NBL1 South Recap | Saturday Men's Round 8

The Kiwi connection Shea Ili and Tohi Smith-Milner proved match-winners for the Sandringham Sabres as NBL1 South action resumed on Saturday night as did Harry Froling and Sam McDaniel for the Hobart Chargers.

The NBL1 South resumed normal hostilities on Saturday night for Round 8 with wins in the end for the Bendigo Braves, Sandringham Sabres, Frankston Blues, Waverley Falcons, Knox Raiders, Hobart Chargers, Ringwood Hawks and Mount Gambier Pioneers.

The Saturday night hostilities began with the Bendigo Braves winning big at home 104-61 against the Dandenong Rangers.

Malcolm Bernard delivered 24 points and five assists in the win for Bendigo while Lawson Eales had 19 points for the Rangers.

The Sandringham Sabres came from behind to produce a big final quarter on the road to beat the Casey Cavaliers 94-89.

Shea Ili was superb for the Sabres with 27 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals with Tohi Smith-Milner adding 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jock Perry finished with 22 points for the Cavs.

The Frankston Blues proved too strong for the North West Tasmania Thunder on Saturday night scoring a 91-59 home victory.

Daniel Trist and Lachlan Barker both produced 21 points for the Blues with Sean Macdonald top-scoring for the Thunder with 17 points.

The Waverley Falcons delivered an impressive showing away from home as well on Saturday night to beat the Nunawading Spectres 92-66.

Dan Dillon put up 16 points for Waverley, Tristan Forsyth 15 and Bennie Lewis 14 with CJ Asuncion-Byrd finishing with 16 points and six assists for the Spectres.

It was quite the entertaining affair at the State Basketball Centre with the Knox Raiders holding out the Diamond Valley Eagles to win 89-84.

Jacob Foy and Adam Gibson had 16 points apiece in the win for Knox while Joel Capetola had 18 points for Diamond Valley and DJ Vasiljevic 15.

The Hobart Chargers hit the road on Saturday night and delivered the 82-75 victory against the Ballarat Miners.

Sam McDaniel had 24 points and eight rebounds for Hobart and Harry Froling 16 points and 12 boards while Deng Gak finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Ballarat.

It was a commanding win at home for the Ringwood Hawks who defeated the Keilor Thunder 88-53.

Matthew Roberts led the scoring for the Hawks with 21 points on 6/7 shooting from downtown with Jacob Lampkin delivering 16 points and 10 rebounds for Keilor.

Last up on Saturday night was an impressive performance at home once more from the Mount Gambier Pioneers to beat the Kilsyth Cobras 97-79.

Nick Marshall and Michael Harris scored 26 points apiece in the win for Mount Gambier with Deng Deng delivering 17 points and 10 rebounds for Kilsyth. 

Round 8 in the NBL1 South Men's competition will wrap up with five more matches on Sunday beginning at 2pm with the Bendigo Braves at home to the Frankston Blues. The Diamond Valley Eagles will also be taking on the Geelong Supercats.

Then at 2.30pm it's the Melbourne Tigers at home to the North West Tasmania Thunder and the Eltham Wildcats playing the Hobart Chargers.

Then finally at 4pm on Sunday afternoon the Dandenong Rangers play the Ballarat Miners.

NBL1 SOUTH – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 8 – SATURDAY NIGHT

BENDIGO BRAVES 104 defeated DANDENONG RANGERS 61

The Bendigo Braves enjoyed life on their home floor on Saturday night in Round 8 of the NBL1 South season with a 43-point win against the visiting Dandenong Rangers.

Bendigo hosted Dandenong on Saturday night at Red Energy Arena and the Braves didn’t take long to stamp their authority with a run of 12 consecutive points in the first quarter to end up leading by 20.

They were still up 29-14 by quarter-time before the lead for Bendigo blew out to as much as 33 points in the second term and was still 57-26 by the half-time intermission.

It was another 34 points to 19 in the third quarter for the Braves as the lead ballooned out to as much as 49 points in the fourth term before they won 104-61.

The victory improves Bendigo to a 4-6 record on the season while Dandenong is now 3-7.

It was an impressive shooting display from Bendigo who went at 52.6 per cent from the floor and hit 14/30 at 46.7 per cent three-point land. Dandenong managed just 37.5 per cent from the field and went 4/21 at 19.1 per cent from downtown.

Malcolm Bernard top-scored in the win for the Braves with 24 points and five assists while draining 4/6 from three-point territory.

Perth Wildcats development player point guard Mitch Clarke added 20 points, three rebounds and two assists while also knocking down 4/6 from beyond the arc with Luke Rosendale adding 16 points, three assists and three steals.

Jake Lloyd added 10 points and six rebounds, Kuany Kuany 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Sidy Djitte nine points, 10 boards and two blocks.

Lawson Eales top-scored for Dandenong with 19 points and seven rebounds with Calvin Enge adding 10 points and seven boards.

