East Recap | Round 5 Saturday

Image credit: Rob Sheeley/@robshots

The Central Coast Crusaders women opened their account while Tahlia Tupaea led Inner West Bulls to a win in a classic where Vanessa Panousis was huge with Jason Spurgin then starring in Sutherland Sharks NBL1 East Saturday win.

EAST RECAP | ANZAC ROUND SUNDAY

WOMEN

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (93) defeated Bankstown Bruins (55)

The Bankstown Bruins weren’t able to make it consecutive wins with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles proving too strong with the 93-55 win with Taylor Wurtz putting up 24 points.

The Sea Eagles were back home at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre looking to build on their win last Saturday against the Inner West Bulls with the Bruins also fresh off a first win of 2025 against the winless Central Coast Crusaders.

It was a stunning start from Manly Warringah and they piled on 31 points in the first quarter on the way to leading by as much as 19 on the back of knocking down five three-pointers and showing 11/18 overall from the field.

That had them leading 31-14 by quarter-time with the Bruins only managing to shoot 5/15 before the Sea Eagles maintained that advantage to go into half-time still on top 55-37.

The lead then continued to grow for Manly Warringah in the second half getting out to 29 points in the third quarter and 38 in the fourth before they took out the 38-point victory.

The Sea Eagles ended up knocking down 14/33 from three-point territory at 42 per cent opposed to the 4/19 for the Bruins at 21 per cent along with Manly Warringah winning the rebound count 48-33 including 15 at the offensive end to seven.

The Sea Eagles improve to a 4-2 record on the season with the win with Taylor Wurtz the star of the day with 24 points and four rebounds on 6/11 three-point shooting.

Josie Bulman added 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals with Kim Dickinson contributing 12 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Alex Delaney nine points, three boards, three assists and two steals.

The Bruins are now 1-6 unable to back up last week's breakthrough win with Jada Rice finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots with Sienna Tutani contributing nine points, five boards and two assists, and Jane Dunlop eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 93 (Wurtz 24, Bulman 13, Dickinson 12)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 55 (Rice 15, Tutani 9, J Dunlop 8)

Hills Hornets (75) lost to Norths Bears (106)

The Norths Bears made it four straight wins with Maddie O'Hehir and Carla Pitman again outstanding in the 106-75 road win over the Hills Hornets.

The Bears arrived at Hills Basketball Stadium on a three-game winning streak after losing the first three games of the season as they took on a Hornets team trying to back up their first win of 2025 against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

It was a hot start from Norths with 30 points to 22 in the first quarter where not only did they go 4/5 from three-point range, but also got to the foul line seven times to the zero from the Hornets.

The Bears missed all five three-point attempts in the second quarter and the Hornets were able to outscore them 22 points to 21 to cut the Norths lead to 51-44 going into the half-time interval.

Hills were still clinging to being in touch at three quarter-time too with the Bears leading by 12, but then Norths completely took control in the last 10 minutes.

The Bears put up 33 points in the fourth quarter on the back of shooting 13/20 from the field including 4/5 from deep to end up securing the 31-point victory to see them improve to 4-3 on the season with four consecutive wins.

The Bears ended up going 10/19 at 53 per cent from three-point range in the win with Maddie O'Hehir ending up with 24 points on 8/12 shooting from the floor and 3/6 from downtown.

Carla Pitman continued her hot form with another 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists with Caitlyn Martin contributing 17 points and eight assists, Ruby Perkins 14 points and three rebounds, Emma Donnelly 14 points and six boards, and Holly Wills 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Hornets are now 1-4 on the season following the defeat with Jade Kirisome finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Elizabeth Smith added 14 points and four assists, Hannah Griffin 11 points, Nikki Worner 10 points, and Ella Gale six points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

HILLS HORNETS 75 (Kirisome 19, Smith 14, Worner 10)

NORTHS BEARS 106 (O'Hehir 24, Pitman 23, Martin 17)

Illawarra Hawks (69) lost to Central Coast Crusaders (70)

The Central Coast Crusaders scored the last four points of the game to come from behind and score the 70-69 win over the Illawarra Hawks to get on the board in the 2025 season.

