South Recap | Round 11 Saturday

Image credit: @In2Action Photography-Jodie Rawiri

Nyadiew Puoch delivered 40 points in NBL1 South for Dandenong Rangers as did Ben Ayre for Sandringham Sabres while Nick Stoddart won it for Ballarat Miners as did Izzy Feller with her only points of the game for Nunawading Spectres.

SOUTH RECAP | ROUND 11 FRIDAY

WOMEN

Geelong United (83) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (66)

Geelong United maintained their undefeated streak beating one of their top challengers, the Diamond Valley Eagles, 83-66 with Jaz Shelley and Hannah Hank combining for 48 points at The Geelong Arena.

United were back on their home floor and facing a true test to keep their unbeaten record alive hosting an Eagles team knocking on the door of the top four and on a four-match winning run.

It was a strong start at home from the Eagles with 29 points to 20 in the first quarter as they knocked down 5/10 from behind the three-point line.

The scoring dried up from both teams in the second term somewhat with them only combining for 30 points but Geelong extended their lead to be on top 47-32 by the half-time break.

The lead for United got out to as much as 22 points in the second half and the home team were able to keep their undefeated streak in tact with the eventual 17-point win.

Geelong improves to a perfect 15-0 record with the victory and now they back up on the road to the Kilsyth Cobras on Sunday.

Jaz Shelley delivered another 25 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals on 7/14 three-point shooting with Hannah Hank a powerful force inside with 23 points, 15 boards, two assists and two steals.

Gemma Potter also had nine points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, Lilly Rotunno six points, five boards, five assists and three steals, and Dakota Crichton six points and four rebounds.

Diamond Valley slips to 10-5 with the defeat to remain just outside a top four position with Abbey Ellis finishing with 16 points, five steals and three rebounds, and Lara McSpadden 14 points, 15 boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Steph Reid ended up with 13 points and eight assists, Erin Riley 10 points and four rebounds, and Tayha Watkins 10 points, five boards and three steals.

GEELONG UNITED 83 (Shelley 25, Hank 23, Mole 9, Potter 9)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 66 (Ellis 16, McSpadden 14, Reid 13)

Ballarat Miners (74) lost to Frankston Blues (81)

The Frankston Blues kept themselves in the hunt for a top four spot in the NBL1 South with a hard earned 81-74 victory on the road to the Ballarat Miners.

The Miners were playing at The Minerdome Stadium fresh off beating the Nunawading Spectres and looking for a win to stay in the playoff hunt while Frankston were also coming off beating the Ringwood Hawks.

It would turn out to be a tight contest throughout most of the evening with Frankston narrowly leading 15-13 by quarter-time before extending that lead to just 35-31 by the main break.

Ballarat hit back with 26 points to 23 in the third quarter with 6/10 three-point shooting to set up a thrilling finish, but Frankston had the better of the last term with 23 points to 17 to secure the seven-point victory.

The win improves the Blues to a 10-6 record on the season to stay in touch of the top four and to be further consolidated inside the top eight.

Lou Brown produced 23 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in the win for Frankston while Marta Hermida delivered 18 points, five assists and four steals.

Lauren Scherf also provided 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to narrowly miss the triple-double with Bonnie Deas adding 15 points, three steals and two boards.

Ballarat are now 5-10 on the season with the defeat with Kaleena Lewis putting in a huge performance with 29 points and 12 rebounds on 11/15 field goal shooting with 4/6 from three-point range and 3/3 at the foul line.

Georgia Woolley added 17 points, four rebounds and two steals, Laura Taylor 16 points, six boards, five assists and two steals, and Micah Simpson seven points, 11 assists and two rebounds.

BALLARAT MINERS 74 (Lewis 29, Woolley 17, Taylor 16)

FRANKSTON BLUES 81 (Brown 23, Hermida 18, Scherf 15, Deas 15)

Casey Cavaliers (78) lost to Ringwood Hawks (87)

The Ringwood Hawks strengthened their push for a playoff position by holding out the Casey Cavaliers for the 87-78 victory.

It did shape as an intriguing match up at Casey Stadium with the Cavs still clinging to an outside playoff hope while the Hawks did need to stop a three-game losing slide if they want to remain in the finals hunt.

