East Recap | Round 14 Saturday

Image credit: @tanyahawkinsphotography

Caitie Jones did her best to match Riley Lupfer with 46 points for Albury-Wodonga Bandits with Mikayla Pirini hitting NBL1 East winner for Sydney Comets while Sutherland Sharks won 232-point thriller and Norths Bears all but locked in men's finals spot.

EAST RECAP | ROUND 14 FRIDAY

WOMEN

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (104) defeated Penrith Panthers (63)

Caitie Jones did her best to match what teammate Riley Lupfer did last week and only fell nine points short by putting up 46 with nine three-pointers as the Albury-Wodonga Bandits won big 104-63 against the Penrith Panthers.

Lupfer set a new NBL1 scoring record last Saturday with 55 points and 16 three-point makes as the Bandits hammered the Illawarra Hawks, but coming into Saturday's home clash at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre, they had to bounce back from a loss to the Sutherland Sharks.

Albury-Wodonga were still sitting second coming into the game against a Penrith team out of the playoff race having lost their previous six matches.

The Bandits did open up an 11-point lead in the first quarter but Penrith did well to pull that deficit back to just four by quarter-time.

However, in the second term Albury-Wodonga asserted their authority with 33 points to 15 including shooting 11/19 from the floor and 6/12 from downtown with Penrith only managing 7/20 shooting.

That saw the Bandits leading 57-35 by half-time with that lead getting out to as much as 26 points in the third frame, and 41 in the fourth before they secured the eventual 41-point win.

The result keeps the Bandits in fourth position with a 13-5 record and just two games to go against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders and Sydney Comets next weekend.

Having two players capable of lighting it up like Albury-Wodonga have is quite a weapon and this time it was Caitie Jones on fire with 46 points, five assists and three rebounds while hitting 9/15 from behind the three-point arc.

Riley Lupfer then also had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists with 4/13 shooting from downtown while Brynn Masikewich contributed 13 points and seven boards, and Melanie Kirby eight points and two steals.

Penrith have now lost seven straight matches to slip to a 5-14 record with just one match to go next Saturday at home to the Norths Bears.

Jordan Vasquez finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Panthers with Mia Heide contributing 12 points, 16 boards and three blocked shots, and Zoe Jackson nine points, six rebounds and two assists.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 104 (Jones 46, Lupfer 17, Masikewich 13)

PENRITH PANTHERS 63 (Vasquez 18, Heide 12, Jackson 9)

 

Sydney Comets (79) defeated Hills Hornets (77)

Mikayla Pirini hit the go ahead basket in the final minute to keep the Sydney Comets' season alive with the thrilling 79-77 home win against the Hills Hornets.

Coming into the contest at Comets Stadium and Sydney had lost their past two matches to be two games out of the top eight with three games remaining while the Hornets were two games further back and out of the playoff hunt.

The scores were all level at quarter-time with the scores 19-apiece before the Comets had a huge second quarter with 31 points to 18 while shooting 13/15 from the field opposed to the 9/20 from the Hornets.

That saw Sydney head into the half-time break on top 50-37 to be in control with them needing the win to remain any hope of sneaking into the playoffs over the final two weeks of the regular season.

The Comets were still leading by 14 points at three quarter-time, but then the Hornets pulled off a huge fourth quarter fightback including going on an 11-0 scoring run which saw the visitors grab the lead after a pair of Kennedy Johnson free throws with just under four minutes on the clock.

Jade Kirisome then returned Hills to the one-point lead with a minute to play but on the next possession it was Mikayla Pirini who made the last field goal of the game to put the Comets in front having originally signed to play at the Willetton Tigers in the NBL1 West in 2025 before life took her to Sydney.

That would prove to be the game clinching basket as well with the Comets securing the crucial two-point victory to keep their season alive with an 8-10 record with two games to go next weekend against top four opponents the Norths Bears and Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

Piper Anderson produced 26 points with 6/12 three-point shooting in the win for the Comets with Abi Curtin adding 26 points and nine rebounds, Mikayla Pirini 10 points and seven assists, and Alexandria Oliver pulled down 10 boards.