The Crusaders arrived at The Snakepit having lost their first five games of the season ahead of taking on a Hawks team also having won just once in five attempts so far in 2025.

Illawarra got off to a flying start with an early 11-point lead on the back of an 11-0 scoring run but Central Coast did well to hit back before quarter-time to cut the Hawks lead to 20-18.

Things remained tight in the second term and by half-time Illawarra were leading 38-34 despite shooting jut 6/19 from three-point range.

The Hawks lead got back out to 12 points in the third quarter and they were still up double digits in the fourth, but the Crusaders kept on coming to set up a big finish.

Kiara Bell made a couple of free throws to be leading 69-66 with just over a minute to play, but they wouldn’t score again and Leilani Mitchell making one at the line to cut the Illawarra advantage to two.

Leila Heffernan then scored going to the rim to tie scores up before Tai Wakelin-Gray was fouled on the next possession, made one at the line and that ended up being enough to secure the first win of the season for the Crusaders.

It was a short rotation for Central Coast with only seven players hitting the floor and six of those playing at least 21 minutes with Leilani Mitchell and Elizajane Loader playing every second of the contest.

It ended up paying off for coach Rachel Maenpaa with Mitchell delivering 24 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Loader 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Mikaela Dombkins added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Leila Hefferman 11 points and two boards.

It will be a game the Hawks felt slipped away to now be 1-5 on the season with Kiara Bell ending up with 21 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

Sophia Johnston added 14 points and eight rebounds, Tsubasa Nisbet 10 points, five boards and three assists, and Ruby MacDonald seven points and five rebounds.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 69 (Bell 21, Johnston 14, Nisbet 10)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 70 (Mitchell 24, Loader 18, Dombkins 15)

Canberra Nationals (88) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (87)

A pair of late three-pointers from Jasmyn Boutzos proved critical in the eventual 88-87 win in a thriller at home to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders on Saturday.

The Nationals were back on their home floor at Belconnen Basketball Stadium looking to back up a last up win against the Penrith Panthers while hosting a Spiders outfit attempting to bounce back from a first loss of 2025 against the Maitland Mustangs.

It was an enterprising opening from both teams as they combined for 52 points in the first quarter while shooting a combined 21/45 from the field which included 17 three-point attempts.

By quarter-time it was Hornsby clinging to the 27-25 lead before the visitors pulled away in the second period by completing a 13-0 scoring run to open up a 10-point advantage.

Canberra responded heading into half-time, though, and at the break the scores were all square at 45-45.

The Nationals were able to knocked down five three-pointers during the third quarter to be leading by three at three quarter-time, but there would end up never being more than four points separating the two teams the entire second half.

In the end, Hornsby were leading 82-80 after Daila Walker scored with 2:45 to play but then Jasmyn Boutzos knocked down consecutive three-pointers for Canberra to put them up by four 30 seconds later.

Ay'Anna Bey responded for the Spiders to make it a one-point game but then Carlie McAlister got the offensive rebound and put back for Canberra which ended up sealing the three-point win despite a two-point bucket soon after for Hornsby from Jessie-May Hall.

Canberra held on for the one-point win to improve to 3-3 on the season with Carlie McAlister (nee Smith) delivering 18 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

Jasmyn Boutzos added 17 points and four assists, Abby Solway 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, Mikala Williams 13 points, Callie Bourne 12 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, and Abbie Ketels four points, 14 boards, six assists and three steals.

The Spiders are now 3-2 on the season having lost their past two matches with Jessie-May Hall continuing her stunning form for a 17-year-old with 27 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Ay'Anna Bey added 18 points and eight rebounds, Lucy Mead nine points, three boards and two blocks, Keira Hudson eight points, three rebounds and three assists, and Taryn Mahoney eight points, two boards and two steals.

CANBERRA NATIONALS 88 (McAlister 18, Boutzos 17, Solway 15)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 87 (Hall 27, Bey 18, Mead 9)

 

Newcastle Falcons (87) defeated Maitland Mustangs (76)

The Newcastle Falcons remain undefeated as the defending NBL1 East champions with another strong showing in the 87-76 victory at home to the Maitland Mustangs.

The Falcons came into the Saturday match up back at Newcastle Basketball Stadium having had a dominant start to their championship defence ahead of hosting a Mustangs team having also won four of their five matches to start 2025.

