NBL1 National Finals Recap | Saturday Knox Raiders

Knox prevail over Sutherland in OT cracker (Original Piece by NBL1)

The fate of not only Knox but also the Geraldton Buccaneers went on the line when the Raiders took on the Sutherland Sharks on Saturday night at the NBL1 National Finals.

On the back of winning the NBL1 South championship last Saturday night, Knox opened their time in Perth at the National Finals beating the West Adelaide Bearcats by 53 points on Friday.

In the end, the size of that win was what ensured Knox made the Championship Game on Sunday but it was only after a wild ride with the NBL1 East champion Sharks putting up quite the fight.

Sutherland put in a competitive showing on Friday against the Geraldton Buccaneers on the back of winning the NBL1 East title last Saturday, and started strongly on Saturday with 32 points to 27 against the Raiders.

That denied Knox the point for the quarter and that was good news for Geraldton who were waiting nervous to find out their fate for Sunday.

The Sharks were still leading 56-55 at half-time and that only set the stage for what was to come in the second half.

The Raiders did outscore the Sharks 28 points to 20 in the third quarter but Sutherland weren’t going away and it proved quite the dramatic finish to regulation.

Knox were still leading by seven with 3:15 to play after a three-point play to Wayne Stewart Jr but then the Sharks scored through Geoff Gerlach and Jordan Mitchell to cut it back to a three-point game.

Lochlan Hutchison then hit two free-throws before the Sharks forced a turnover, captain Geoff Gerlach scored and Sutherland suddenly were in front by a point with 1:30 to play.

Coming out of a timeout, Ke'Jhan Feagin hit a huge three to put Knox back up two but up the other end, Callum Norris responded for the Sharks to put them back up by a point.

A three-point play from Austin Rapp then returned the Raiders to a two-point lead but Sutherland weren’t going away with Hutchison tying scores back up.

Then with time running down, Feagin was fouled and made one at the tripe leading Sutherland needing a prepare with a couple seconds remaining.

Hutchison caught the inbounds pass and rose for a deep two and the foul was called. The call was reviewed and it stood but he made just the one to leave scores 108-108 and it went to overtime.

The tension was palpable and Geraldton was waiting nervously knowing they needed Sutherland to prevail in overtime. However, in overtime it was all Knox in overtime with the opening six points from Madut Akec, Wayne Stewart Jr and Dylan Hare.

From there the Raiders secured the 124-113 victory in a remarkable contest which sees Knox knock in a Championship Game spot while ending Geraldton's hopes in the process.

Knox will need to rest up for Sunday's afternoon's decider with a roster of just seven players already and six of them playing at least 24 minutes, and Stewart all 45.

From those 45 minutes, Stewart delivered 28 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 11/16 shooting.

Austin Rapp added 26 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, Bailey Nunn 27 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, Ke'Jhan Feagin 21 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Madut Akec 16 points, six boards and two assists.

It was an admirable performance from the Sharks who acquitted themselves well this weekend with Jordan Mitchell ending up with 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Marquel Beasley added 23 points and six rebounds, Geoff Gerlach 19 points and three assists, Callum Norris 16 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Lochlan Hutchison 12 points, eight assists and three steals.