The Hornets are now 5-12 on the season ahead of playing host to the Canberra Nationals on Sunday with Jade Kirisome finishing with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Kennedy Johnson also had 22 points, six rebounds and three steals, Ella Gale 12 points and 10 boards, and Elizabeth Smith nine points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

SYDNEY COMETS 79 (Anderson 26, Curtin 26, Pirini 10)

HILLS HORNETS 77 (Johnson 22, Kirisome 21, Gale 12)

 

Bankstown Bruins (78) defeated Canberra Nationals (63)

The Bankstown Bruins further consolidated their hold on a playoff spot in the NBL1 East with the 78-63 win at home against the Canberra Nationals.

It loomed as a fascinating late season contest at Bankstown Basketball Stadium with the Bruins coming into it in eighth position on an eight-game winning streak up against the Nationals who were sixth having won four straight.

So both teams came into it in hot form and it was Canberra away from home making the hot start with 22 points to nine in the first quarter with 3/5 three-point shooting while Bankstown went 4/18 from the field.

The Bruins were able to turn things around in the second quarter with 25 points to 17 while making 5/10 of their three-point attempts and that saw them cut the Canberra lead to 39-34 by the half-time break.

Then the longer the game went the more the Bruins were able to take control by taking the lead right on three quarter-time thanks to Kalia Proctor.

Bankstown then turned that into a run of scoring 14 consecutive points to open up a 16-point lead and end up securing the 15-point win.

That makes it nine wins in-a-row now for the Bruins as they improve to a 10-8 record to be further solidified in the top eight with just two games to go against the Sea Eagles and Crusaders.

Jane Dunlop ended up with 20 points with 5/10 three-point shooting for the Bruins with Juliunn Redmond adding 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Kalia Proctor 13 points and five steals, and Jada Rice 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

The Nationals are just clinging to a place in the finals at 9-8 with two more matches against the Hornets and Mustangs, starting Sunday on the road to Hills.

Elise Finney top-scored for Canberra with 15 points and four rebounds with Mikala Williams adding 14 points and three assists, Ilijana Matijevic 12 points and two assists, and Abbie Ketels pulled down 18 rebounds.

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 78 (J Dunlop 20, Redmond 15, Proctor 13)

CANBERRA NATIONALS 63 (Finney 15, Williams 14, Matijevic 12)

 

Illawarra Hawks (90) defeated Sutherland Sharks (72)

The Illawarra Hawks snapped their losing run and overcame a combined 49 points from Maddy Norris and Lauren Nicholson to beat the Sutherland Sharks 90-72.

The Hawks were back home at The Snakepit having lost their past four matches while the Sharks were just about totally out of the playoff hunt despite beating the Albury-Wodonga Bandits last Sunday with new mother Nicholson putting up a scorching 48 points.

Illawarra did open up a seven-point lead in the first quarter but it was back to a 23-21 advantage by quarter-time, but then the Hawks opened up a double-figure lead in the second term by completing an 11-0 run.

Illawarra were up by as much as 12 and ended up outscoring Sutherland 23 points to 13 on the way to having the 46-34 lead by half-time.

That lead continued to grow through much of the second half for the Hawks too with the advantage out to 16 points in the third quarter, and 22 in the fourth thanks to another 17-0 scoring run.

From there the Hawks completed the 18-point victory to snap their four-game losing slide to improve to a 5-13 record ahead of also playing host to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

Ella Dent delivered 22 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the win for Illawarra with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Kiara Bell added 20 points, 15 rebounds, seven steals, two assists and two blocks, Tsubasa Nisbet 16 points, seven assists, six boards and two blocks, and Asha Phillips five points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Sharks now officially are out of the playoff race with a 7-12 record and just the one game remaining on Friday night at home to the Inner West Bulls.