 

FRANKSTON BLUES 91 defeated NORTH WEST TASMANIA THUNDER 59

The Frankston Blues proved too good for the North West Tasmania Thunder on Saturday night at home to end up winning by 32 points.

The Blues hosted the travelling Thunder at Frankston Basketball Stadium with the NBL1 South competition resuming on Saturday night with the Round 8 action.

North West was able to make a contest of it early limiting the Frankston lead to just three points at quarter-time, but the Blues scored 12 straight points in the second quarter to open up a 44-32 lead by half-time.

Frankston only extended that lead to 15 by three quarter-time but the home team then dominated the fourth term with 27 points to 10 to claim the 91-59 victory.

The win improves Frankston to a 7-4 record on the season to consolidate themselves inside a top four position while the loss leaves the Thunder at 4-5.

Frankston ended up with 15 more rebounds in the game than North West while shooting 53.1 per cent from the field and getting to the foul line 23 times to six. That's why they were able to win big despite 14 fewer field goal attempts than a Thunder team who went 33.3 per cent shooting.

Daniel Trist was impressive in the win for Frankston with 21 points and seven rebounds on 8/12 shooting.

Lachlan Barker added 21 points and five assists for the Blues, Dillon Stith 12 points and six rebounds, and Igor Hadziomerovic 10 points and seven boards.

Tasmanian JackJumpers guard Sean Macdonald had 17 points and three steals for North West with his NBL teammate Fabijan Krslovic putting up 16 points and nine boards. Elijah Thomas added 15 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

 

KNOX RAIDERS 89 defeated DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 84

The Knox Raiders held off a fast finishing Diamond Valley Eagles for the five-point victory in an entertaining Saturday night NBL1 South encounter.

The Raiders were at home to the Eagles at the State Basketball Centre and given the star power on the two line-ups, it was always going to be an eventful evening.

It was the home team who started stirringly going on a 9-0 run to lead by double-figures and to still be on top 27-21 by quarter-time.

Diamond Valley was able stem the tide, though, and outscored Knox in the second quarter 26 to 24 to make it just a four-point ball game going into the main break.

Knox made the most significant break of the game in the third quarter outscoring the Eagles 20 points to 10 to lead by as much as 16, but Diamond Valley were never going to go down without a fight.

They scored 12 straight points in the fourth term to make a game of it, but Knox withstood that to hold on for the 89-84 victory.

The result improves the Raiders to a 7-5 record on the season while the Eagles are now 5-5.

Knox knocked down 14/39 from three-point range for the game with 460-game NBL veteran Adam Gibson finishing with 16 points and four rebounds while hitting four of those three balls.

Jacob Foy added 16 points with four three-pointers while Reuben Te Rangi contributing 13 points and five rebounds, Simon Grant 11 points and eight boards, Deng Acouth nine points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and Alex Robinson nine points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Sydney Kings championship winner DJ Vasiljevic put up 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for Diamond Valley with Joel Capetola adding 18 points with 3/5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Dane Pineau added 13 points and nine rebounds, Ngor Manyang 12 points and six boards, and Matt Reynolds 11 points and three assists.

 

NUNAWADING SPECTRES 66 lost to WAVERLEY FALCONS 92

The Waverley Falcons were away from home but produced a standout performance to beat the Nunawading Spectres by 26 points on Saturday night.

The Spectres hosted the Falcons at Nunawading Basketball Centre in Round 8 of the NBL1 South, and it was a tight opening quarter with the visitors leading narrowly 20-18 by quarter-time.

However, Waverley were able play some scintillating basketball in the second quarter going on a 13-0 run to see them in control leading 44-29 by half-time.

The Falcons were anything but done yet and scored 10 more consecutive points in the third period to help them grow the lead to as much as 31 points with another 31 points to 15 in the stanza.

While Nunawading did outscore Waverley 22 points to 17 in the final period, the Falcons still cruised to the emphatic 92-66 victory.

The result improves Waverley to 7-3 so far on the season with the Spectres now 5-6 following the defeat.

It was a first-rate shooting performance from the Falcons with 51.4 per cent from the floor opposed to 36.6 per cent from the Spectres.

Dan Dillon ended up with 16 points, six assists and four rebounds for Waverley with Tristan Forsyth delivering 15 points and eight boards, Bennie Lewis 14 points, Durrell McDonald nine points and three assists, and Dexter Kernich-Drew eight points.

CJ Asuncion-Byrd finished with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals for Nunawading while Remo Simankevicius finished with 11 points and five boards, Jack Gandolfo nine points and four assists, and Dain Swetalla eight points and five rebounds.

 

CASEY CAVALIERS 89 lost to SANDRINGHAM SABRES 94

The thriller of the Saturday night NBL1 South action saw the Sandringham Sabres come from behind to beat the Casey Cavaliers 94-89 away from home.

The Cavs hosted the Sabres at Casey Stadium but it was the visitors who started superbly with 29 points to 18 in the opening term on the back of a run of nine straight points.