It was a good start from the Cavaliers with 25 points to 19 in the opening quarter on their home floor and then that lead got out to eight points early in the second term.

Ringwood did well to turn the momentum their way and by half-time the scores were all level at 41-41.

Then in the third quarter the Hawks pulled away further with 25 points to 17 on the back of shooting 10/20 from the field while limiting the Cavs to just 13 shot attempts in that entire 10 minutes.

Ringwood were able to turn that into a 10-point victory that keeps their finals hopes alive improving to an 8-8 record by the end of Round 11.

Camille Hobby delivered 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks with Aneta Bandilovska 20 points, seven boards and three assists, and Sarah Elsworthy 19 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists.

Annabel Deerbon provided 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Alex Wittinger 11 points, nine boards and three assists.

It's going to be tough now for the Cavaliers to make finals with a 5-10 record with Sabrina Haines top-scoring with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals with 3/6 three-point shooting.

Esra McGoldrick added 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks, Sharne Robati 12 points and four boards, Jaden Owens 10 points, five rebounds and two steals, and Hailey Wynd eight points and seven boards.

CASEY CAVALIERS 78 (Haines 21, McGoldrick 15, Robati 12)

RINGWOOD HAWKS 87 (Hobby 23, Bandilovska 20, Elsworthy 19)

Dandenong Rangers (108) defeated Sandringham Sabres (73)

The Dandenong Rangers unleashed their firepower for the 108-73 hammering of the Sandringham Sabres to remain solid in the top four and to put a dent in the finals hopes of their opponents on the back of 40 points from Nyadiew Puoch.

The Rangers were back home at Dandenong Basketball Stadium having won their last three to sit fourth as they played host to a Sabres team coming off a win against the Eltham Wildcats to be knocking on the door of the top eight.

It was a strong start from Dandenong who opened up a 29-24 lead by the end of the first quarter and then the Rangers blew the game wide open in the second term with 32 points to 13.

In that second frame, Dandenong knocked down 5/7 from three and shot 11/16 from the field while the Sabres shot just the 6/19 from the field and didn’t get to the foul line once.

From there the Rangers kept building on that lead with it getting out to 34 points in the third quarter and 38 in the fourth before they secured the eventual 35-point victory.

It's a fourth win in-a-row for Dandenong as they improve to an 11-4 record to remain rock solid in the top four with Nyadiew Puoch brilliant with 40 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 15/20 field shooting while going 5/8 from downtown.

Dallas Loughridge is fresh off signing at the Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL and delivered 19 points, 12 assists, four rebounds and three steals with Amber Smith adding 17 points and five boards, and Imogen Rock 14 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists.

Sandringham remains outside of a finals position with the loss to now be 7-8 on the season with Lucy Cochrane producing 16 points and six rebounds.

Haylee Andrews added 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals, Isis Lopes 14 points and five steals, and Madison Ryan 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

DANDENONG RANGERS 108 (N Puoch 40, Loughridge 19, Smith 17)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 73 (Cochrane 16, Lopes 14, Andrews 14)

Nunawading Spectres (77) defeated Bendigo Braves (76)

Izzy Feller completed a match winning three-point play in the dying seconds for her only points of the night as the Nunawading Spectres overcame the loss of Shaneice Swain to injury to keep their season alive with the 77-76 win over the Bendigo Braves.

The Spectres were back home at Nunawading Basketball Centre looking to snap a three-game losing streak to try and stay in the finals hunt up against a Braves team trying to get out of bottom place.

It was just a one-point lead for the Spectres by the end of the first quarter before Bendigo put up 26 points to 23 in the second term which saw the visitors go into the half-time break on top 47-45.

The Braves kept building on that momentum with another 20 points to 15 in the third frame and then they would end up leading by as much 10 points in the fourth with Nunawading up against it having lost Shaneice Swain to injury earlier in the game.

However, the Spectres produced a spectacular fightback but it was still Bendigo leading by nine with 5:45 to play after Jessica Smith knocked down a three-pointer.

However, the Braves wouldn’t score again the rest of the game and eventually with time running out, the Spectres forced the turnover on Cassidy McLean who nearly had a triple-double, and Izzy Feller was able to make a tough driving basket.