Maddy Norris had another 25 points and eight rebounds with 5/14 three-point shooting for Sutherland with Lauren Nicholson providing 24 points, seven boards, seven assists and three steals, and Emily Garland 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 90 (Dent 22, Bell 20, Nisbet 16)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 72 (Norris 25, Nicholson 24, Garland 10)

 

Maitland Mustangs (67) lost to Newcastle Falcons (86)

Nicole Munger had another triple-double to keep the Newcastle Falcons in the top two race while delivering a blow to the playoff hopes of the Maitland Mustangs with the 86-67 victory.

The Mustangs were playing their last home game at Maitland Federation Centre of the season and sitting a game outside of the top eight, they did need to keep winning if they want to be part of the post-season action.

It was going to be a tall order against the defending champion Falcons who did need to keep winning themselves both to stay solid in he top four but also a chance of breaking into the top two.

It was a solid start in the must-win game from Maitland too with the home team leading 20-16 by quarter-time and the Mustangs maintained that to go into the half-time break leading 40-36.

Newcastle had that deficit back to just one at three quarter-time and then the Falcons flexed their muscles to dominate the final period with 31 points to 11 on the back of shooting 12/17 from the field to the 4/16 from the Mustangs.

That saw Newcastle turn that one-point deficit heading into the fourth into the 19-point win by the finish as they improve to a 14-3 record ahead of games to finish the regular season next weekend against the Central Coast Crusaders and Hills Hornets.

Meg Jefferson produced 29 points, five rebounds and three steals in the win for the defending champion Falcons with Nicole Munger providing another triple-double with 14 points, 14 boards, 10 assists, two steals and two blocks.

Isabelle Burns also had 10 points and two rebounds, Susi Walmsley nine points and nine boards, and Kate Kingham eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

It's a big blow to Maitland's hopes of trying to break into the playoffs after just five wins also in 2024 with them now having a daunting road trip to finish next week to Canberra against the Nationals and Centre of Excellence.

Sydney Hunter delivered 21 points, 14 rebounds and two steals with 3/5 shooting for the Mustangs with Kasey Neubert contributing 18 points and 13 boards, and Rachel Williams 15 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 67 (Hunter 21, Neubert 18, Williams 15)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 86 (Jefferson 29, Munger 14, Burns 10)

 

Norths Bears (119) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (35)

The Norths Bears produced the most dominant and emphatic performance of the NBL1 East season hammering the hapless Central Coast Crusaders 119-35 as they try to keep pressure on for top spot.

It always loomed as a mismatch with the Bears solid in second position and trying to be ready if the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles suffer a slip up before the end of the regular season as they took on the bottom placed Crusaders.

Central Coast are just crying out for the end of the season to regroup but there was no mercy shown from the Bears on Saturday evening at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre.

Norths dominated right from the outset going on a 21-0 run in the first quarter before outscoring the Crusaders 37 to six while shooting 15/22 from the field to 2/20.

It was a similar story in the second period with another 29 points to seven for the Bears and by half-time they were leading 66-13 in a remarkable scoreline with them shooting 25/41 from the floor with 10/18 from downtown to the 4/33 from the Crusaders who went 1/5 from deep.

Central Coast did show some fight in the third quarter with 15 points as the Bears only extended their lead to 57, but then it was another 34 points to seven in the last period and Norths settled on the remarkably dominant 84-point victory.

The Bears finished up shooting 57 per cent for the game to 18 per cent from the Crusaders while hitting 19/36 from downtown to 2/19 while Norths pulled down 62 rebounds to, and they forced Central Coast into 18 turnovers from which they scored 21 points.

With the win, Norths improve to a 15-3 record to stay in second spot ahead of two games next weekend at home to the Sydney Comets and away to the Penrith Panthers.

All nine Bears players hit the court for at least 10 minutes, all of them scored at least five points and seven of them finished up in double-figures.

Emma Donnelly led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals on 10/13 shooting with Caitlyn Martin adding 19 points and 10 assists with 5/7 shooting from behind the arc.

Carla Pitman also had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Maddie O'Hehir 14 points, three boards and two steals, Isabelle Morgan 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, Peggy Schell 11 points and 12 boards, and Yvette Volk 11 points and two assists.

The Crusaders are now 1-17 having lost 11 straight with two games to finish next week against the Newcastle Falcons and Bankstown Bruins.

