Ballarat warmed up to the task in the second frame.

The Miners outscored the Wildcats 32 points to 19 in the quarter to go into half-time in control 52-43 but Eltham stayed in the contest and with 15 points in the third quarter from Owen Foxwell, the Ballarat lead was only 69-66 by three quarter-time.

The game was on the line heading into the fourth frame but it was all the Miners with 26 points to 16 to end up winning by 13 to improve to a 6-2 record with three straight wins in the process.

There was a lot to like in the performance from Ballarat with Nick Stoddart delivering 26 points on 9/15 shooting from the floor.

Majok Majok was a strong force inside with 19 points and 12 rebounds with Tyler Rudolph contributing 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Zac Dunmore 11 points and four boards.

Eltham is now 4-4 on the season with the three successive defeats despite 30 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists from Owen Foxwell on 12/21 shooting from the field.

Sam Whelan added 12 points, Josh Sykes 11 points and nine rebounds, Sam Short nine points and six assists, and Ralph Bissainthe nine points and two boards.

Ballarat hits the road on Sunday to take on the Kilsyth Cobras while the Wildcats will host the Knox Raiders.

BALLARAT MINERS 95 (Stoddart 26, Majok 19, Rudolph 18)

ELTHAM WILDCATS 82 (Foxwell 30, Whelan 12, Sykes 11)

Casey Cavaliers (69) lost to Kilsyth Cobras (87)

The Kilsyth Cobras delivered a dominant three quarters to set up the eventual 87-69 victory to make it consecutive wins against the Casey Cavaliers.

The Cavs were back home at Casey Stadium looking to snap a three-game losing slide and to win in the venue for the first time in 2024 up against a Cobras team fresh off beating Geelong United last Sunday.

The Cobras did score 10 straight points in the first quarter to work their way on top before then putting up 24 points to 12 in the second period to go into the half-time break leading 50-32.

Kilsyth blew that lead out to as much as 27 points in the second half as well and even though Casey finished the better with 25 points to 19 in the final term, the Cobras cruised to the 18-point win to improve to 3-6 on the season with consecutive victories.

Deng Riak delivered 20 points and 11 rebounds on 7/9 shooting in the win for Kilsyth with Adrian Tomada adding 18 points, five boards and three assists, Corey Jeffs 14 points and five rebounds, and Bryce Davis 10 points, seven boards and two steals.

Preston Bungei top-scored for the Cavaliers with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals with Devin Watson contributing 16 points and three assists, and Anthony Karabatsos 10 points.

The Cobras back up to host the Ballarat Miners on Sunday with the Cavaliers away to the Bendigo Braves next Saturday.

CASEY CAVALIERS 69 (Bungei 18, Watson 16, Karabatsos 10)

KILSYTH COBRAS 87 (Riak 20, Tomada 18, Jeffs 14)

Dandenong Rangers (97) lost to Keilor Thunder (101)

With Trevor Lakes putting up 34 points, Keilor Thunder finished the better to get a hard earned 101-97 win against the Dandenong Rangers on the road.

The Rangers were back home at Dandenong Basketball Stadium to host the Thunder with both teams stuck in the logjam of teams through the middle part of the NBL1 South standings.

It was Dandenong leading by a point after the first quarter and the home team was able to push its advantage out to eight by half-time.

The Rangers did continue to hold a narrow lead through most of the second half and after two free-throws from Jack Roberts, Dandenong was back up four with five minutes to play.

However from there, Keilor started taking over the contest beginning with a layup to Kyle Zunic and a three-pointer to Trevor Lakes.

That saw them regain the lead before a Lakes and-one play pushed that advantage out to four, and that would be the winning margin for the Thunder as they improved to 6-4 on the season as a result.

Trevor Lakes proved the star of the night for Keilor with 34 points, five rebounds and three assists on 13/24 shooting from the floor and 6/15 from three-point territory.

Kyle Zunic also had 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, Kuany Kuany 17 points and six boards, Jalen Gibbs 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Daniel Poelsma 10 points and two boards.

Dandenong is now 6-5 following the defeat with Jacob Tryon top-scoring with 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

Jake Heath added 19 points and four assists, Brandon Betson 17 points and three assists, Mason Peatling 12 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, and Tad Dufelmeier 11 points, nine boards and four assists.

Dandenong is next on the road to the Diamond Valley Eagles next Saturday while Keilor will be hosting the Hobart Chargers on the same evening.

DANDENONG RANGERS 97 (Tryon 20, Heath 19, Betson 17)

KEILOR THUNDER 101 (Lakes 34, Zunic 22, Kuany 17)

Knox Raiders (91) lost to Waverley Falcons (98)

The Waverley Falcons pulled out the overtime 98-91 win against the defending champion Knox Raiders to continue their winning form.

The Raiders were back home at Knox Basketball Stadium to play host to the Falcons with both teams coming into the contest on two-game winning streaks.

It was Waverley who got the better of the start opening up a 30-19 advantage by the end of the first quarter and the lead got out to as much as 13, but the Raiders aren’t the defending champions for nothing and were able to hit back.

Knox went on a 10-0 scoring run and would end up grabbing the lead and heading into half-time on top 44-42.