Despite Newcastle getting to the foul line 12 times in the first quarter, Maitland did well to stick with them and limited the Falcons lead to 20-17 by quarter-time.

Even though the Falcons had pushed their lead out to nine by half-time, Maitland held them to 11/36 shooting from the field with Newcastle's lead on the back of their 17/19 shooting at the foul line.

Newcastle was able to push out to a 13-point advantage in the third period and then 17 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 11-point victory to improve to 6-0 on the season as defending champions and having won 14 in-a-row dating back to last year.

Kate Kingham produced 23 points, six rebounds and five assists with 5/13 three-point shooting in the win for the Falcons with Sophie Brennan adding 22 points and five assists.

MVP Nicole Munger had another 16 points, 19 rebounds and six assists with Hannah Chicken contributing 16 points and 12 boards.

The Mustangs saw their three-game winning run come to an end to now be 4-2 on the season with Alexis Plater finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Kasey Neubert also had 17 points, 13 rebounds and two steals, Shakera Reilly 14 points, four boards and three assists, Mila Wawszkowicz 10 points and three rebounds, and Sydney Hunter seven points and nine boards.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 87 (Kingham 23, Brennan 22, Munger 16, Chicken 16)

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 76 (Plater 19, Neubert 17, Reilly 14)

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (72) lost to Centre of Excellence (82)

Sitaya Fagan continued her stunning form for the Centre of Excellence with another 27 points and 13 rebounds in the 82-72 road win for her team against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

The Bandits were back on their home floor at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre looking for a third straight win this season as the Centre of Excellence arrived also having won their last three after a first up loss in 2025.

It was a stunning opening from Albury-Wodonga as they scored 16 straight points in the first quarter and took a 14-point lead on the back of that while still being on top 23-11 by the end of the opening 10 minutes.

The lead for the Bandits got out to as much as 20 points in the second period as well before the CoE started to pull things back and they did limit the home team to the 39-32 lead by half-time having scored 11 straight points.

Albury-Wodonga were still clinging to the 56-53 lead by three quarter-time but then the Basketball Australia rising stars took charge in the final stanza with 29 points to 16 including 4/11 from three-point range to secure the 10-point win having earlier being down 20.

The CoE improve to a 4-1 record on the season with the win which is their fourth straight with Sitaya Fagan putting together another dominant showing with 27 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two assists on 9/16 shooting from the field and 8/10 at the foul line.

Isabel Smith added 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Emilija Dakic 10 points, five boards, four assists and two steals.

Albury-Wodonga are now 4-2 following the defeat at home with Riley Lupfer top-scoring with 24 points, seven rebound and four assists while going 3/14 from behind the three-point arc.

Brynn Masikewich added 20 points and 13 rebounds while Caitie Jones had 14 points, four board, three assists and two steals but she had a rough shooting night going 4/22 from the floor and 0/9 from downtown.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 72 (Lupfer 24, Masikewich 20, Jones 14)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 82 (Fagan 27, Smith 18, Dakic 10)

Sydney Comets (67) defeated Penrith Panthers (62)

Abi Curtin delivered 23 points and led the Sydney Comets to break their losing run with the 67-62 home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

The Comets were back home at Comets Stadium having lost their previous three matches ahead of hosting a Panthers team also arriving on a three-match losing slide.

The two teams combined to shoot 11/43 in the first quarter and the scores were level at 15-15 by quarter-time and little changed in the second term with 16 points to 15 in favour of the Comets.

The Comets were the first team to find some offensive flow for the game in the third quarter and they put 24 points on the board with 10/19 shooting from the floor and that saw them open up a 13-point lead.

That advantage got out to 15 points in the fourth frame too before they ended up winning by five holding off a spirited Panthers comeback late.

The win improves Sydney to a 3-4 record on the season with Abi Curtin delivering 23 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks.

Piper Anderson added 12 points, Mikayla Pirini nine points, six rebounds and four assists, Alex Kayrouz seven points, four boards and two steals, and Jade Yeomans seven points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Penrith is now 2-5 on the season with four consecutive defeats with Jordan Vasquez having a big night made up of 19 points, 19 rebounds and three assists on 7/13 shooting.

