NBL1 North Recap | Saturday Men's Round 9

A stunning win at the buzzer for the Ipswich Force was just part of a massive night of action in Round 9 of the NBL1 North competition on Saturday.

There were wins in the end on Saturday night for not only the Force but also the Logan Thunder, Mackay Meteors, Cairns Marlins, Darwin Salties, Sunshine Coast Phoenix and Gold Coast Rollers.

Round 9 in the NBL1 North Men's competition began on Friday night with the Darwin Salties beginning their road triple-header beating the Northside Wizards 98-89.

The Saturday night action began with the Ipswich Force winning in stunning fashion on the buzzer with a defensive breakdown from the Red City Roar leading to an open Ryan Jeffries bucket in the 86-85 victory.

Denzel Kennedy and Henry Pwono both scored 20 points each for Ipswich with Spencer Parker scoring 26 points for Red City.

It was a commanding road win for the Logan Thunder who defeated the South West Metro Pirates 110-86.

Jeremy Kendle had another 24 points and five assists for the Thunder and Mitch Young 20 points and 10 rebounds. Zac Carter delivered 18 points for the Pirates.

The Mackay Meteors came from behind to put on a monstrous fourth quarter to end up beating the Rockhampton Rockets 100-90.

Jaylin and Kyrin Galloway combined for 55 points and 27 rebounds in the win for Mackay while Matt McCarthy produced 29 points and 19 rebounds for Rockhampton.

The Cairns Marlins were also impressive away from home beating the Townsville Heat 118-81.

Kody Stattmann produced a scintillating performance for 25 points with Ben Ayre adding 16 points and 13 assists. Taine Wattie added 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Townsville.

The Darwin Salties made it two from two this weekend away from home with a 91-75 victory against the Southern Districts Spartans.

Makuach Maluach had another 19 points and six rebounds for Darwin with Ngor Nai and Chris Cedar scoring 17 points apiece for Southern Districts.

It was another thrilling contest at Maroochydore Stadium with Sunshine Coast Phoenix beating USC Rip City 86-83.

Jamaal Robateau had 2 5 points in the win for the Phoenix and Jonathan Janssen 20 points and 14 rebounds. Kouat Noi scored 25 points and collected 13 rebounds for Rip City.

The Gold Coast Rollers kept their impressive form going on Saturday night on the road beating the North Gold Coast Seahawks 99-92.

Jason Cadee returned and delivered 35 points for Gold Coast while both Tamuri Wigness and Jordan Hunter scored 25 points for the Seahawks.

Round 9 in the NBL1 North wraps up now on Sunday with the Brisbane Capitals playing host to the Darwin Salties.

NBL1 NORTH – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 9 – SATURDAY NIGHT

RED CITY ROAR 85 lost to IPSWICH FORCE 86

The most remarkable of last second plays on the in-bounds pass has seen the Ipswich Force snatch the one-point Saturday night win on the road against the Red City Roar.

The Roar hosted the Force at Paul Bancroft Centre on Saturday night and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter where either team opened up a double-figure advantage.

By the end of the first quarter it was Ipswich narrowly leading 16-15 and despite leading by eight at one stage in the second term, Red City stayed close and the Force only led marginally 34-32 at the long break.

The Roar made their run in the third quarter with 29 points to 21 and then the home team managed to lead by as much as 10 points during the fourth quarter.

However, Ipswich got back into the contest and then suddenly with only seconds left on the clock, it was Red City leading 85-84.

Ipswich had possession and coming out of the timeout and not even coach Chris Riches could have drawn things up better. A defensive breakdown of epic proportions from the Roar saw Ryan Jeffries left all alone under the bucket for the Force. 

Jason Ralph found him, he layed it in and as time expired the Force rightfully celebrated wildly with the 86-85 win away from home.

Denzel Kennedy finished the night for Ipswich with 20 points and 11 rebounds with Henry Pwono contributing 20 points and eight boards.

Cameron Goldfinch also had 16 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots, Isaac White 11 points, seven boards and six assists, and Jason Ralph eight points and eight assists.

Spencer Parker delivered 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Red City on 10/14 shooting including 3/4 from beyond the arc and 3/3 at the free-throw line.

Jayden Hodgson added 18 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Roar, Nelson Larkins 12 points, eight boards and three assists, and Mitch Poulain nine points and six rebounds.

