Recap NBL1 South | Round 2 Thursday

Thursday night in NBL1 South saw the Diamond Valley Eagles beat the Frankston Blues in double overtime who got 46 points from Steph Reid while the Ringwood Hawks overran the Knox Raiders with Jonathan Lawton delivering 35 points.

The three women's NBL1 South matches on Thursday night saw the Diamond Valley Eagles beat the Frankston Blues 99-95 in double overtime while the Keilor Thunder beat the Kilsyth Cobras 81-60 and the Ringwood Hawks defeated the Knox Raiders 72-67.

Then in the men's contests, the Blues beat the Eagles 92-74 with the Cobras defeating the Thunder 108-81 and the Hawks downed the Raiders 103-99.

RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 2 WEDNESDAY

RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 1 SUNDAY

RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 1 SATURDAY

RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 1 FRIDAY

RECAP NBL1 SOUTH | ROUND 1 WEDNESDAY

WOMEN

Ringwood Hawks (72) defeated Knox Raiders (67)

It was the battle of unbeaten teams on Thursday night and the Ringwood Hawks made it three from three to start the NBL1 season beating the Knox Raiders 72-67.

Both teams won both their games in the opening round of the season with Ringwood beating the Kilsyth Cobras and Nunawading Spectres while the Raiders also had wins over the Sandringham Sabres and Kilsyth Cobras.

That set up a fascinating Thursday night match up at Norwood Secondary College and it was Ringwood who got off to a flying start.

By quarter-time the Hawks were already leading 27-13 having led by as much as 17 but the Raiders fired back and completed a 12-0 run in the second period and by half-time had cut the Ringwood lead to 42-37.

Knox did grab the lead briefly in the third quarter, but Ringwood ended up working back on top to lead by as much as 10 once more in the final period and held on to win by five to improve to 3-0 to start the season.

Ahlise Hurst top-scored for Ringwood with 13 points, four assists, four steals and two rebounds with Hailey Wynd contributing 12 points and four rebounds, and Digna Strautmane 11 points, 11 boards, six assists and four blocked shots.

Jack Animam also had 11 points and five rebounds with Aneta Bandilovska contributing 10 points, and Lana Hollingsworth eight points, four rebounds and four assists.

Alicia Froling put up another 17 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks and two assists for Knox with Emma Pearce contributing 17 points and six boards, and Rachel Bell 12 points and six rebounds.

Ringwood are next in action on Saturday away to the Melbourne Tigers at 5:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. The Raiders will also face the Tigers on Sunday at 12.30pm.

RINGWOOD HAWKS 72 (Hurst 13, Wynd 12, Strautmane 11, Animam 11)

KNOX RAIDERS 67 (Froling 17, Pearce 17, Bell 12)

Kilsyth Cobras (60) lost to Keilor Thunder (81)

Keilor had won their opening two games and Kilsyth lost twice and that form line continued on Thursday night with the Thunder defeating the Cobras 81-60.

The Thunder started the season well with wins against the Frankston Blues and the Diamond Valley Eagles while the Cobras were still hunting their first win after going down to the Ringwood Hawks and Knox Raiders.

That set up Thursday night's contest at Kilsyth Sports Centre and already during the opening quarter the Thunder had opened up a double-figure advantage.

That continued the rest of the evening with Keilor's lead growing to as much as 14 points in the second quarter, 17 in the third and then 26 in the fourth before the Thunder went on to win by 21 points to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Grace Graham top-scored in the win for the Thunder with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals on the back of hitting 4/7 from behind the three-point arc.

Penina Davidson contributed 16 points and four boards, Tera Reed 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, Issie Bourne 11 points, five assists and three boards, and Lilly Rotunno eight points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Cobras slip to 0-3 with the loss despite Georgia Booth putting up 25 points, three assists and two rebounds.

Nikita Young also contributed 10 points and five rebounds, Georgia McBean 10 points, three boards and three assists, and Tegan Cunningham four points, nine rebounds and four assists.

The Cobras are back home on Saturday to the Sandringham Sabres at 5:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. The Thunder are at home to the Geelong United Supercats on Sunday.

