NBL1 East Recap | Saturday Round 13

Lauren Nicholson fired the Sutherland Sharks to another NBL1 East win on Saturday while Sydney Hunter produced the winner for the Maitland Mustangs with Mikayla Pivec inspiring the Albury-Wodonga Bandits along with Robert Moore hitting the winning three for the Norths Bears.

The Saturday women's results in the NBL1 East saw the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles beat the Centre of Excellence 85-71 while the Canberra Nationals downed the Illawarra Hawks 98-53, the Newcastle Falcons hammered the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders 123-47, and the Sutherland Sharks defeated the Norths Bears 93-86.

The Bankstown Bruins also beat the Hills Hornets 80-64, the Penrith Panthers downed the Inner West Bulls 87-68, the Maitland Mustangs beat the Sydney Comets 76-75, and the Albury-Wodonga Bandits won 83-79 against the Central Coast Crusaders.

Then in the men's matches, the Bandits beat the Crusaders 96-92, the Centre of Excellence defeated the Sea Eagles 100-70, the Canberra Gunners downed the Hawks 91-78, the Bears beat the Sharks 78-76, and the Falcons beat the Spiders 62-45.

The Hornets also defeated the Bruins 86-79, the Bulls downed the Panthers 108-86 and the Mustangs prevailed 85-67 against the Comets.

WOMEN

Sea Eagles hit back with win over CoE

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have hit back in the best possible way from a shock loss before the King's Birthday break by beating the Centre of Excellence 82-69 at home on Saturday.

Prior to the general bye, the Sea Eagles saw their 12-game winning streak snapped in sensational fashion at the hands of the Central Coast Crusaders as they looked to hit back in Round 13 at home to the Centre of Excellence.

The Basketball Australia team of emerging talent had lost their last couple of games as well, and it was the Sea Eagles who came out breathing fire.

Manly Warringah were already leading by seven points at quarter-time before extending that advantage to 17 by half-time. 

That lead grew to 24 points in the third quarter and 25 in the fourth but the CoE team kept on fighting. They ended up outscoring the Sea Eagles 27 points to 17 in the final period but Manly Warringah still cruised to the eventual 14-point win.

The result keeps the Sea Eagles on top of the ladder with a 14-2 record while the Centre of Excellence are now 13-5 having lost three straight.

Kim Hodge led the charge once more in the win for Manly Warringah with 22 points and two steals on 9/12 shooting from the field and 4/4 from the foul line.

Alex Delaney had an outstanding all-round performance as well with 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists with Felicity Henderson contributing 13 points, four boards and three assists, Zoey Miller 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Bree Delaney eight points and three assists.

Jayda Clark ended up top-scoring for the Centre of Excellence with 19 points, four rebounds and two steals while hitting 3/6 from three-point territory with Monique Bobongie contributing 13 points, three boards and two steals, and Sienna Harvey 12 points and four assists.

Canberra dominate Illawarra for third straight

The Canberra Nationals made it three wins in-a-row beating the Illawarra Hawks 98-53 on Saturday night.

The Nationals were back home at Belconnen Basketball Stadium on the back of winning their past two matches and they kept the momentum going beginning with 23 points to eight in the first quarter against the Hawks.

Canberra dominated the contest the rest of the evening to lead by as much 32 points in the second quarter, 40 in the third and 49 in the fourth before ending up winning by 45.

The victory improves the Nationals to an 8-8 record having won three in-a-row while Illawarra is now 3-12 having lost four of the past five.

Lizzy Tonks put up 25 points and seven rebounds in the win for Canberra while shooting 10/14 from the floor and 3/5 from behind the three-point line.

Bianca Dufelmeier was the one who top-scored for the Nationals with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 9/12 shooting from the field and 4/5 from downtown.

Abby Solway added 11 points and two assists, Sophie Brennan 10 points, and Abbie Ketels six points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Lauren Gatwood top-scored for Illawarra with 13 points, three assists and two rebounds with Ella Dent contributing 12 points and three boards, Emilia Garcia Leon nine points, three rebounds and three assists, and Chelsea Hogg eight points, five boards and two steals.

