NBL1 South Round 12 Saturday Men’s Recap

Catch up on all the action from a big night of basketball in the NBL1 South Men's competition.

Kilsyth Cobras 88 def Ringwood Hawks 76
The Kilsyth Cobras have handed Ringwood its third straight defeat, beating the Hawks at home.
Outside of the opening basket of the game, Kilsyth led for the whole contest, pulling ahead by as many as 15 points early in the second term.
Deng Deng impressed in his debut for the Cobras, coming off the bench to score 22 points and pull down eight rebounds.
Deng’s scoring output was surpassed by only CJ Asuncion-Byrd (26 points, seven rebounds), who helped Ringwood reduce the Kilsyth lead to just one point in the final minute of the first half.
Despite this, the Cobras were able to hold the Hawks at bay for the entirety of the second half to secure the win in front of its home fans.
Kilsyth have now won three of its last four games.

Bendigo Braves 78 def Nunawading Spectres 69
Nunawading have dropped its fourth game in its last five outings, this time going down to the Braves in Bendigo.
After a tightly contested first quarter, the Braves took control of the game in the second term, extending its lead to a game-high 15 points, thanks in part to the scoring of Ray Turner (29 points, eight rebounds).
Turner battled Nunawading’s formidable front line, with Simon Conn (24 points, 10 rebounds) doing his best to match Bendigo’s big man.
After failing to cut into the lead in the third quarter, the Spectres looked to have momentum on its side in the final term, going on a 9-0 run to close the gap to just four points.
Unfortunately for the visitors, that was as close as they would come to re-taking the lead, as a pair of late three-pointers from Turner and Brennan Rymer (13 points, six rebounds, six assists) sealed the victory for Bendigo.

Ballarat Miners 83 def Knox Raiders 77
The Ballarat Miners have survived a late scare to win its fourth game in a row, this time coming at home against the surging Knox Raiders.
The Miners built an early lead thanks to its fast-paced brand of offence, entering the quarter-time break up by 12 points before extending its lead to 20 minutes into the second term.
Jock Perry (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Will Hickey (21 points, eight rebounds) led the way for Ballarat in the scoring department, however, struggled to contain the Raiders as the visitors put together its comeback attempt.
Forcing turnovers and capitalising on second chance opportunities, Knox battled its way all the way back into the game, tying the scores with two minutes remaining through a Bul Kuol (17 points) three-pointer.
Searching for an answer, Ballarat’s newest recruit, Emmett Naar (14 points) helped seal the deal for the home side.
Naar scored four big points immediately following the Kuol triple to give the Miners what would be a game-winning buffer.
The win will keep Ballarat in the top eight, while the loss ends a three-game winning streak for Knox.

Diamond Valley Eagles 86 def by Frankston Blues 111
The Frankston Blues have bounced back in a big way following its loss to Waverley last week, dominating the Diamond Valley Eagles on the road.
The Blues put the pressure on Diamond Valley early, attacking the rim and letting it fly from beyond the arc.
Frankston connected on eight of its 22 three-point attempts in the opening term, helping the visitors lead by as many as 18 points before building on its advantage across the remainder of the game.
Dillon Stith led all scorers with 24 points, while Lachlan Barker stayed aggressive shooting the ball, scoring 18 points in 21 minutes of action.
Despite its best efforts, Diamond Valley simply couldn’t keep up with the Blues, perhaps because of the fatigue of playing its second game in as many nights.
Led by Robert Heath (22 points), the Eagles were able to outscore Frankston in the second half, however not by anywhere near enough to cause the upset.
The win is the Blues’ 10th of the season and will keep the side on top of the ladder.

Albury-Wodonga Bandits 90 def by Hobart Chargers 107
The Hobart Chargers have continued its hot run of form, winning its fourth game in a row, against Albury-Wodonga.
After a back and forth first five minutes, Hobart began to slowly build its lead through Tad Dufelmeier (21 points) and Jack Purchase (20 points, 10 rebounds).
Led by the duo, the Chargers pulled in front by 15 points in the second term, and never let the Bandits within 11 points of tying the game.
It was a frustrating game for Albury-Wodonga, as it seemed no matter what the side did, Hobart were always ready to answer back quickly.
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (22 points) led the Bandits in scoring, while fellow starters Mitchell dance and Lochlan Hutchison combined for 38 points.

Dandenong Rangers 71 def by NW Tasmania Thunder 77

The NW Tasmania Thunder will remain locked into second place on the ladder following its win over the rangers in Dandenong.
The Thunder led for much of the game, but found itself having to fight off a spirited Dandenong side looking for its second win in as many nights.
Leaning on Sean Macdonald (20 points), Venky Jois (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Oliver Hayes-Brown (18 points, 14 rebounds), the Rangers continuously fought its way back from big deficits.
Trailing by 17 early in the third quarter, Dandenong reduced the Thunder lead to just three points in the final minute of the game.
Looking to avoid the upset, Michael Karena (25 points, 10 rebounds) stepped up to help seal the win for NW Tasmania.
Karena scored seven of his 25 points in the final term, including three clutch free-throws in the final 30 seconds of action.

Mt Gambier Pioneers 109 def Sandringham Sabres 91
The Mt Gambier Pioneers have out-gunned the Sandringham Sabres in an entertaining contest at The Ice House.
After a stalemate of a first quarter, Mt Gambier started to create some separation between itself and the Sabres, going on a 16-7 run to lead by as many as 10 points before the visitors hit back.
Having watched its lead fall back down to just two points, a pair of three-pointers from Tom Daly (23 points) and Tom Kubank (11 points) helped push the Pioneers back in front by eight points at the main break.
Fueled by the motivation to end its 10 game losing streak, the Sabres refused to go away, remaining within reach of the lead for much of the third term.
However, come the final 10 minutes, Sandringham looked to have run out of gas, while Mt Gambier remained fresh, outscoring the visitors 31-19 and securing the victory.
Daly was matched by his backcourt mate Nick Marshall (23 points) in the scoring department, while Titus Robinson (16 points, 14 rebounds) controlled the glass for the Pioneers. 
The win is Mt Gambier’s fourth in five games.