That tied scores up but she was also fouled and knocked down the extra to put Nunawading back in front and to secure the eventual one-point win.

The victory improves the Spectres to a 7-8 record on the season to remain in playoff contention and that three-point play was the only score of the game for Feller.

Before getting hurt, Shaneice Swain already had 18 points and four assists in 18 minutes for Nunawading while Jordan Pyle finished with 15 points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals on 3/3 three-point shooting.

Faith Dut added 11 points and 10 rebounds, Rachel Antoniadou 11 points, five boards and five assists, and Rachel Brewster eight points, four rebounds and two blocks.

The Braves have now lost five straight to remain in bottom spot at 3-14 despite putting in a performance where they had the game just about locked up with five minutes to go.

Taisheka Porchia had a big performance for Bendigo ending up with 35 points, nine rebounds, five steals, two assists and two blocks on 14/21 field goal shooting.

Jessica Smith added 14 points and six rebounds on 4/8 three-point shooting, and Cassidy McLean nine points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists despite shooting 3/17 from the floor.

NUNAWADING SPECTRES 77 (Swain 18, Pyle 15, Antoniadou 11, Dut 11)

BENDIGO BRAVES 76 (Porchia 35, Smith 14, McLean 9)

Launceston Tornadoes (61) lost to Knox Raiders (86)

It's never dull when the Froling come up against one another and it was Alicia and the Knox Raiders who scored the 86-61 win over Keely and the Launceston Tornadoes.

The Raiders had already started their double-header weekend in Tasmania with the 29-point win on Friday against the Hobart Chargers ahead of facing the Tornadoes at Harcourts Stadium.

Launceston had strung together consecutive wins before losing to the league-leading Geelong United this week so they did have a degree of confidence of taking it up to a Knox team trying to keep their top two prospects alive.

It was an impressive start from the visitors with Knox putting up 28 points to nine in the first quarter on the back of going on a 12-0 scoring run and then that advantage grew to 21 points in the second term.

The Raiders were still leading 45-28 by the half-time interval but the Tornadoes continued to stay in touch and over the second and third quarters outscored Knox 42 points to 38.

However, the Raiders pulled away further in the final period with another 20 points to 10 to score the 25-point victory while hitting 9/26 from three-point range with Launceston only managing 1/13.

The pair of wins this weekend in Tasmania improves Knox to a 14-3 record on the season and to have won seven straight with Alicia Froling finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds with 7/12 field goal shooting and going 2/2 from downtown.

She had plenty of help too with Rachel Bell delivering 19 points, six rebounds and two assists, Kristy Wallace 12 points, three boards and two assists, and Kiera Glover 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Launceston are now 3-13 following losing their past two games against two of the top three teams with Megan Mullings delivering 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Sarah O'Neill also had 14 points, two rebounds and two assists, Keely Froling 11 points, five boards and two blocks, and Millie Baker nine points and three rebounds.

LAUNCESTON TORNADOES 61 (Mullings 16, O'Neill 14, K Froling 11)

KNOX RAIDERS 86 (A Froling 21, Bell 19, Wallace 12)

Eltham Wildcats (64) lost to Keilor Thunder (89)

Keilor Thunder made it six straight wins to remain in second spot with the 89-64 road win on Saturday night against the Eltham Wildcats.

The Wildcats were back home at Montmorency Secondary College looking for the upset win against the second placed Keilor who arrived having won five straight but needing to keep winning to stay second on the back of last year's grand final appearance.

It was a fast start from Keilor with 25 points to 13 in the first quarter thanks to limiting Eltham to 5/19 shooting from the field.

It was then another 21 points to 14 from the second term for Keilor which saw them head into the half-time break leading 46-27.

From there the Thunder ended up leading by as much as 27 points in the second half before securing the eventual 25-point win thanks to shooting 47 per cent from the field opposed to the 34 per cent from Eltham.

Maddy Rocci almost had another triple-double for Keilor with 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists with Jasmine Dickey adding 18 points, eight boards and five assists, and Isobelle Wightman 10 points and four rebounds.

Keilor also pulled down 52 rebounds to 34 for the game and the win improved them to a 13-2 record on the season to remain in second position.