KILSYTH COBRAS 60 (Booth 25, McBean 10, Young 10)

KEILOR THUNDER 81 (Graham 18, Davidson 16, Reed 15)

Frankston Blues (95) lost to Diamond Valley Eagles (99)

The Diamond Valley Eagles scored a stunning double overtime win on the road to the Frankston Blues and despite the 46-point outburst from Steph Reid.

It turned out to be quite the Thursday night showcase at Dreamstreet Lending Arena with the two teams needing 50 minutes of action to be separated.

No more than six points separated the two teams in the first half even with Steph Reid putting up 13 points in the opening quarter for Frankston and 23 for the entire first half.

But it was in the third quarter when Frankston managed to pull away to a 12-point advantage and Diamond Valley needed to respond, and they were able to after going on a 13-0 scoring run.

The Eagles then were leading by three with 30 seconds to play thanks to a bucket to Kara Wilson but out of a timeout the Blues responded with a three ball to Jacqui Trotto.

That tied scores up and it's where they stayed to head into the first overtime period which did see Reid push Frankston out to an early five-point advantage when she completed an and-one.

Reid hit a couple of free-throws with two minutes to go to keep the Blues up five but Diamond Valley responded with a three-pointer to Naomi Mbandu.

Carly Turner then scored to level scores again and it was all square at 86-86 at the end of the first five minutes to force a second overtime.

Turner knocked down an early triple for the Eagles in the second extra period before Eliza Bannan also landed from deep to extend that advantage, and eventually Diamond Valley scored the dramatic 99-95 victory to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Former WNBL big Jennie Rintala came up huge for Diamond Valley with 23 points and 12 rebounds with Gemma Potter adding 21 points and seven boards.

Carly Turner added 19 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists with Naomi Mbandu contributing 16 points, seven boards and three assists, and Eliza Bannan nine points, three rebounds and two steals.

Townsville Fire WNBL star Steph Reid had a stunning performance despite the loss for Frankston with 46 points, seven assists, five rebounds and six steals on the back of shooting 15/33 from the floor and 13/15 at the free-throw line.

Jacqui Trotto added 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, Courtney Wilkins 15 points and seven boards, and Lou Brown 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Frankston backs up to play on the road to the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday at 6:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. Diamond Valley don't play again until next Saturday at home to the Sandringham Sabres.

FRANKSTON BLUES 95 (Reid 46, Trotto 17, Wilkins 15)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 99 (Rintala 23, Potter 21, Turner 19)

MEN

Ringwood Hawks (103) defeated Knox Raiders (99)

Jonathan Lawton starred to help the Ringwood Hawks continue their hot start to the season beating the NBL1 South and National Champion Knox Raiders 103-99 in a dramatic finish.

Both teams had started the season well coming into the Thursday night match up with Ringwood having won two of the first three games while Knox opened its championship defence with wins against the Sandringham Sabres and Kilsyth Cobras.

That set the stage for tantalising match up and it didn’t disappoint with both teams combining for 64 points in the first quarter with Knox leading 34-30 by quarter-time.

The Raiders took over in the second quarter with an 8-0 run seeing them build a 17-point lead and to still be on top 62-46 by the half.

The lead got out to as high as 18 in the third stanza as well but then the Hawks mounted a stunning fightback including scoring 12 consecutive points during the third period.

It was a two-point ball game by three quarter-time and Ringwood grabbed the lead early in the fourth frame thanks to a triple from Tom Carroll.

A couple of triples soon after from Jonathan Lawton helped the Hawks to a four-point lead but it was a game always destined to go down to the wire.

Braelen Bridges scored with just under 30 seconds to play to give Ringwood the 99-96 edge but out of a timeout Melbourne United NBL rising star Kyle Bowen drained a three ball for Knox with 10 seconds on the clock.

It was then time for Ringwood to execute out of a timeout and Harry Sealey scored inside and that would prove enough.

The Hawks sealed the four-point win thanks to Lawton hitting two threes after getting the stop when KJ Feagin couldn’t score on a drive where he was furious to not get a call on.

Jonathan Lawton produced a spectacular performance in the win for Ringwood with 35 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals while shooting 10/18 from the field, 4/8 from deep and 11/11 at the foul line.