Huge Falcons win keeps pressure on Sea Eagles

The Newcastle Falcons maintained pace with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at the top of the NBL1 East with the comprehensive 123-47 home win against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

Following the Sea Eagles losing to the Central Coast Crusaders prior to the King's Birthday break in the NBL1 East, the race for top spot became more fascinating and the Falcons need to keep winning to keep the pressure on.

That's exactly what they did at Newcastle Basketball Stadium on Saturday evening beginning with outscoring the Spiders 28 points to 10 in the opening quarter.

Newcastle did lead by as many as 23 points in that first quarter and that advantage grew to as much as 37 in the second before they went into intermission in control 57-22.

There was no let up from the second placed Falcons either and another 32 points to 14 in the third quarter saw the lead rocket out to as much as 76 points in the final term.

Newcastle would end up winning by that 76-point margin in the end and throughout the evening had 23-0 and 16-0 scoring runs.

The victory improves the Falcons to a 13-2 record while Hornsby are now 1-15 having lost by a combined 121 points in their two games since their breakthrough win against the Hills Hornets.

All five starters for Newcastle had big evenings with Kate Kingham knocking down nine three-pointers on her way to 31 points and five assists.

Mykea Gray also went 5/8 from beyond the arc for 23 points, five assists and five steals with Emily Foy contributing 24 points, 11 boards, six assists and three steals, Nicole Munger 13 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, and Abigail Curtin 13 points and seven boards.

It was a rough night for Hornsby with their biggest loss of the season but Alicia Poto finished with 15 points and five rebounds with 5/11 three-point shooting.

Tylah Mundine also ended up with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Mizuki Wakamatsu nine points and two boards.

Nicholson huge in crucial Sharks win over Bears

Two teams with big aspirations for this NBL1 East season locked horns on Saturday at Sutherland Basketball Stadium with the Sutherland Sharks beating the Norths Bears 93-86.

With the Bears sitting third and the Sharks in sixth spot coming into the return to action after the King's Birthday long weekend, the stakes were significant for the Saturday evening match up.

It proved to be a fascinating contest too with the Bears getting the better of the opening quarter away from home with 25 points to 18.

The lead for Norths grew to as much as 10 points in the second period and they were still leading 43-35 by half-time.

However, Sutherland fired back in the third quarter going on a 9-0 run to grab the lead and on the back of putting up 30 points to 11, the home side was leading 65-54 all of a sudden by three quarter-time.

The Bears did throw everything at a fightback in the fourth stanza and delivered 32 points, but the Sharks had built up enough of a lead to end up winning by seven.

The victory heats up the top four race in the NBL1 East with Sutherland now sitting on an 11-5 record while Norths are 11-3 with the defeat.

Lauren Nicholson ultimately proved to be the main difference between the two teams and she delivered 35 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals while going a remarkable 17/23 from the foul line.

Aliza Fabbro added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists for Sutherland, Olivia White 14 points, four boards, three assists and three steals, and Madeleine Norris 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Jolene Anderson also had a huge outing for the Bears with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on the back of nailing 10/15 from beyond the three-point arc.

Emily Simons also delivered 18 points, three rebounds and two assists, Carla Pitman nine points and two assists, Jessica Bygate eight points and seven rebounds, and Kate Seebohm five points, seven assists and three boards.

Lauren Nicholson stuffed the stat sheet in the Sharks W:

3??5?? points 9?? rebounds 7?? assists & 4?? steals ?

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Bruins snap losing run with win over Hornets

The Bankstown Bruins started and finished Saturday night's game in dominant fashion to end up beating the Hills Hornets 80-64.

Both teams came into the match up at Hills Basketball Stadium on four-game losing streaks so were desperate to return to the winner's list coming off the general break last weekend.

It was Bankstown who made the strong start away from home with 24 points to 17 in the opening quarter. It was a tight battle from there with the Bruins leading by seven points still at half-time, and then only by two at three quarter-time.

However, the Bruins pulled away once more in the fourth stanza with another 29 points to 15 including going on a 10-0 run to end up securing the 16-point victory.