Eltham are now 3-12 on the season following the defeat with Kennedy Dickie finishing with 14 points with Lil Dart contributing 13 points, five rebounds and three steals, Bec Pizzey 12 points, eight boards, five blocks and two steals, and Jayde Cadee 10 points and three rebounds.

ELTHAM WILDCATS 64 (Dickie 14, Dart 13, Pizzey 12)

KEILOR THUNDER 89 (Rocci 19, Dickey 18, Wightman 10)

Waverley Falcons (85) lost to Kilsyth Cobras (94)

The Kilsyth Cobras produced their best performance of the second to come back from a 13-point deficit to outscore the Waverley Falcons 55 points to 36 in the second half for the 94-85 road victory.

The Falcons were back on their home floor at Waverley Basketball Centre needing to keep winning to stay in touch of a top four position as they played host to a Cobras team all but out of playoff contention, but still capable of being a threat.

It was a flying start from Waverley with Bec Cole on fire and the defending champions produced 29 points to 19 in the first half having opened up a lead as big as 13 points.

The Falcons were still leading 49-39 by the half-time break but it was in the third quarter that Kilsyth caught fire and put up 31 points to 19 to turn that 10-point deficit into their own two-point lead by three quarter-time.

The Cobras then kept that momentum going with another 24 points to 19 in the final term on the way to securing the nine-point win on the back of getting to the foul line 31 times to 15 while pulling down 17 offensive rebounds to 11.

The victory improves Kilsyth to a 5-11 record on the season ahead of facing another huge challenge on Sunday hosting the undefeated Geelong United.

Nikita Young put up 28 points, six rebounds and three steals with Abby O'Connor adding 17 points, six assists, three boards and two steals, Shannon Dufficy 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, Anamaria Virjoghe 10 points, eight boards, three assists and three blocks, and Ally Bates 10 points and three rebounds.

Waverley slip to a 10-6 record with the defeat on their home floor Bec Cole putting together a huge night made up of 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds on the back of shooting 15/27 from the field and 4/8 from three-point range.

Sophia Locandro added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons, Amelia Todhunter 10 points, five boards and three assists, and Liana Kinkela nine points and four rebounds.

WAVERLEY FALCONS 85 (Cole 35, Locandro 19, Todhunter 10)

KILSYTH COBRAS 94 (Young 28, O'Connor 17, Dufficy 14)

 

MEN

Geelong United (110) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (94)

Tristan Forsyth continued his impressive form to lead Geelong United to the 110-94 home win over the Diamond Valley Eagles on the back of a fast start.

United were back at The Geelong Arena trying to snap a two-game losing run as they played host to an Eagles team on their own run of losing three straight matches.

Geelong made the flying start to the match up with 35 points to 19 in the first quarter on the back of shooting 13/20 from the field with 4/7 from three while the Eagles went just 5/15 and 1/6.

Geelong would go on to maintain that advantage through the rest of the evening to be leading by 13 points at half-time, by 11 at three quarter-time and then to end up scoring the 16-point victory.

United finished the game shooting 54 per cent from the field to 45 from Diamond Valley along with pulling down 50 rebounds to 31 including 16 at the offensive end to 11.

Tristan Forsyth finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the win for Geelong on 8/15 field goal shooting and 9/9 at the free-throw line

DeMarcus Gatlin added 21 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals, Liam Herbert 16 points on 4/9 shooting from downtown, and Marach Marach 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

George Blagojevich added 12 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Kaelen Malone 12 points, seven boards and six assists.

Diamond Valley are now 4-11 on the season following the loss which was their fourth in-a-row with Jock Perry continuing his fine season with 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Adam Thoseby added 21 points and four assists, Ngor Manyang 13 points and five rebounds, Aleksandar Bandilovski 13 points and three assists, and Ryley Haywood eight points, four rebounds and two assists.

GEELONG UNITED 110 (Forsyth 25, Gatlin 21, Herbert 16)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 94 (Perry 26, Thoseby 21, Manyang 13, Bandilovski 13)

Ballarat Miners (86) defeated Frankston Blues (84)

Nick Stoddart scored the game's last five points to give him 30 for the night as the Ballarat Miners came from behind to beat the Frankston Blues 86-84 who got 35 points from Michael Harris.