It would prove a tight and fluctuating second half with no more than six points separating the two teams. That was the margin the Raiders held when Austin Rapp knocked down a pair of free-throws with just under four minutes on the clock.

The Falcons responded with the next four points courtesy of Maurice Howard and Matthew McCarthy before McCarthy's free-throws brought scores back level with two minutes to play.

An offensive rebound, putback and three-point play from Kyle Bowen saw Knox regain a three-point edge but in a dramatic finish, the Falcons responded with a triple from up top by Bennie Lewis with 20 seconds on the clock.

That levelled scores up and then once more up the other end it was an offensive board and put back from Melbourne United forward Bowen that saw Knox back up by two.

There was still time for Waverley and this time it was a tip-in from Mason Forbes on the missed shot from Forbes that saw scores level once more, and the game would go to overtime when KJ Feagin's off balance three-point attempt was well off the mark.

Then in the extra period, it was all Waverley as the visitors outscored Knox 15 points to eight to claim the seven-point win and improve to 6-4 on the season as a result.

The Falcons finished with four players scoring at least 16 points with Mason Forbes leading the charge with 26 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots on 10/13 shooting.

DJ Vasiljevic added 18 points and 10 rebounds with Matthew McCarthy contributing 16 points, five boards and four steals, and Maurice Howard 16 points and five rebounds.

Knox is now 5-3 on the season following the defeat with KJ Feagin producing another 17 points, five assists and four rebounds despite shooting 5/20.

Brody Nunn added 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, Anzac Rissetto 13 points and five boards, Austin Rapp 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Brayon Blake 12 points and two boards.

Knox will be back on the road to play the Eltham Wildcats on Sunday while the Falcons will be at home to the Kilsyth Cobras next Saturday.

KNOX RAIDERS 91 (Feagin 17, Rapp 14, Rissetto 13, Nunn 13)

WAVERLEY FALCONS 98 (Forbes 26, Vasiljevic 18, Howard 16, McCarthy 16)

North West Tasmania Thunder (74) lost to Melbourne Tigers (84)

A dominant performance from Jack Purchase led the Melbourne Tigers to the 84-74 road victory against the North West Tasmania Thunder.

The Tigers started their double header on the Apple Isle with a loss to the Hobart Chargers on Friday night before arriving at Mazda BT-50 Thunder Stadium to take on a North West team trying to improve on a 3-5 record.

After North West went up five early on, Melbourne turned on a spectacular 16-0 scoring run to take an 11-point lead, and to still be up 28-19 by the end of one.

The Tigers lead got out to as much as 14 points in the second period and they went into the half-time break still leading 49-36.

Melbourne maintained its control of the contest throughout the second half as well leading by as much as 22 points and then going on to score the eventual 10-point victory and improve to a 4-6 record having split their Tasmanian double.

Jack Purchase proved to be the major difference between the two teams with the former NBL big man delivering 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Tigers on shooting 10/18 from the field, 4/9 from downtown and 5/7 from the foul line.

Tom Wilson continues to shine on his return to basketball with 18 points, four assists and two rebounds with Taj Chehhal contributing 11 points and four boards, and Callum Barker 11 points and seven rebounds.

Sekou Sylla finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for a Thunder team now 3-6 on the season with Archer Woodhill contributing 17 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Seth Swalve 11 points, two boards and two assists.

The Thunder will be on the road to the Ringwood Hawks next Saturday with the Tigers hosting the Ballarat Miners the same night.

NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 74 (Sylla 20, Woodhill 17, Swalve 11)

MELBOURNE TIGERS 84 (Purchase 29, Wilson 18, Barker 11, Chehhal 11)

Ringwood Hawks (91) lost to Diamond Valley Eagles (99)

Ringwood and Diamond Valley played out an entertaining Saturday night affair but it was the Eagles who ended up prevailing 99-91 against the Hawks in the finish.

Ringwood was back home at The Rings having won its past two matches ahead of hosting a Diamond Valley team fresh off its first win of the season last week against the Nunawading Spectres.

The Eagles kept that momentum going from their first win to race out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but then the Hawks hit back to score 13 straight points of their own and by quarter-time scores were all square at 25-25.

It remained a tight contest and scores were still level at half-time at 51-51 but it was in the third quarter when Diamond Valley started to take charge and opened up a 10-point advantage.

That lead got out to 12 for the Eagles in the final period before they held firm for the eight-point victory to make it back-to-back wins after starting the season losing six straight.

Zach Tavitian delivered 23 points and three rebounds on 9/12 shooting from the field for Diamond Valley with Bryton Hobbs contributing 19 points, five boards, five assists and two steals.

Erik Kafritsas also had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Jock Perry 14 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Ringwood is now 6-5 following the defeat with Braelen Bridges producing a big performance made up of 25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Jonathan Lawton also had 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, Harry Sealey 12 points, four boards and two assists, and Tom Carroll 10 points and four rebounds on 4/6 shooting.

Ringwood remains at home to Geelong United on Sunday while Diamond Valley will be hosting the Dandenong Rangers next Saturday.

RINGWOOD HAWKS 91 (Bridges 25, Lawton 15, Sealey 12)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 99 (Tavitian 23, Hobbs 19, Kafritsas 19)