Jasmine Forcadilla finished with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals with Leila Heffernan adding nine points and three boards, and Mikaela Dombkins four points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

NORTHS BEARS 119 (Donnelly 22, Martin 19, Pitman 18)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 35 (Forcadilla 10, Hefferman 9, Wakelin-Gray 6)

 

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (80) defeated Inner West Bulls (69)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles had to battle hard but saw off the challenge of the Inner West Bulls to make it 14 consecutive wins with the 80-69 home victory.

The Sea Eagles came into the match up at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre having won 13 straight but they did need to keep winning to maintain top spot with Newcastle hot on their heels.

The Bulls came into the match up in seventh position and looking to bounce back from consecutive losses to the Hills Hornets and Hornsby Ku-Ring-Spiders with them still not having locked in their place in the post-season.

It was an ominous start from the Sea Eagles as they opened up a 12-point lead in the first quarter but the Bulls did well to respond and be back within a point by quarter-time.

Manly Warringah again got out to an 11-point lead in the second term but once more Inner West fired back and the home team were only leading 40-36 by half-time.

The Sea Eagles could never quite break free of the Bulls, but they did maintain a lead the rest of the way and eventually finished up scoring the 11-point win to make it 14 in-a-row and to improve to a 16-2 record.

Kim Dickinson delivered 25 points and 11 rebounds for the league-leaders on 12/20 shooting from the field with Zoey Miller adding 18 points, six boards, four assists and three steals.

Sari Mowbray also had 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Josie Bulman eight points, three boards, three assists and three steals, and Alex Delaney seven points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

It's a third straight loss to the Bulls who now might slip from the top eight as a result by the end of this weekend with them to finish their season against the Sutherland Sharks and Illawarra Hawks next weekend.

Chieh Ou finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Inner West with Tylah Mundine adding 20 points, 13 boards and there assists, and Kristina Moore 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 80 (Dickinson 25, Miller 18, Mowbray 15)

INNER WEST BULLS 69 (Ou 21, Mundine 20, Moore 15)

 

MEN

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (86) defeated Penrith Panthers (82)

The battle to avoid the wooden spoon turned into a thriller with the Albury-Wodonga Bandits ending up prevailing 86-82 over the Penrith Panthers thanks to 27 points and five threes from Matthew Gray.

The Bandits were playing their last home game of the season at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre and trying to snap a five-game losing slide as they hosted a Panthers team also having lost their previous eight matches.

Both teams had three wins to their credit for the season too so the loser of Saturday night's match up was more than likely going to end up as the wooden spooners for 2025.

The two teams combined for 52 points in the first quarter with Albury-Wodonga leading 28-24 by quarter-time before the Bandits added another 26 to 21 in the second term to be on top 54-45 at the half-time interval.

The lead for the Bandits got out to 12 points in the third quarter but then the Panthers fired back and scored 14 straight points themselves either side of three quarter-time to grab the lead.

From there, the lead continued to exchanged hands the rest of the night with Penrith hitting the front for the last time thanks to a Jonah Pares jumper with two minutes to play.

The Panthers wouldn’t score again with the game's last five points coming from Albury-Wodonga started with the go-ahead three ball from Francis Wineera-Mulvihill.

Matthew Gray then iced the win at the foul line for the Bandits to snap their losing slide and improve to a 4-14 record to move a game clear of bottom place.

Gray ended up the star of the night for Albury-Wodonga with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Ahren Freeman added 20 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and two steals with Francis Wineera-Mulvihill contributing 16 points, six boards, four assists and three steals, Simon Lafaele 11 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Jacob Cincurak eight points and five assists.

Penrith now remain in last spot with a 3-16 record having lost nine straight with just one match remaining against the Norths Bears next Saturday.