 

SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 86 lost to LOGAN THUNDER 110

The Logan Thunder proved too strong for the South West Metro Pirates on Saturday night winning on the road by 24 points.

It was the Pirates who started the better at Hibiscus Sports Stadium outscoring the Thunder 26 points to 22 in the first quarter.

However, Logan turned the tide significantly in the second period going on an 8-0 run at one point on the way to scoring 32 points to 13 to go into half-time leading 54-39.

It was more of the same then throughout the second half with the Thunder lead growing to 22 points in the third quarter, 30 in the fourth and they would end up winning 110-86.

The Thunder dominated the glass with 52 rebounds to 32 for the night while shooting a terrific 55.1 per cent from the field and 41.3 per cent from South West.

The victory improves the Thunder to a 5-4 record on the season with South West now 4-6.

Jeremy Kendle finished the night with 24 points and five assists on 9/14 shooting from the floor and 5/7 from the foul line.

Mitch Young finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Cedar 13 points and eight boards, Rasmus Bach 13 points and five rebounds, Jean-Luc Morel 10 points and nine boards, and Boston Mazlin 11 points and seven rebounds.

Zac Carter delivered 18 points and six rebounds for South West with Brendan Teys contributing 17 points and five boards, Jai Blackman-Corowa 10 points, and Joel Matysek 10 points.

 

ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS 90 lost to MACKAY METEORS 100

After trailing virtually all evening the Mackay Meteors produced the most amazing of fourth quarters to end up beating the Rockhampton Rockets by 10 points on Saturday night.

The Rockets played host to the Meteors at Bravus Arena and after an early Mackay lead, Rockhampton soon took over going on a 7-0 run and they were up 26-19 by the end of the first period.

The Rockets extended their lead further with a tremendous second quarter to see that lead grow to as much as 26 points at one stage and for the home team to still be on top 55-37 at half-time.

The Meteors began to work back into the contest during the third quarter, though, scoring 14 consecutive points at one stage to close the gap to nine points at three quarter-time.

Mackay then were simply on fire throughout the fourth quarter piling on 41 points to 22 to turn that nine-point deficit into the eventual 100-90 victory.

The win improves the Meteors to a 10-3 record on the season after Round 9 while the Rockets are now 4-7 following the defeat.

Mackay ended up collecting 59 rebounds to 45 for the night while taking 20 more field goals on the back of the 22 offensive boards to seven.

Jaylin Galloway ended up top-scoring for Mackay with 29 points, six rebounds and six assists on the back of being part of the NBL championship at the Sydney Kings while new Adelaide 36ers signing Kyrin Galloway delivered 26 points and 21 rebounds.

Villami Foketi added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Meteors, and Malok Majak nine points, 12 boards and four steals.

Matt McCarthy was impressive once again for Rockhampton finishing with 29 points and 19 rebounds with Kendall Stephens adding 24 points, six boards, five steals and two blocks, Damian Prgomet 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Kon Anguik 11 points and seven assists.

 

SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 86 defeated USC RIP CITY 83

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix managed to hold on against a fast finishing USC Rip City to end up winning by three points on Saturday night at Maroochydore Stadium.

The Phoenix hosted Rip City and despite USC leading by seven points early on, Sunshine Coast responded with seven straight points to take a four-point lead into quarter-time.

Both teams had their moments during the second quarter but by half-time it was still a tight battle with the Phoenix holding on to a 41-38 advantage. 

Sunshine Coast then pulled away further in the third stanza going on a run of scoring 10 consecutive points to lead by 15 points, and to be on top 69-54 by three quarter-time.

Rip City weren't done with, though, and they put up 29 points to 17 in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t quite make that leap to grab the lead and Sunshine Coast held on for the 86-83 victory.

The victory improves Sunshine Coast to a 7-4 record on the season following Round 9 while Rip City are now 5-3.

Jamaal Robateau finished the night with 25 points and seven rebounds for Sunshine Coast on the back of going 10/10 at the foul line.

Jonathan Janssen added 20 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix, Mason Bragg 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, Justin Aver nine points, and Cooper Urquhart seven points to go with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Kouat Noi delivered 25 points and 13 rebounds for USC with Isaih Tueta contributing 20 points and six assists, and Verle Williams 20 points, seven boards and six assists.

 

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 75 lost to DARWIN SALTIES 91

The Darwin Salties made it two from two to begin their triple-header Queensland road trip beating the Southern Districts Spartans by 16 points on Saturday night.