The win improves Bankstown to a 7-8 record as they snap a four-game losing run while it's five straight losses for the Hornets who are 2-13.

Kiahna Davis-White was a difference maker for Bankstown delivering 20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks including hitting 3/5 from behind the three-point line.

Abbey Vallance added 17 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Bruins while Britney Wright contributed 11 points and 10 boards, and Briana Maimone nine points and five assists.

Kelsey Curtin delivered 23 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Hornets with Cassandra Pentney contributing 14 points and eight boards, Taylah Cottees 11 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two assists, and Rhiannon Yetsenga 11 points and 10 boards.

Jefferson, Williams lead Penrith to drought breaking win

One of the two teams was going to end their losing slides on Saturday with the NBL1 East season resuming and it was the Penrith Panthers delivering the 87-68 home win against the Inner West Bulls.

Coming into Round 13 of the NBL1 and the Panthers had lost their previous four matches and the Bulls the last five so both teams weren’t short on motivation on Saturday evening at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre.

The Panthers got the better of the start on their home floor to lead 26-19 by the end of the first quarter before another 23 points to 14 in the second saw them in control leading 49-33 at half-time.

From there Penrith was able to lead by as much 27 points in the final stanza and score the 19-point win to snap a four-match losing run and improve to a 4-11 record. The Bulls have now lost six in-a-row to be 3-12.

Meg Jefferson had a significant impact on the result for Penrith finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists while shooting 9/14 from the field.

Chloe Williams delivered 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as well for the winners with Tahlia Tupaea contributing 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals, Chloe Bloom 10 points and four boards, and Emily Matthews 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Leilani Mitchell continued her fine form for Inner West with another 22 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals while Mikaela Dombkins contributed 20 points and six boards, and Maja Peric 11 points and eight rebounds.

Hunter put back sees Mustangs beat Comets in OT

It was always going to take something special to knock off the Sydney Comets and it was a walk off finish from an offensive rebound by Sydney Hunter that delivered the Maitland Mustangs the 76-75 victory.

The Comets were on a five-game winning streak coming into the clash on their home court and even without Vanessa Panousis, they were looking for another win to consolidate their place in the NBL1 East's top four.

The Mustangs were also looking to keep building some momentum chasing a playoff berth so the stage was set for the match up and what a contest it proved to be.

No more than five points ever separated them throughout the evening with the Comets leading by three points at quarter-time and then five at half-time.

Maitland turned things around in the third quarter with 19 points to 11, but it was always destined for a thrilling finish.

Mila Wawszkowicz did put Maitland up two with 18 seconds to play but there was time still out of the timeout for Sydney to either send it to overtime or go for the win.

In the end, things opened up for Dru Toleafoa to finish at the rack to tie scores up and the game ended up needing another five minutes.

Then by the end of overtime, Rachel Williams took the ball inside but her attempt wouldn’t fall. However, Sydney couldn’t grab the defensive rebound to try and maintain their one-point lead, or build on it.

Instead with the clock running down, Sydney Hunter nabbed the offensive board, flicked it back up and the ball fell in for Maitland to secure the stunning one-point win.

Madison Washington ended the evening with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists for Maitland with Mila Wawszkowicz producing 17 points and seven boards, and Sydney Hunter 16 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.

Shakera Reilly also ended up with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Rachel Williams six points, eight boards and three assists.

Shyla Heal had another huge performance for the Comets as she prepares for her journey overseas to play in Europe. She finished with 36 points, seven assists and five rebounds while hitting 6/13 from downtown. 

Alexandra Kayrouz added 12 points and four rebounds, Jada Crawshaw 11 points and five boards, and Dru Toleafoa six points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Sydney Hunter wins it for Maitland with the put-back ? ?

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Pivec inspires Bandits' comeback win over Crusaders

The Central Coast Crusaders had no fear coming off their stunning win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles two weeks ago and were on track to back it up until a powerful finish from the Albury-Wodonga Bandits led by Mikayla Pivec.

The Bandits played host to a Crusaders team who shocked the Sea Eagles two weeks ago so it set up what was set to be a fascinating match up at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.