Zeke Evans finished with 17 points and six rebounds for the Panthers while Ben Kearins contributed 17 points, seven boards and six assists, Adam Lulka 14 points and two rebounds, and Jonah Pares 10 points, 10 boards, four assists and two steals.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 86 (Gray 27, Freeman 20, Wineera-Mulvihill 16)

PENRITH PANTHERS 82 (Kearins 17, Evans 17, Lulka 14)

 

Sydney Comets (77) lost to Hills Hornets (87)

Deng Gak continued his strong recent form with the Hills Hornets and the big man helped to deliver his team the 87-77 win over the fourth placed Sydney Comets who are missing their dynamic back court.

The Comets are still trying to pull things together since the departure of perhaps the league's most explosive back court Biwali Bayles and Davo Hickey as they hosted the Hornets at Comets Stadium.

The Comets were still inside the top four despite last week's 32-point loss to the Canberra Gunners while Hills came into the match up on the back of losing their past two matches.

The Hornets knocked down 5/10 from long range in the first quarter on the way to leading 22-14 by quarter-time and then Hills lit it up further with 35 points to 22 in the second frame to go into half-time in control leading 57-36.

It was only with a late 10-0 run when the Comets were able to make any inroads into that lead of the Hornets but still Hills cored the 10-point victory which sees them improve to a 7-11 record on the season.

Deng Gak is having a strong finish to his first NBL1 East season with the Hornets having been part of the Willetton Tigers team that reached the West grand final in 2024. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Meekness Payne added 19 points, four rebounds and three steals, Saxon Orsini 18 points and eight boards, Liam Moss 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Paul Tako 10 points, two boards and two steals.

The Comets are now 13-5 but they are still in fourth position with two games in their season to go next week away to the Norths Bears and at home to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

Obi Kyei continued his strong form for Sydney especially without Davo Hickey and Biwali Bayles in the line-up, and finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Goc Malual added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Comets, Viliami Foketi 12 points, five boards, there assists and two steals, and Anthony Mundine 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.

SYDNEY COMETS 77 (Kyei 22, Malual 18, Foketi 12)

HILLS HORNETS 87 (Gak 20, Payne 19, Orsini 18)

 

Bankstown Bruins (104) defeated Canberra Gunners (89)

Jaylin Galloway and Jason Cadee combined for 50 points as the Bankstown Bruins made it four straight wins and ended the run of the Canberra Gunners with the 104-89 victory.

The Bruins were back home at Bankstown Basketball Stadium having won their past three games but still needing to keep on winning to remain in a playoff position.

They were playing host to a Canberra team having won five straight as well to be sitting in second position but there's precious little between all those four teams in the top four.

That set the stage for a fascinating match up with both teams having three games remaining in their seasons with Bankstown opening up a six-point advantage by quarter-time.

The Bruins then delivered 28 points to 18 in the second term while shooting 11/20 from the field opposed to the 6/22 from the Gunners which saw them head into the half-time interval leading 52-36.

Bankstown then completed a 14-0 scoring run into the third quarter to open up a 27-point lead and even though Canberra did score 30 points in the final term, the Bruins still came away with the crucial 15-point victory.

The win improves the Bruins to a 10-8 record to be solid inside the top eight having won four straight matches with Jaylin Galloway delivering 28 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals while shooting 11/18 from the field.

Jason Cadee added 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Dominique Keyes 18 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, Charlie McBeath 11 points and three boards, and Hayden Blankley nine points, six rebounds and two assists.

Canberra's five-game winning run comes to an end putting a dent in their top two hopes with them now 13-5 ahead of playing the Hills Hornets on Sunday, and then finishing the season next Saturday at home to the defending champion Maitland Mustangs.

Will Mayfield finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists with 5/11 three-point shooting while Derek Emelifeonwu contributed 15 points and four boards, Edwards Bigg-Wither 14 points and 10 rebounds, and James Toohey 11 points, five boards, four steals and two assists.

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 104 (Galloway 28, Cadee 22, Keyes 18)

CANBERRA GUNNERS 89 (Mayfield 25, Emelifeonwu 15, Bigg-Wither 14)

 

Illawarra Hawks (112) lost to Sutherland Sharks (120)

Free-flowing offence was the order of the day and despite the Illawarra Hawks getting a combined 80 points from Kobe McDowell-White, Matthew Mims and Todd Blanchfield, the Sutherland Sharks prevailed 120-112 in a spectacular showcase.