Mia Heide added 10 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four assists, Tatiana Beaumont 10 points, three boards and three assists, and Sofia Hunt eight points and four rebounds.

SYDNEY COMETS 67 (Curtin 23, Anderson 12, Pirini 9)

PENRITH PANTHERS 62 (Vasquez 19, Beaumont 10, Heide 10)

Inner West Bulls (104) defeated Sutherland Sharks (97)

It could very well take some beating as the game of the NBL1 East season but in the end a combined 87 points from Tahlia Tupaea, Mizuki Wakamatsu and Kristina Moore got the Inner West Bulls over the line 104-97 despite a monster triple-double for the Sutherland Sharks from Vanessa Panousis.

The Bulls were back on their home court at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre looking to return to the winners list after a last up loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles while the Sharks arrived having just won just once in five attempts so far in 2025.

It was a hot opening from both teams with them combining for 55 points in the first quarter and the Bulls would hit 6/8 from downtown but the Sharks 11/21 overall with Inner West narrowly leading 28-27 by quarter-time.

The Bulls then opened up a 13-point lead in the second term and falling in love with the three ball getting up 15 attempts and knocking down five more on the way to leading 51-38 by the half-time interval.

Inner West was able to push that lead out to 19 points early in the second half too but Sutherland responded impressively with Vanessa Panousis leading the charge as they put up 33 points in the third quarter on the back of going on a 12-0 run.

That included the Sharks making 7/12 from three-point range for the quarter and by three quarter-time the Bulls lead had gone and scores were all square at 71-71.

It was then 90-90 by the end of regulation with Deanna Kalivitis making one free-throw to send the game to overtime but she also missed the chance to win the game for Inner West by not knocking down both.

Then in the extra period, the Bulls were able to take over once more to end up outscoring the Sharks 14 points to seven to get the win in what had been a spectacular 45 minutes of basketball.

The Bulls ended up making 16/39 at 41 per cent from behind the three-point arc to go with 24/35 at the foul line while the Sharks shot 13/36 from deep and 22/23 at the charity stripe.

Inner West improves to 3-2 on the season with the win with Tahlia Tupaea again at the forefront of everything they did with 33 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting and going 13/20 at the foul line.

Mizuki Wakamatsu also had 30 points, three rebounds and two assists with Kristina Moore delivering 24 points, eight boards and three assists, and Tylah Mundine 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Despite so much to like in their performance, Sutherland is now 1-5 with the loss after playing in last year's grand final with Vanessa Panousis spectacular with 36 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on 13/29 shooting from the floor, 5/12 from downtown and 5/5 at the stripe.

Aliza Fabbro also had 25 points and five rebounds, Maddie Norris 19 points, 10 boards and three assists, and Olivia Douglas four points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

INNER WEST BULLS 104 (Tupaea 33, Wakamatsu 30, Moore 24)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 97 (Panousis 36, Fabbro 25, Norris 19)

MEN

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (98) defeated Bankstown Bruins (73)

Preston Purifoy scored 25 points and landed five three-pointers as the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles got back to winning with the 98-73 home win against the Bankstown Bruins.

The Sea Eagles were back home at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre attempting to hit back from their last up loss to the Inner West Bulls with the Bruins arriving trying to improve on their 3-3 start to 2025.

It was a flying start at home from Manly Warringah with them knocking down 5/10 from three-point land on the way to scoring 31 points in the first quarter to lead by as much as 19, and still being up 31-17 by quarter-time.

The Sea Eagles remained in control 47-32 by half-time before then putting up another 28 points to 18 in the third quarter before seeing their lead grow to as much as 33 points in the fourth term before securing the eventual 25-point victory.

The win improves Manly Warringah to a 3-3 record on the season with them knocking down 18/38 from three-point territory at 47 per including Preston Purifoy hitting 5/8 of those for 25 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Mason Bragg provided 16 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, Matthew Eldridge 15 points, eight boards and three assists, Stefan Valkovic 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Jamie Munro 10 points, five boards, two assists and two steals.

Bankstown is now 3-4 on the season with the defeat with Hayden Blankley top-scoring with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with Andre Wolford contributing 15 points, three boards and two assists.