Coming into the match up at The Minerdome Stadium and it was Ballarat at 8-6 just ahead of the 8-7 Frankston with both teams looking for a crucial win to move a step closer to a top four position.

It was a stunning start from Frankston with 34 points to 16 in the first quarter on the back of 11/19 from the floor including 5/8 from downtown and 7/7 from the foul line with the Miners only shooting 7/19.

The lead for the Blues got out to 23 points in the second quarter but the Miners then managed to work back into the contest and cut the Frankston advantage to 52-42 by the half-time break.

The Miners then completed a 13-0 run into the third quarter to grab the lead and from there it remained a tight contest with the lead continually to change hands the rest of the way.

By the time Danye Prim landed a three ball, Ballarat were out to a four-point lead with five minutes to play before Frankston hit back to open up their own three-point advantage when Michael Harris scored to take him to 35 points in the game.

Nick Stoddart then made two free throws to bring it back to a one-point game with 10 seconds to go and then out of a timeout, Daniel Trist turned the ball over for Frankston and up the other end in transition, Stoddart finished in traffic.

He was also fouled and made the extra to secure the two-point win the Ballarat crowd going crazy in celebration in the miraculous comeback win that improves the Miners to a 9-6 record to move closer to a top four spot.

Stoddart was the hero finishing with 30 points and two blocks with 10/22 shooting from the field and 8/9 at the foul line.

Luke Rosendale added 24 points and six rebounds on 4/8 three-point shooting with Majok Majok contributing 13 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks, and Danye Prim 11 points, 11 boards and two steals.

Frankston will be kicking themselves for letting one slip as they now are just clinging to a top eight position at 8-8 with Michael Harris delivering 35 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 11/25 from the field, 4/15 from downtown and 9/11 at the foul line.

Kingsley Box added 15 points, 13 rebounds and two assists, Daniel Trist 10 points and five boards, and Taane Samuel eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

BALLARAT MINERS 86 (Stoddart 30, Rosendale 24, Majok 13)

FRANKSTON BLUES 84 (Harris 35, Box 15, Trist 10)

Casey Cavaliers (93) lost to Ringwood Hawks (109)

Tanner Krebs, Jonathan Lawton and Angus Glover combined for 90 as the Ringwood Hawks beat the Casey Cavaliers 109-93 to stay in the playoff hunt.

Ringwood arrived at Casey Stadium on Saturday night needing to keep winning if they want to continue to get closer to break into the top eight while the Cavs were also needing to keep winning to stay inside the top four.

That set the stage for a tantalising match up and after the Cavaliers opened up a nine-point lead in the first quarter, they were still leading 25-22 by the end of that opening term.

The Hawks then delivered a dominant second quarter with 36 points to 21 on the back of shooting 10/17 from the field and 13/13 at the foul line opposed to the 6/19 and 7/8 for the Cavs.

That had Ringwood going into the half-time break leading 58-46 but the game was far from done yet with Casey going on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to retake the lead.

Once again the Hawks responded and this time it was for good on the way to the eventual 16-point victory that is their fifth win in-a-row to improve them to an 8-8 record on the season.

Jonathan Lawton produced 30 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Ringwood with Tanner Krebs top-scoring with 37 points, nine boards, three steals and two assists on 4/13 shooting from downtown.

Angus Glover added 23 points, five assists and four rebounds on 4/9 shooting from behind the three-point line.

The Cavaliers are now 9-6 following the defeat with Preston Bungei having a huge night with 37 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 12/19 field goal shooting while going 6/9 from downtown and 7/9 at the foul line.

Ben Waller added 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists on 4/6 three-point shooting with Trendon Hankerson contributing 15 points, five boards and two assists, and Nate Roberts 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

CASEY CAVALIERS 93 (Bungei 37, Waller 91, Hankerson 15)

RINGWOOD HAWKS 109 (Krebs 37, Lawton 30, Glover 23)

Dandenong Rangers (105) lost to Sandringham Sabres (112)

One new and one former Tasmania JackJumper combined for 67 points as the Sandringham Sabres came from behind to win a high scoring thriller 112-105 on the road to the Dandenong Rangers.

The Rangers might have been in bottom spot and the Sabres knocking on the door on a five-game winning streak coming into the match up at Dandenong Basketball Stadium, but it didn’t stop them putting on quite the show.