The Hawks were back on their home floor at The Snakepit still locked in a battle to finish as high up in the top four as they can while the Sharks might not quite be able to reach the top four, but just need to keep winning to stay solid in fifth.

Illawarra raced out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter but then by the end of one it was just a one-point advantage the way of the Hawks.

What the Sharks then delivered in the second quarter was one of the best displays of offensive basketball seen this season as they piled on 48 points.

Sutherland shot 17/23 from the field with 6/6 at the foul line for the second term alone on the way to going into the half-time break leading 68-48.

That 68-point first half was a remarkable showing of the Sharks are capable of but then the Hawks did their best to responded with 33 points to 20 in the third term while going 8/13 from three-point territory.

The two teams then put on a show in the last term combining for 63 points with 32 of those to Sutherland and 31 to Illawarra, but it was the Sharks going on to score the eight-point victory.

The Sharks finished up shooting 51 per cent from the field for the game with 16/36 from three-point range while the Hawks ended up with 48 per cent from the field and 25/54 from behind the three-point line.

The win for Sutherland keeps them solid in fifth position with an 11-8 record with just one game to go on Friday night at home to the Inner West Bulls.

Lochlan Hutchison put up 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals in the win for the Sharks with Jason Spurgin adding 22 points, 11 boards and two assists.

Luke Jamieson also had 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Kouat Noi 18 points, six boards and six assists, Ryan Abbott 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Adrian Cabrera 10 points on 5/5 shooting, and Taylor Young 10 points, nine assists, seven boards and two steals.

It could be a big blow to the hopes of the Hawks finishing in the top two but they are still safe in the top four at 13-5 with two games to go including on Sunday when they host the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

Kobe McDowell-White continues to grow virtually on a weekly basis as point guard on this team and delivered 30 points, four rebound and four assists with 6/10 shooting from three-point territory.

Matthew Mims added 26 points and five assists while going 7/10 from long range with Todd Blanchfield delivering 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven rebounds on 6/16 shooting from downtown.

Brad Ballinger added 15 points with 3/4 three-point shooting and Lachlan Dent added 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 112 (McDowell-White 30, Mims 26, Blanchfield 24)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 120 (Hutchison 23, Spurgin 22, Jamieson 18, Noi 18)

 

Maitland Mustangs (95) lost to Newcastle Falcons (116)

The championship defence of the Maitland Mustangs is now officially over after the Newcastle Falcons kept their own finals hopes alive with the 116-95 road victory.

The Mustangs already found themselves two games out of the top eight coming into hosting the Falcons at Maitland Federation Centre while Newcastle came into the game one win ahead and still trying to break into the playoffs too.

It was a blistering start from the Falcons with 35 points to 22 in the first quarter on the back of hitting 5/8 from behind the three-point line and 12/14 from the foul line.

Newcastle continued on with the momentum to push out to a 21-point lead in the second quarter before being on top 62-44 by half-time.

That lead kept on growing in the second half for the Falcons getting out to 23 points in the third period and 28 in the fourth before they secured the 21-point win on the home of the defending champs.

The win keeps Newcastle in the playoff hunt with a 9-9 record and with two games remaining next week at home to the Central Coast Crusaders and Hills Hornets.

Matur Maluach top-scored for Newcastle with 22 points, three assists and two rebounds with Eylijah Stephens contributing 17 points and four assists, and Myles Cherry 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Kobe Shannon added 15 points and two rebounds, Ryan Beisty 14 points, eight boards, four assists and two steals, and Alex Clinton 12 points.

Maitland now won't make the playoffs as the defending champions slipping to a 7-11 record having lost their past three matches.

Daniel Millburn did all he could to lift the Mustangs with 37 points on 12/16 shooting from the field, 3/6 from three-point range and 10/11 at the free-throw line.