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 98 (Purifoy 25, Bragg 16, Eldridge 15)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 73 (Blankley 19, Wolford 15, Bayer 7)

Hills Hornets (77) defeated Norths Bears (76)

The only score in the final two minutes was the go ahead basket from Liam Moss for the Hills Hornets as they made it consecutive wins with the 77-76 victory against the Norths Bears.

The Hornets were back home at Hills Basketball Stadium fresh off their first win of the season last Saturday against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits as they hosted a Bears outfit on a three-game winning streak.

Arriving with momentum behind them, the Bears started well to be leading 23-17 by quarter-time before extending their lead to 10 points in the second term and leading still 43-38 at the half-time break.

The Hornets needed to respond and they did go on a 7-0 run in the third frame to grab the lead briefly but by three quarter-time Norths were still clinging to the 61-59 lead.

Iggy Mitchell looked like he was going to lead the Bears to the win when he returned his team to the lead with 2:15 to go leading to a Hornets timeout.

It was a dramatic final two minutes but not a high-scoring one and the only score in the time was Liam Moss driving to the basket and finishing with 20 seconds to go to put the Hornets back in front by a point.

Not only was it the last score, it was also the last shot either team was able to get off with a couple of turnovers from Norths denying them the chance to put up an attempted game winner.

The Hornets went on to score the one-point win to improve to 2-3 on the season with Zach Hudson finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Liam Moss ended up with 11 points and four rebounds, Meekness Payne 11 points and four boards, and Jacob Foy 11 points and five rebounds.

The Bears are now 3-4 after just missing out on a fourth consecutive win with Iggy Mitchell ending up with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Hunter Goodrick added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Robert Moore nine points and three boards, Michael Yoong eight points, Matthew Wacher eight points, three rebounds and three assists, and Lewis Holey two points and 13 boards.

HILLS HORNETS 77 (Hudson 25, Foy 11, Payne 11, Moss 11)

NORTHS BEARS 76 (Mitchell 16, Goodrick 14, Moore 9)

Illawarra Hawks (95) defeated Central Coast Crusaders (72)

The trio of NBL championship winners Todd Blanchfield, Brad Ballinger and Kobe McDowell-White combined for 69 points as the Illawarra Hawks beat the Central Coast Crusaders 95-72.

The Hawks came into the NBL1 East with the momentum from their NBL team winning a championship and having Blanchfield a key player on that side, and Ballinger and McDowell-White both as development players.

Head coach Matt Flinn was also part of the coaching staff and the Hawks were back home at The Snakepit on Saturday night hosting a Crusaders team on a three-match losing slide.

Illawarra made a dominant start with 26 points to 10 in the first quarter while making five three-pointers to score 12 straight points and open up that 16-point advantage.

The Hawks went on with the job in the second quarter too with that lead growing to 29 points even though the Crusaders did well to cut Illawarra's lead back to 49-33 at half-time.

Central Coast also put up 28 points to 26 in the third quarter, but Illawarra took back over in the final period with 20 points to 11 to secure the 23-point victory.

The Hawks improve to 4-2 on the season with the win with Todd Blanchfield playing a starring role with 29 points, 11 rebounds and three assists while shooting 7/18 from behind the three-point arc.

Brad Ballinger added 24 points and five rebounds on 8/12 three-point shooting with Kobe McDowell-White contributing 16 points, 10 assists, five steals and three rebounds, and Matthew Mims 11 points, five boards and four assists.

The Crusaders have now lost four in-a-row to slip to a 2-4 record despite Ilisia Washington putting up 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals with 5/10 three-point shooting.

Tom Akamarmoi added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Klairus Amir 12 points, six boards and two assists.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 95 (Blanchfield 29, Ballinger 24, McDowell-White 16)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 72 (Washington 21, Akamarmoi 16, Amir 12)

Canberra Gunners (118) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (77)

The Canberra Gunners remain a team on a mission in 2025 remaining undefeated and putting in a dominant showing at home to beat the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 118-77.