The Crusaders managed to open up a seven-point lead during the second stanza and then to lead by as much as 10 during the third quarter, and still to be up by eight in the fourth.

However, Albury-Wodonga weren’t going down without a fight even though Central Coast were still six points in front with 3:45 to play.

Mikayla Pivec brought the margin back to four and then Casey Ardern hit a three ball to make it a one-point game with two minutes on the clock. Pivec put the Bandits in front and that's where they would stay to end up winning 83-79 on their home court.

Mikayla Pivec produced a standout performance in the win for Albury-Wodonga with 29 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists on shooting 11/20 from the field and 7/8 from the foul line.

Emma Mahady added 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Malury Bates 17 points and seven boards.

Darneka Rowe produced 25 points for Central Coast while shooting 10/13 from the floor and 5/6 from beyond the arc. Jasmine Forcadilla added 23 points with 3/6 shooting from deep too while Rachel Maenpaa added 11 points, and Nicole Hutchins nine points and seven rebounds.

MEN

Centre of Excellence make it 12 straight wins

The Centre of Excellence produced yet another commanding performance in the NBL1 East to end up beating the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 100-70.

The Basketball Australia team came into Round 13 of the NBL1 East having won their last 11 matches to put that streak on the line on the road to the Sea Eagles at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

Manly Warringah were looking to make it consecutive wins but at no stage throughout the evening were they able to hold a lead against some of the brightest emerging talent in the country.

The Centre of Excellence team opened up an eight-point lead during the first quarter before that lead grew to as much as 13 in the second, 20 in the third and 33 in the fourth.

The CoE would end up beating the Sea Eagles by 30 points to improve to an 18-1 record on the season with the 12 consecutive wins. Manly Warringah weren’t able to make it back-to-back wins and now sit at 3-13.

All nine players that hit the floor for the Centre of Excellence made a contribution with Kye Savage leading the charge with 19 points on 5/5 shooting from the floor, 4/4 from downtown and 5/5 at the foul line.

Perth Wildcats NBL signing Ben Henshall added 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals, John Furphy 12 points, six boards and four assists, James O'Donnell 11 points and two rebounds, and Jacob Furphy 10 points and three boards.

Luke Fennell also had nine points and seven assists, Emmett Adair nine points and five rebounds, Bowyn Beatty eight points, six boards and two blocks, and Julius Halaifonua six points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Mitch Evans top-scored for Manly Warringah with 18 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals with Matthew Eldridge adding 17 points and 10 boards, and Aku Makki 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.

Luke Fennell hustles back in transition for the DENIAL ?

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Gunners stay in touch with win over Hawks

The defending NBL1 East champion Canberra Gunners kept their top four hopes alive for 2023 with the 91-78 home victory on Saturday against the Illawarra Hawks.

The Gunners hosted the Hawks at Belconnen Basketball Stadium looking to bounce back from a loss to the Centre of Excellence with Illawarra also out to build on a win against the Newcastle Falcons.

The Gunners started well to lead by as much as seven points in the first term but it was only a two-point advantage by quarter-time.

Canberra continued to pull away further in the second stanza with another 31 points to 23 to go into the main break leading 47-37.

Illawarra stayed in touch, though, with a 9-0 run in the third quarter to keep things interesting going into the fourth quarter, but Canberra proved too strong with another 23 points to 16 to end up winning by 13.

The victory improves the Gunners to a 10-6 record on the season while Illawarra slips to 7-8 having lost three of the past four.

Cameron Pender put up 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the win for Canberra while Glenn Morison contributed 21 points, 15 boards and two assists.

James Toohey also had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Lachlan Smith 16 points and five boards.

Davo Hickey had another strong showing for Illawarra ahead of another NBL season at the Hawks. He finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Tim Coenraad might be retired from the NBL but continues to be impressive at NBL1 level with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Harry Morris contributed 11 points and eight boards, and Philip Dopud 10 points and two rebounds.

