NBL1 Central Recap | Saturday Men's Round 5

Daniel Johnson went scoreless fresh off winning his record seventh Adelaide 36ers MVP, Scott Ninnis led South Adelaide to another thriller straight after his Hall of Fame induction and that's just the beginning of the Round 5 NBL1 Central Men's action on Saturday night.

Round 5 in the NBL1 Central Men's competition began with the Norwood Flames defeating the West Adelaide Bearcats 72-68 at The ARC. Ray Harding and Walter McBride had 18 points apiece for the Flames with Nate Sheppard delivering 16 points for the Bearcats.

It was a big win for the Woodville Warriors 108-57 despite the presence of Daniel Johnson for the Forestville Eagles at St Clair Recreation Centre. David Humphries had 33 points and Nick Wurm 28 for the Warriors while Johnson went scoreless in 28 minutes for the Eagles.

The Sturt Sabres produced a 93-79 win against the Southern Tigers at Morphett Vale Basketball Stadium with Sam Daley scoring 20 points while Lachlan Olbrich put up 17 points for the Tigers.

The North Adelaide Rockets scored an impressive 96-66 win against the Eastern Mavericks at St Francis de Sales Community Sports Centre with Terry Winn top-scoring with 19 points and 11 rebounds for North Adelaide. Keouvion McCalop had 22 points and 11 boards for the Mavs.

It was another nail-biting win for Scott Ninnis and his South Adelaide Panthers, defeating the Central District Lions 94-92 just 24 hours after the coach's induction into the Adelaide 36ers Hall of Fame.

Jeremy Smith produced 37 points for South Adelaide while Tobias Dowdell had 26 points for Centrals.

The final game of Round 5 in the NBL1 Central Men's competition takes place on Sunday afternoon at Springbank Secondary College with the Sturt Sabres hosting the Eastern Mavericks.

NBL1 CENTRAL – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 5 – SATURDAY NIGHT

NORWOOD FLAMES 72 defeated WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 68

The Norwood Flames were able to capitalise on a fast start to end up beating the West Adelaide Bearcats at home on Saturday night.

Norwood started the game well at The ARC with 27 points to 16 in the opening quarter but the Bearcats had cut that advantage back to seven by half-time.

It was a low-scoring third quarter with both teams only combining for the 13 points, but the Bearcats narrowed the gap further to be within four points.

In the end, that would be the final margin with Norwood hanging on to win 72-68 to improve to 2-2 on the season while West Adelaide is now 2-3.

Ray Harding delivered 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Flames while Walter McBride contributed 18 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Anthony Green added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, Matt Lycett 11 points, four boards and three steals, and Daniel Webber nine points, nine boards, seven assists and five steals.

Nate Sheppard top-scored for West Adelaide with 16 points with Andre Washington adding 14 points and nine rebounds, Luke Cadzow 13 points, five assists and four boards, and Lucas Valk eight points.

 

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 108 defeated FORESTVILLE EAGLES 57

It was a remarkable night at St Clair Recreation Centre on Saturday with the Woodville Warriors defeating Daniel Johnson and the Forestville Eagles 108-57.

The Eagles welcome Johnson into their line-up just six days after his NBL season finished at the Adelaide 36ers and 24 hours after he was crowned the club's MVP for a record seven times.

That spelled danger signs for the Warriors but it didn’t pan out that way with Johnson having a night to forget. He played 28 minutes for 0/6 shooting and four rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He averaged 16.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in #NBL22.

Woodville was able to take full advantage with 22 points to 10 in the first quarter, 38 to 18 in the second, 24 to 15 in the third, and 22 to 14 in the fourth to end up winning 108-57.

Dave Humphreys put up 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals on 13/22 shooting for Woodville with Nick Wurm contributing 28 points, three rebounds and three steals.

Jawan Stepney also had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, Joe Jackson 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Devon McGee nine points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists.

Adam Doyle finished with 14 points for Forestville while Brandon Brine contributed 10 points and four rebounds, Malith Machar eight points and nine boards, and Greg Mays eight points and seven rebounds.

 

SOUTHERN TIGERS 79 lost to STURT SABRES 93

The Sturt Sabres opened their double-header weekend with an impressive performance to beat the South Tigers on the road on Saturday night.

The Sabres won their second game of the NBL1 Central season on Saturday night at Morphett Vale Basketball Stadium but they had to overcome a bit of a slow start to do so.

The Tigers started well on their home floor with 29 points to 24 in the first quarter, and they still led 50-46 at half-time.

Eventually the Sabres were able to work their way on top and outscored the Tigers 47 points to 29 in the second half to win 93-79 and improve to 2-1 on the season while Southern are now 1-4.

Sam Daly put up 20 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Sabres with Hayden Meakes contributing 18 points and four rebounds, Joel Spear 16 points, five boards and four assists, and Jacob Rigoni 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Lachlan Olbrich finished with 17 points and five rebounds for the Tigers with Vionte Daniels contributing 15 points and three rebounds, Richardo Martin 14 points and eight boards, Machar Machar 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

 

EASTERN MAVERICKS 66 lost to NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 96

The North Adelaide Rockets continue to set the pace early in the NBL1 Central season with another strong win on Saturday night against the Eastern Mavericks.

North Adelaide put their perfect record this season on the line at St Francis de Sales Community Sports Centre on Saturday night and they started in remarkably dominant fashion.

The Rockets held the Mavericks to just five points in the first quarter while scoring 27 themselves.

That lead was out to 49-28 by half-time and 74-42 at three quarter-time before North Adelaide cruised to the 96-66 win to be 4-0 this season and the Mavs slip to 0-3.

Terry Winn produced 19 points and 11 rebounds in the win for the Rockets while Dylan Marshall contributed 16 points, Riley Harrap 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Apiok Dau 11 points and seven boards.

Keouvion McCalop top-scored for the Mavericks with 22 points and 11 rebounds with Lachlan Knibbs contributing 16 points and Jaime Kennedy 12 points and 13 rebounds.

 

CENTRAL DISTRICT LIONS 92 lost to SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 94

Scott Ninnis' South Adelaide Panthers have attracted some thrilling finishes so far this NBL1 Central season and that was again the case on Saturday night against the Central District Lions.

Just 24 hours after Ninnis was inducted into the Adelaide 36ers Hall of Fame, his Panthers locked horns with Centrals at STARplex on Saturday night and turned out to be a remarkable contest.

Little separated the two teams all night with the Lions leading by three at quarter-time and then South Adelaide by six at half-time.

Centrals were back within three at three quarter-time to set up a big finish.

In the end, it was South Adelaide import Jeremy Smith who proved the difference down the stretch. He scored his team's last eight points to take them from three points down to end up winning 94-92.

The results improves the Panthers to a 3-1 record on the season while the Lions are now 1-3.

Jeremy Smith not only delivered when it mattered, but he did all evening to finish with 37 points, three rebounds and three assists for South Adelaide on 13/17 shooting from the floor and 11/13 from the charity stripe.

Andrew Barton also had 14 points for the Panthers, Todd Davies 12 points and two steals, Alex Starling 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Jarryd Hoppo nine points, three rebounds and three steals.

Tobias Dowdell finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals for Central District on 12/15 shooting with Nathaniel Koko adding 14 points, five steals and four boards, and Ayual Garang 12 points.

Bijan Johnson also had a strong performance made up of 21 points, five assists and three rebounds.