Coming off losing last year's grand final to the Maitland Mustangs, the 2022 champion Gunners have started 2025 in imposing form having won all five games so far ahead of hosting the Spiders on Saturday at Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

Hornsby arrived yet to win in 2025 as well so it was a daunting task ahead of them, but they showed they were up for the challenge with 27 points to 24 in the first quarter thanks to knocking down 4/10 from three-point range.

They had thrown down the gauntlet to Canberra and the Gunners were up to the challenge hitting back with 37 points in the second quarter including going 6/12 from downtown and at one stage scoring 10 straight points to end up leading 61-49 by half-time as a result.

The Gunners were only just warming up too and they had a stunning three-point performance in the third quarter going 8/10 from behind the arc to put up 33 points and hold the Spiders to just 12.

Eventually the Canberra lead grew to as much as 43 points in the final term too and they went on to win by 41 despite trailing at quarter-time to improve to a perfect 6-0 record on the season.

The Gunners shot 59 per cent from the field and made 22/40 from three at 55 per cent with Will Mayfield making 4/9, Derek Emelifeonwu 4/4, James Toohey 3/4, Lachlan Smith 4/10, and Will Rice 5/7.

Mayfield ended up with 23 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals, Smith 23 points and six rebounds, Rice 17 points and three steals, Emelifeonwu 17 points and three assists, and Toohey 11 points, two assists and two steals.

Hornsby are now 0-5 for the season with a second loss away from home for 2025 with Akil Douglas top-scoring with 25 points on 10/16 shooting with Nathaniel Chappell adding 14 points and seven rebounds, and Aaron Redhead 12 points.

CANBERRA GUNNERS 118 (Mayfield 23, Smith 23, Rice 17, Emelifeonwu 17)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 77 (Douglas 25, Chappell 14, Redhead 12)

Newcastle Falcons (84) defeated Maitland Mustangs (61)

Myles Cherry and Ryan Beisty combined for 48 points and 25 rebounds as the Newcastle Falcons won big 84-61 over the defending champion Maitland Mustangs.

The Falcons had won just one game for the season so far ahead of hosting the defending champions at Newcastle Basketball Stadium with the Mustangs having done well to open their title defence winning four of five matches.

Right from the outset it proved a night to forget for Maitland with Newcastle racing out to a 13-point lead by quarter-time on the back of scoring 10 straight points.

The Mustangs were ice cold for just the eight points in the first 10 minutes on shooting 3/21 from the floor and things didn’t get a whole lot better in the second period with just the 13 points on 5/16 shooting.

Newcastle scored 27 points up the other end while hitting 12/16 from the field including making all three of their three-point attempts to be leading 48-21 by half-time.

Even with Maitland going on a 12-0 run in the third quarter, they could never really get back into the contest and Newcastle ended up cruising to the 23-point victory.

The Falcons improve to a 2-4 record on the season with the win with Myles Cherry producing 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 11/18 shooting from the floor.

Ryan Beisty also had 24 points, 14 rebounds and four assists with 6/12 three-point shooting while Kobe Shannon contributed 14 points and three assists, and Eylijah Stephens nine points, four boards and two assists.

The Mustangs had a night to forget to slip to a 4-2 record having shot just 36 per cent from the field while going 2/16 from three-point range and even just 5/12 at the free-throw line.

Billy Parsons top-scored for Maitland with 18 points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists with Christian Little adding 15 points, three boards and two steals, and Mandrell Worthy 10 points and four assists.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 84 (Cherry 24, Beisty 24, Shannon 14)

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 61 (Parsons 18, Little 15, Worthy 10)

Albury-Wodonga Bandits (66) lost to Centre of Excellence (107)

The Centore of Excellence delivered another emphatic performance shooting at 52 per cent on the way to the 107-66 road win against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

The Bandits were back home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre looking to score a second win of the season but it was always going to be tough against a Centre of Excellence outfit with great depth and having won three of four matches so far in 2025.

The CoE knocked down 4/8 three-point shots as a team in the first quarter on the way to leading 29-24 by quarter-time before they dominated the second term further including putting together a run of 13 straight points.

The Basketball Australia emerging stars didn’t manage a three-point make in the second term, but still put up 22 points to 10 from Albury-Wodonga to go into the main break leading 51-34.

The CoE then caught fire in the third frame making 4/6 from long-range and shooting 13/18 overall to put up 33 points to just 16 from the Bandits with the lead growing to as much as 34 points.