Braelen Bridges added 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots, Harry Sealey 17 points, Tom Carroll 16 points, four assists, three boards and two blocks, and Ngor Nai nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

KJ Feagin ended up with another 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Knox with Kyle Bowen contributing 19 points, 13 boards and five assists, and Anzac Rissetto 16 points and seven rebounds.

Javonte Perkins also had 10 points and two rebounds for the Raiders, Brody Nunn 10 points and six assists, and Malith Machar 11 points and two boards.

Ringwood are next in action on Saturday away to the Melbourne Tigers at 7:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. The Raiders will also face the Tigers on Sunday at 2.30pm.

RINGWOOD HAWKS 103 (Lawton 35, Bridges 18, Sealey 17)

KNOX RAIDERS 99 (Feagin 21, Bowen 19, Rissetto 16)

Kilsyth Cobras (108) defeated Keilor Thunder (81)

With six players scoring in double-figures the Kilsyth Cobras opened their account for 2024 in style on Thursday night beating the Keilor Thunder 108-81.

The Cobras had lost their opening two games of the season at the hands of the Ringwood Hawks and Knox Raiders while the Thunder came into Thursday's match up having beaten the Diamond Valley Eagles but lost to the Frankston Blues.

The two teams locked horns at Kilsyth Sports Centre and it was a tight and high-scoring opening with the teams tied at 28-28 by quarter-time.

While Kilsyth did narrowly lead 50-47 at half-time, Keilor had done well to stick with them and there was nothing to suggest what was to come in the second half.

The quality and depth of the Cobras shone in the second half, though, as they outscored the Thunder 58 points to 34 to end up winning by 27 for their first victory of the NBL1 South season.

Bryce Davis showed exciting signs for what this season will hold for Kilsyth with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 10/14 field goal shooting but he had plenty of help.

Josh Duach contributed 19 points and eight rebounds, Kyle Adnam 17 points, two boards and two assists, Adrian Tomada 15 points and five assists, Deng Riak 15 points and seven rebounds, and Corey Jeffs 12 points, seven boards and three assists.

Jalen Gibbs ended up top-scoring for Keilor with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals with Kuany Kuany adding 15 points and eight boards, Kyle Zunic 13 points, five boards and four assists, and Trevor Lakes 10 points and four rebounds.

The Cobras are back home on Saturday to the Sandringham Sabres at 7:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. The Thunder are at home to the Geelong United Supercats on Sunday.

KILSYTH COBRAS 108 (Davis 21, Duach 19, Adnam 17)

KEILOR THUNDER 81 (Gibbs 27, Kuany 15, Zunic 13)

Frankston Blues (92) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (74)

It didn’t happen until the second half but eventually the Frankston Blues flexed their muscles to pull away from the Diamond Valley Eagles and score the 92-74 home victory.

The Blues won both their opening round match ups also at Dreamstreet Lending Arena against the Eltham Wildcats and Keilor Thunder while Diamond Valley came into the contest having lost to the Wildcats and the Thunder.

So both had played the same two opponents in the first round adding to the intrigue of their Thursday night match up and after a close first quarter, both teams had their turn in control in the second period.

Diamond Valley scored 10 straight points to go up nine but Frankston also went on an 11-0 run to take a seven-point lead, and to be leading 49-42 by the half-time interval.

The Blues then took charge throughout the second half outscoring the Eagles 43 points to 32 to lead by as much as 19 points, and to secure the 18-point victory to improve to 3-0 to start the season.

Lucas Barker produced a standout performance for Frankston with 24 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and two steals but he was far from the only standout.

Brad Newley just retired from the NBL at the end of the recent Championship Series, but still has plenty in the tank after delivering 19 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Daniel Trist added 13 points and nine rebounds, Stokley Chaffee 13 points, nine boards, three assists and three steals, and Lachlan Barker 10 points and four rebounds.

Frankston backs up to play on the road to the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday at 8:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. Diamond Valley don't play again until next Saturday at home to the Sandringham Sabres.

FRANKSTON BLUES 92 (Lucas Barker 24, Newley 19, Chaffee 13, Trist 13)

DIAMOND VALLEY EAGLES 74 (Kafritsas 20, Perry 17, Symons 11)