James Hunter also had 12 points and four rebounds, Mandrell Worth 12 points with 5/6 shooting at the free-throw line, Luka Vea 10 points on 4/6 field goal shooting, and Billy Parsons 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 95 (Millburn 37, Hunter 12, Worthy 12)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 116 (Maluach 22, Stephens 17, Cherry 16)

 

Norths Bears (104) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (74)

It was virtually an early elimination final and the Norths Bears answered the call to go a long way to securing a finals spot with the 104-74 home win over the Central Coast Crusaders.

The Bears were back home at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre still sitting in eighth position despite a last up loss to the Illawarra Hawks while the Crusaders arrived on a three-game winning streak.

That had both teams on identical 9-8 records as well with the Bears in eighth and Crusaders ninth so there was plenty on the line in the match up in the second last round of the regular season.

There was always every chance that the winner would end up playing finals on the back of it and by quarter-time it was the Bears leading 28-23 with 23 free throws attempted between both teams.

Norths then completed a 12-0 scoring run in the second quarter to push out to a dominant 21-point lead and going into the half-time break still leading 58-45 having shot 22/40 in the opening half to the 15/38 for the Crusaders.

The Bears remained in control right throughout the second half with the lead growing to 25 points in the third period and 30 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 30-point victory.

It's a big win in the context of the season for Norths as they improve to a 10-8 record with games to finish next weekend against the Sydney Comets and Penrith Panthers.

Matthew Wacher finished with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists with 3/4 three-point shooting in the win for Norths while Austin Patterson contributed 16 points, six boards, five assists and two blocked shots.

Ben Gill added 15 points on 6/9 shooting, Hunter Goodrick 14 points, 14 rebounds and two assists, Lewis Holey 11 points and four boards, and Lachlan Bofinger 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.

The loss could be a fatal blow the Crusaders of being part of the playoffs with their three-game winning streak coming to an end and them now slipping to a 9-9 record with games to finish next week against the Newcastle Falcons and Bankstown Bruins.

Luke Cassidy ended up with 17 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds with Garric Young contributing 16 points, nine boards and four blocks, and Jamal Shoaib 13 points and five rebounds on 6/9 shooting.

Lino Manhom also provided 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Ilisia Washington 10 points despite 4/16 field goal shooting.

NORTHS BEARS 104 (Watcher 22, Patterson 16, Gill 15)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 74 (Cassidy 17, Young 16, Shoaib 13)

 

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (105) defeated Inner West Bulls (74)

The Inner West Bulls couldn’t quite continue their momentum from Friday night with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles having too much on the line and ending up prevailing 105-74.

The Sea Eagles came into the penultimate round of the regular season in seventh position and needed to keep winning to stay there but it wasn’t going to be easy against the Bulls even at home at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

Inner West was fresh off beating the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai spiders on Friday night to make it back-to-back wins, but the Sea Eagles started impressively to be leading already 26-12 by quarter-time.

Manly Warringah kept that momentum going with another 28 points to 16 in the second term to go into the half-time break leading 54-28 on the back of shooting 22/37 from the field against 9/29 from the Bulls.

The Sea Eagles then kept building on that lead in the second half with it getting to 30 points in the third quarter and 33 in the fourth before they settled on the 31-point victory.

The win improves Manly Warringah to a 10-8 record with back-to-back wins to remain solid in a playoff spot with two games to go next weekend against the Bankstown Bruins and the Centre of Excellence.

Preston Purifoy top-scored once more for the Sea Eagles with 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks with Stefan Valkovic adding 16 points and three boards, and Zackary Kimball 14 points and seven rebounds.

Isaiah Lee also had 12 points and four assists with 3/5 three-point shooting, Matthew Eldridge 12 points and seven rebounds, and Mason Bragg seven points, 17 assists, six boards and three steals.

The Bulls couldn’t make it three straight wins as they slip to a 6-12 record with Dominik Subota providing 15 points on 3/5 three-point shooting.

Ramon Cao added 15 points and seven rebounds, Maxwell Clark 12 points and four boards, and Mirko Djeric 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 105 (Purifoy 20, Valkovic 16, Kimball 14)

INNER WEST BULLS 74 (Cao 15, Subota 15, Clark 12)