Will Hickey filled-up the box score tonight vs. Canberra:

2??4?? points 1??1?? rebounds 4?? assists & 3?? steals

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Beisty helps Falcons keep Hornsby winless

Neither team lit it up but the Newcastle Falcons did enough to score the 62-45 win against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders at home with Ryan Beisty putting in another strong showing.

The tone for the evening at Newcastle Basketball Stadium on Saturday night was set with the two teams only combining for 14 points in the opening quarter with the Falcons leading the Spiders 11-3 by quarter-time.

Newcastle found some offensive groove in the second term by putting up 25 points to 13 to go into the half-time break leading 36-16.

Things remained on even terms throughout the second half but Hornsby could never really close the gap and Newcastle went on to score the 17-point victory.

The win does improve the Falcons to a 9-6 record while bouncing back from two straight losses with Hornsby remaining winless in the NBL1 East at 0-16.

Ryan Beisty finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for Newcastle with Reed Nottage top-scoring with 17 points, five boards and two steals.

Anthony Gaines added 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Shareef Saipaia top-scored for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai with 12 points and three assists with Moses Bartley contributing nine points and three rebounds, and Einer Thompson collected 10 boards.

Jakob Dorricott beats the buzzer with a RAINBOW 3 ?

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Moore three gets Bears home over Sharks

Two top four teams produced quite the spectacle on Saturday night and it was a late three-point bomb that proved the match-winner from Robert Moore in the 78-76 victory for the Norths Bears against the Sutherland Sharks.

Precious little separated the two teams coming into the contest at Sutherland Basketball Stadium with the Sharks sitting fourth at 11-4 while the Bears were 11-3 so it always shaped as being a terrific match up.

It didn’t disappoint and it was Norths who made the fast start away from home opening up a 13-point advantage already by quarter-time.

The Bears would go on to lead by as much as 21 in the second quarter and go into the half-time break on top 50-36.

It was then Sutherland's turn to fire back in the third quarter outscoring Norths 23 points to nine to leave scores all square at three quarter-time.

It then turned out to be quite the dramatic fourth quarter but in the end it was a huge three-point bomb from Robert Moore late in the piece that proved the match winning bucket in the two-point triumph for the Bears.

The victory improves Norths to a 12-3 record with consecutive wins while Sutherland's four-game winning runs ends with them now 11-5.

On top of hitting that huge late three for the Bears, Moore finished with 21 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Lewis Holey added 14 points and nine rebounds with 4/5 three-point shooting while Lucas Morgan contributed 12 points, three boards, three assists and two steals, Michael Golding 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Tasman Goodrick 10 points and nine rebounds, and Michael Yoong 10 points and five assists.

Lochlan Hutchison top-scored for Sutherland with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists with Adrian Cabrera adding 17 points, five boards and two steals, Jordan Mitchell 16 points and three assists, and Geoff Gerlach 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Montague stars as Hornets beat Bruins

A standout performance from Shawn Montague helped the Hills Hornets get back to the NBL1 East winner's list by beating the Bankstown Bruins 86-79.

The Hornets were back home at Hills Basketball Stadium looking to bounce back from a narrow loss to the Norths Bears as they played host to a Bruins team having lost their past couple.

After Bankstown led early on by six points, Hills scored 13 straight points in the first quarter to lead by as much as eight, and then maintain that advantage for the rest of the evening.

While it remained a competitive hit out, the Hornets led the rest of the way including by as much as nine points in the fourth stanza on the way to the seven-point victory.

The victory improves Hills to a 9-6 record on the season while the Bruins are now 3-12 having lost their past three matches.

Shawn Montague delivered a strong showing in the win for the Hornets to finish with 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals on the back of shooting 10/16 from the field despite going just 3/10 from the foul line.

Paul Brotherson also contributed 22 points, three rebounds and two assists, Liam Moss 15 points, six boards and four assists, and Ben Kearins 11 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Hayden Blankley top-scored for Bankstown with 24 points along with 11 rebounds and seven assists with Dragan Elkaz adding 22 points, eight boards, five assists and two steals, and Kobe Shannon 10 points and two assists.