Casey was able to hit back during the second quarter and by half-time it was a tight contest with Sandringham holding a narrow 50-46 edge.

The Cavaliers continued that momentum in the third quarter going on a 10-0 run to lead by as much as six points before seeing that lead grow to nine early in the fourth period.

That put the onus back on the Sabres to respond and they were able to do just that in the most remarkable fashion to score 18 points in-a-row to secure the eventual 94-89 victory.

The result sees Sandringham end up improving to a 7-5 record on the season while Casey slips to 3-8 as a result of the defeat.

Shea Ili is coming off a standout NBL season with Melbourne United and is playing tremendously with the Sabres as well at NBL1 level delivering another 27 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals with 4/6 shooting from beyond the arc on Saturday night.

Tohi Smith-Milner was outstanding also for Sandringham with 26 points and 11 rebounds while David Okwera contributed 13 points and nine boards, and 366-game NBL veteran Dave Barlow 10 points with two three balls.

Jock Perry put up 22 points with 4/6 shooting from three-point land for the Cavaliers with Davo Hickey adding 15 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, Matt Donlan 14 points, and Mangok Mathiang 12 points and nine boards.

 

BALLARAT MINERS 75 lost to HOBART CHARGERS 82

The Hobart Chargers opened their road double-header this weekend beating the Ballarat Miners on Saturday night.

Ballarat hosted Hobart at Selkirk Stadium in Round 8 of the NBL1 South season and it was the home team who started strongly with the Miners leading 22-16 by quarter-time.

Hobart was able to work back into the game in the second quarter but still by half-time it was the Miners on top 39-36.

It was the Chargers who came out an inspired outfit from the break, though, and the visitors outscored the Miners 26 points to 19 in the third term to be leading 62-58 by three quarter-time.

Hobart was able to then string 10 straight points together during the fourth quarter to secure the eventual 82-75 victory.

The win improves the Chargers to a 6-3 record on the season while the losses leaves the Miners at 7-4.

Sam McDaniel is coming off his NBL season at the Tasmania JackJumpers and delivered an impactful performance in the win with 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

AJ Harris also had 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals for Hobart, Harry Froling 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Jarred Bairstow nine points, four boards and three steals.

Deng Gak finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Ballarat, Jalon Miller 12 points, 11 boards, six assists and three blocks, David Crisp 10 points, and Nic Pozoglou 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

 

RINGWOOD HAWKS 88 defeated KEILOR THUNDER 53

It was a thumping Saturday night home victory for the Ringwood Hawks against the Keilor Thunder in Round 8 of the NBL1 South competition.

The Hawks were at home at The Rings hosting the Thunder in Saturday night's action and by quarter-time it was Ringwood leading 23-19.

Ringwood was able to lead by as much as 13 points in the second quarter on the back of an 8-0 run and that saw the home team head into the half-time interval leading the Thunder 39-30.

The Hawks extended that lead to 11 by three quarter-time and then closed the deal with a massive 36-point to 12 fourth quarter to end up winning 88-53.

The 35-point victory sees Ringwood improve to 6-5 on the season while the loss means Keilor now sits at 2-9.

Matt Roberts top-scored off the bench in just 16 minutes of court time for Ringwood with 21 points on the back of draining 6/7 from three-point territory.

Tim Guers added 17 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Hawks, Shaun Clarke 14 points and five rebounds, and Illawarra Hawks NBL guard Emmett Naar 13 points and nine assists.

Jacob Lampkin delivered 16 points and 10 rebounds for Keilor with Carlo Camp contributing 10 points, and Tyler Kidd nine points and two assists.

 

MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 97 defeated KILSYTH COBRAS 79

The Mount Gambier Pioneers maintained their hold on top spot in the NBL1 South competition with a powerful 18-point victory at home on Saturday night to the Kilsyth Cobras.

While no longer undefeated, the Pioneers still came into the clash at The Ice House on top of the NBL1 South standings as they hosted the Cobras on Saturday night.

Mt Gambier started strongly scoring 10 straight points to end up leading by as much as 16 in the opening term to go into quarter-time in control 26-14.

Kilsyth was determined to make a game of it, though, and went on a 7-0 run during the second period to get back within 10 points of Mount Gambier by the half-time interval.

The Pioneers did remain in control during the third quarter, though, to lead by as much as 17 points and they continued on with the job to push that advantage out to 25 in the fourth term before winning 97-79.

The victory sees Mount Gambier improve to a 10-1 record on the season while Kilsyth is now 7-5.

Nick Marshall finished the evening with 26 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers with Michael Harris also producing 26 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Jordan Rawls added 14 points and six rebounds for Mount Gambier, Clevon Brown 13 points, 10 boards and three blocked shots, and Tom Kubank five points to go with 10 rebounds and two steals.

Deng Deng ended up top-scoring for Kilsyth with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six blocked shots and three assists with Adrian Tomada contributing 14 points and nine boards, Ben Ursich 12 points and five rebounds, and Mitch Dielemans 10 points.