The Salties began their big weekend on the road defeating the Northside Wizards on Friday night ahead of taking on the Spartans at Rowland Cowan Stadium on Saturday evening.

Building on the confidence from the night before beating the Wizards, the Salties started on fire with 34 points to 14 in the first quarter to lead by 20 already by quarter-time.

The Spartans were able to steady in the second quarter but still heading into half-time Darwin remained in control leading 53-36.

The Salties then got biting even further in the third quarter piling on another 27 points to 17 to lead by as much as 27.

Despite Southern Districts managing to outscore Darwin 22 points to 11 in the fourth term, the Salties still cruised to the 91-75 victory to set up the chance for a perfect triple-header road weekend.

Despite Nate Jawai still not suiting up, the Salties had plenty of talent available with Makuach Maluach producing 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Jerron Jamerson added 17 points and seven rebounds for Darwin with Ben Wright contributing 14 points and four boards, and Josh Spiers 10 points.

Chris Cedar finished with 17 points and four assists on 3/6 shooting from deep for Southern Districts with Ngor Nai adding 17 points and nine boards, Ben Hastings 10 points and eight rebounds, and Fred Williams 10 points and five boards.

 

TOWNSVILLE HEAT 81 lost to CAIRNS MARLINS 118

The Cairns Marlins hit the road on Saturday night and unleashed their firepower on the way to a 37-point victory against the Townsville Heat.

The Heat played host to the Marlins at Townsville StarFM Stadium and it didn’t take Cairns long to begin to feel it. The visitors put together 13 consecutive points during the first quarter and ended up leading 28-10 by the end of one.

Townsville was able to stem the tide and also put up 28 points of their own in the second quarter but still Cairns went into half-time leading 52-38.

The Marlins then really got rolling in the third quarter piling on 36 points to just 22 as they produced some exciting basketball. The lead grew to as much as 40 points in the fourth period before Cairns left Townsville with the 118-81 victory.

The win improves the Marlins to a 5-5 record on the season while as a result of the loss Townsville are 3-7.

It's an exciting, athletic and energetic line-up that Cairns now has together and that fully was on show on Saturday night led by Brisbane Bullets signing Kody Stattmann who produced 25 points including knocking down five three-pointers.

Deba George also put up 22 points, three assist and three steals for the Marlins while connecting on 4/6 three-point attempts with Lat Mayen adding 18 points and seven boards, Ben Ayre 16 points, 13 assists and six rebounds, and Mirko Djeric 13 points, eight assists and five boards.

Taine Wattie top-scored for Townsville with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals with Richard Peachey contributing 19 points and eight boards, Ethan Betts 14 points and eight assists, and Matthew Rees nine points and nine boards.

 

NORTH GOLD COAST SEAHAWKS 92 lost to GOLD COAST ROLLERS 99

The Gold Coast Rollers finished strongly to overrun the North Gold Coast Seahawks to win by seven points on Saturday night.

The two teams locked horns at Runaway Bay Stadium and produced a tremendous match up with terrific fluctuations in momentum and control of the contest.

It was North Gold Coast who made the first big run in the opening quarter scoring 10 straight points to end up leading by 11, but by quarter-time that advantage was back to just four points.

The Rollers were able to make a break in the second quarter to lead by seven on the back of putting up 28 points to 21, and that saw the visitors head into the half-time interval leading 50-47.

Gold Coast managed to go back up 10 during the third quarter again but North Gold Coast also hit back once more to trail by just four points still at the last break.

The Seahawks were then able to score nine straight points to open up a four-point edge to look a real chance at the win at home even in the absence of Jack McVeigh.

However, Gold Coast finished the better with eight straight points and that saw the Rollers set up the eventual 99-92 victory.

It was a massive performance on return for Brisbane Bullets NBL star Jason Cadee. He delivered 35 points for the Rollers on the back of going 14/17 at the free-throw line to go with six assists.

Tanner Krebs added 14 points and six rebounds for the Rollers, Preston Le Gassick 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, Donovan Mitchell 10 points and seven boards, and Tidjane Diop eight points.

Tamuri Wigness produced 25 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Seahawks with Jordan Hunter finishing with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.

Alex Mudronja also had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, David Gurney 11 points and six boards, and Lloyd McVeigh seven points and six rebounds.