Bryant, Morrow fire Bulls to win over Panthers

The Inner West Bulls maintained their hold on a top two position in the NBL1 East beating the Penrith Panthers 108-86 on the road on Saturday night.

With the Norths Bears and Sutherland Sharks breathing down their necks, the Bulls did need to keep winning to stay in second spot in the NBL1 East coming into Saturday's clash away to the struggling Panthers.

The longer the game went and the more Inner West asserted its authority over the contest with the Bulls leading by just a point at 28-27 by quarter-time.

They would score another 27 points to 19 in the second term to go into intermission on top 55-46.

The Bulls would continue to pull further away throughout the second half with an 11-0 run stretching that lead to 22 points in the third period.

It got out to as much as 26 in the fourth term too before the Bulls ended up winning by 22 to improve to a 13-2 record to stay in second place. The Panthers have now lost five in-a-row at 3-12.

Chris Bryant continued his first-rate form for Inner West this NBL1 East season by producing another 30 points, nine rebounds and three steals on shooting 12/21 from the field and 6/6 from the free-throw line.

Blake Morrow also had a night out with 33 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds on 8/13 field goal shooting along with going 14/15 at the free-throw line.

Alex Higgins-Titsha added 23 points and 13 rebounds on 10/12 shooting while Kaylan Bayer put up 11 points, four boards and four assists.

Pranaya Sakya top-scored for Penrith with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals with Tomas Ramos adding 16 points, five boards and two steals, Caleb Fetui-Fa'amoe 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Jaedyn Fetui-Fa'amoe 12 points and two boards.

Mustangs beat Comets to make it five in-a-row

After a tight battle for three quarters, the Maitland Mustangs dominated the Sydney Comets on Saturday night away from home to end up winning 85-67.

The Comets hosted the Mustangs at Comets Stadium attempting to snap a seven-game losing run in the NBL1 East but Maitland couldn’t afford to let it slip as the race towards the finals heats up.

It was a close contest for the opening three quarters too with Maitland leading by two points at quarter-time before it was the Comets on top 44-43 at the major break.

The Mustangs did begin to pull away in the third stanza with 19 points to 15 but then dominated the final period by scoring 14 consecutive points to open up a 19-point lead and then to end up winning by 18.

The victory improves Maitland to a 9-6 record having won five matches in-a-row while Sydney has lost eight straight to be 6-9.

Billy Parsons top-scored in the win for the Mustangs with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 6/9 shooting from the field.

Will Mortimore contributed 12 points, five rebounds and two steals, Matthew Gray 10 points, 10 boards and three blocks, James Hunter nine points and four rebounds, Kevin Warren eight points, five boards and four assists, Will Cranston-Lown eight points and five assists, and Luka Vea eight points and four rebounds.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk finished with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Comets while Indiana Faithfull put up 12 points, five boards and five assists, and Tom James nine points and two rebounds.

Cummings, Coleman fire Bandits to tight win

The Albury-Wodonga Bandits finished the better at home to defeat the Central Coast Crusaders 96-92 on Saturday evening.

The Bandits played host to the Crusaders at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre with the NBL1 East season resuming and it was a tight battle all evening.

After scores were level at quarter-time, Central Coast made a break going up as much as nine in the second term and still leading 47-42 at the interval.

Albury-Wodonga was able to cut the deficit to two by three quarter-time and then with 32 points to 26 on their home floor in the fourth term, the Bandits would end up winning by four.

The victory improves Albury-Wodonga to an 8-8 record on the season while the Crusaders have now lost nine in-a-row to be 3-11.

Jamir Coleman produced a brilliant performance for the Bandits to finish with 28 points, 16 rebounds and three assists while shooting 10/16 from the floor and 7/9 from the foul line.

Lochlan Cummings top-scored, though, with 36 points, six assists and four rebounds on 11/19 shooting from the field, 4/9 from downtown and 10/14 from the free-throw line.

Michael Parks added 13 points and four boards, and Jacob Cincurak nine points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Aaron Lawton top-scored for Central Coast with 28 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds, Luke Cassidy 20 points, four boards, four assists and four steals, and James Trustum 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.