That lead then grew to as much as 45 in the fourth quarter and the Centre of Excellence would end up completing the 41-point to improve to a 4-1 record ahead of taking on the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders at home on Sunday.

Once again the depth of the CoE was on show with all 12 players scoring and playing at least 11 minutes while nobody played more than 23.

Luke Fennell ended up delivering 24 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists with Che Brogan contributing 22 points, three boards, three steals and two assists, and Alex Dickeson 17 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Ajak Nyuon also had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, Roor Akhuar 10 points and six boards, and Jacob Furphy seven points and three rebounds.

The Bandits are now 1-5 to start the season having lost three straight with Ahren Freeman finishing with 22 points and five rebounds with Immanuel Allen adding 15 points and two assists, and Matthew Gray 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 66 (Freeman 22, Allen 15, Gray 10)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 107 (Fennell 24, Brogan 22, Dickeson 17)

Sydney Comets (75) defeated Penrith Panthers (64)

Obi Kyei was ultimately the difference with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Sydney Comets scored the 75-64 home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

Sydney were back at Comets Stadium looking to snap a two-game losing streak as they hosted a Panthers outfit who arrived also having lost their previous three matches.

The Comets got the better of the start and already had opened up an 11-point lead by quarter-time while knocking down 4/11 from three-point territory opposed to the 1/3 from the Panthers.

Sydney completed a 14-0 scoring streak in the second frame and that saw their lead get out to as much as 18 points and they were still on top 41-32 by half-time.

The Comets maintained a double-figure lead throughout the majority of the second half as well on the way to the eventual 11-point win to return to the winner's list and improve to a 4-3 record.

Obi Kyei starred in the win for Sydney with 24 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots with Viliami Foketi contributing 18 points, nine boards, four steals and three assists, and Anthony Mundine III 13 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Penrith has now lost four straight matches to sit on a 2-5 record with Zeke Evans finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds with Brodie Schwarzer contributing 11 points on 3/4 three-point shooting, and Jonah Pares flirting with a triple-double with nine points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

SYDNEY COMETS 75 (Kyei 24, Foketi 18, Mundine III 13)

PENRITH PANTHERS 64 (Evans 15, Schwarzer 11, Pares 9)

Inner West Bulls (90) lost to Sutherland Sharks (106)

The Sutherland Sharks bounced back from a first loss of the season in style with Jason Spurgin coming up huge in the 106-90 road win over the Inner West Bulls.

The Sharks had started the season in ominous form with four straight wins before a slip up against the Norths Bears last Sunday ahead of their trip to Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre on Saturday.

The Bulls came into the match up on their own three-game winning streak after a loss to Canberra to open up the season but it was the visiting Sharks who made the flying start with 23 points to 11 in the first quarter.

That lead for Sutherland got out to as much as 14 points in the second quarter as well before they went into the half-time break leading 48-36.

Inner West fired back in the third quarter by piling on 32 points to 22 to grab the lead and knock down 5/9 from three-point territory in the period.

Sutherland, though, were still clinging to the two-point lead at three quarter-time before taking charge once more in the fourth frame putting up 36 points to 22 while making 5/8 of their three-point shots and going 14/17 overall in the last 10 minutes.

That saw the Sharks claim the 16-point victory to improve to a 5-1 record on the season with Sydney Kings NBL centre Jason Spurgin stepping up for 27 points and seven rebounds on 12/14 shooting.

His Kings teammate Kouat Noi added 18 points and six rebounds with Luke Jamieson adding 22 points, eight boards, five steals and four assists, and captain Lochlan Hutchison 24 points and six assists on 3/6 shooting from deep.

Inner West slip to 3-2 on the season with the defeat with Ramon Cao finishing with 24 points and five rebounds on 5/9 three-point shooting.

Tony Tolovae added 18 points on 8/12 shooting with Maxwell Clark providing 15 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals, Dalen Ridgnal 14 points, 11 boards, six steals and four assists, and Mirko Djeric 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

INNER WEST BULLS 90 (Cao 24, Tolovae 18, Clark 15)

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 106 (Spurgin 27, Hutchison 24, Jamieson 22)