The game got underway with the Sabres leading 30-24 by the end of the first quarter before the Rangers had 27 points to 25 in the second term which saw Sandringham go into the half-time break on top 55-51.

Dandenong worked on top in the third period with 27 points to 22 to go into the fourth term with the one-point lead, and that was as much as three early in the fourth quarter before the Sabres worked on top for good.

Sandringham outscored the Rangers 35 points to 27 in the last quarter to go from one-point down to scoring the seven-point win on the back of shooting slightly better at 49 per cent to 45, but going 30/35 at the free-throw line to 13/17 from the Rangers.

The win is a sixth in-a-row for the Sabres as they improve to an 8-7 record to enhance their playoff prospects with Ben Ayre delivering 40 points, eight assists and three rebounds ahead of joining the JackJumpers for NBL26.

Fabijan Krslovic won a championship also with the JackJumpers and he gave Sandringham 27 points, nine rebounds and two blocks with Malith Machar adding 22 points, seven boards and three steals, and Dane Pineau six points and 11 rebounds.

Despite the impressive showing, the Rangers remain in bottom place at 3-12 having lost three straight with Bryton Hobbs putting up another 19 points, six assists and three rebounds.

Justin Bieker also had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, Ryan Rapp 18 points, six boards, three steals and two assists, Mason Peatling 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, and Ruot Monyyong 14 points, seven boards and two blocks.

DANDENONG RANGERS 105 (Bieker 19, Hobbs 19, Rapp 18)

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 112 (Ayre 40, Krslovic 27, Machar 22)

Nunawading Spectres (91) defeated Bendigo Braves (59)

Brisbane Bullets development player Tristan Devers scored 24 points and the Nunawading Spectres stayed in the playoff race with a thumping 91-59 win at home over the Bendigo Braves.

The Spectres were back home at Nunawading Basketball Centre looking to rebound from losing three of their past four matches to slip out of the top four.

The Braves arrived also still in the playoff hunt fresh off beating the defending champion Eltham Wildcats so that left plenty on the line for both teams on Saturday night.

The Spectres had already opened up a 13-point lead during the first quarter and even while sending Bendigo to the foul line 12 times, they were leading 25-18 by quarter-time.

It was then another 27 points to eight in the second frame from Nunawading to see that lead balloon to 26 points and then the Spectres went into half-time leading 52-26.

That lead only continued to grow the rest of the way with Nunawading up by 32 points in the third quarter, and by 37 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 32-point victory on their home floor.

Nunawading improves to an 8-7 record on the season to close in on a playoff spot with Tristan Devers finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds.

Christian D'Angelo added 17 points, five rebounds and two assists, Jack Gandolfo 10 points and four assists, Brian Mack II 10 points, eight boards and three assists, and Daniel Baxter six points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Bendigo are now 8-9 following the loss with Charles Matthews putting up 16 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists, Billy Smythe 11 points and three boards, and Lual Diing 11 points and five rebounds.

NUNAWADING SPECTRES 91 (Devers 24, D'Angelo 17, Mack II 10, Gandolfo 10)

BENDIGO BRAVES 59 (Matthews 16, Diing 11, Smythe 11)

North West Tasmania Thunder (97) defeated Knox Raiders (86)

The North West Tasmania Thunder made it consecutive wins for the first time in 2025 with the 97-86 home win against the league-leading and defending National Champion Knox Raiders.

Knox started their Tasmania double-header with the win on Friday night against the Hobart Chargers ahead of taking on the Thunder on Saturday at Harcourts Stadium.

North West were fresh off beating Geelong United last Sunday and were looking to cause the upset on their home floor six nights later.

The scores were level at 20-20 by the end of the opening quarter with the Thunder then opening up a 16-point lead in the second term and going into the half-time break on top 48-32.

North West Tasmania would then end up leading by 23 points in the third quarter and then held out the fast finishing Knox who did go on a 12-0 run to still score the eventual 11-point victory.

The victory improves the Thunder to a 5-10 record with back-to-back wins with Lachlan Barker producing 29 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals on 6/11 three-point shooting.

Kye Savage also produced 23 points on 4/9 shooting from downtown with Archie Woodhill adding 14 points and 10 rebounds, Isaac Atuer 13 points and five assists, and Avery Sullivan 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Knox do remain clear in top spot at 14-3 having split their Tasmanian double this weekend with Tad Dufelmeier top-scoring with 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Henry Sewell also had 19 points and six rebounds, Keli Leaulepe 17 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals, and Bryaon Blake 10 points and nine rebounds.

NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 97 (Barker 29, Savage 23, Woodhill 14)

KNOX RAIDERS 86 (Dufelmeier 22, Sewell 19, Leaulepe 17)

Eltham Wildcats (78) lost to Keilor Thunder (96)

Keilor Thunder put a dent in the playoff aspirations of the defending champion Eltham Wildcats with the 96-78 win on the back of 22 points each from Daniels Poelsma and Foster.

Eltham were back on their home floor at Montmorency Secondary College and needing to avoid a third straight defeat to try and break back into the top either as they played host to a Keilor team trying to back up a last up win against last year's grand finalists the Ballarat Miners.

Keilor got the better of the start with 21 points to 17 in the first quarter before the Thunder delivered 32 points to 22 in the second period to go into the half-time break leading 53-39.

It continued to be a dominant performance from Keilor with that lead getting out to as much as 19 points in the second half as they ended up securing the 18-point victory.

It was an impressive shooting performance from Keilor as they went 12/24 from downtown to the 5/24 from Eltham while pulling down 40 rebounds to 28 for the game.

Keilor improves to a 6-9 record with the win with Daniel Foster threatening an impressive triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Daniel Poelsma added 22 points and three rebounds with Dante Thompson adding 14 points, 10 boards, three steals and two assists, Adetomi Ayilara 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Ryan Philippe 11 points and three assists.

Eltham now are 7-8 following their loss and they are still outside a playoff spot in their championship defence with Josh Sykes battling hard for 19 points, six rebounds and two assists on 7/8 field goal shooting.

Zahn Agosta added 16 points, rebounds and two steals, Sam Short 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, Zak Cunningham 10 points and two boards, and Mitch McCarron 10 points, five assists and three rebounds.

ELTHAM WILDCATS 78 (Sykes 19, Agosta 16, Short 13)

KEILOR THUNDER 96 (Poelsma 22, Foster 22, Thompson 14)

Waverley Falcons (95) defeated Kilsyth Cobras (81)

The Waverley Falcons made it a third straight win to keep their playoff hopes alive with the 95-81 victory at home to the Kilsyth Cobras.

The Falcons had won their past two games coming into the contest at Waverley Basketball Centre to keep life in their playoff hopes ahead of the match up with a Kilsyth team still clinging to eighth place despite a last up loss to the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

It was a strong start at home from the Falcons with 25 points to 16 in the first quarter on the back of scoring 13 straight points before that lead for Waverley got out to 19 points in the second frame.

The Falcons turned that into the 52-36 lead by the half-time interval and then that lead for Waverley got out to as much as 31 points in the fourth quarter, and was still 27 in the fourth before Kilsyth did finish strongly.

The Cobras scored 14 straight points but Waverley still secured the 14-point victory on the back of shooting 51 per cent from the field opposed to 37 while forcing Kilsyth into the 19 turnovers from which they scored 24 points.

Waverley improves to an 8-8 record on the season with the third straight victory with six players scoring in double digits led by Mason Forbes with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on 7/10 field goals shooting.

Michael Harper added 15 points and four rebounds, Khalil Shabazz 14 points, six steals and four assists, Robbie Heath 13 points and three steals, Malik Meunier 12 points, 10 boards, seven assists and three steals, and Matthew McCarthy 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Kilsyth are now 8-8 as well with the defeat having lost their past two games ahead of playing host to Geelong United on Sunday in another pivotal game to their playoff aspirations.

Adrian Tomada top-scored with 21 points, six assists and five rebounds with Jamie Ahale adding 12 points and four boards, Khadim Sy 11 points and 10 rebounds, Ben Ursich 10 points, four boards and three steals, and Hamish MacDonald seven points and eight rebounds.

WAVERLEY FALCONS 95 (Forbes 16, Harper 15, Shabazz 14)

KILSYTH COBRAS 81 (Tomada 21, Ahale 12, Sy 11)