NBL1 South Round 17 Saturday Men’s Recap

Catch up with all the action from an exciting game in the NBL1 South Men's competition.

Albury-Wodonga Bandits 74 def by Bendigo Braves 79

The Bendigo Braves have pushed into the top-eight of the NBL1 South men’s ladder following it’s hard fought win over Albury-Wodonga on the road.
There was nothing separating the two sides going into the half-time break after each team’s star big-men put on a spectacular scoring display.
Bandits center John Crnogorac kept the Bendigo defense guessing, scoring inside and out (4-4 on three-pointers in the first half) on his way to 23 points, while Ray Turner looked to get his points the old fashion way, bullying his way inside for 19 points and seven rebounds after two quarters.
It looked as though the game would continue its back and forth trajectory coming out of the major break, as the lead ping-ponged between the two sides, before the Bandits closed the third term strongly.
Albury-Wodonga put together a 15-6 run to end the quarter, led in part by Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (10 points, 10 rebounds), who scored seven points in the quarter.
After extending its lead to 10 points in the opening seconds of the final quarter, the Bandits looked in good stead to send Bendigo home without a victory.
However, led by strong defence and steady play from Ray Turner (33 points, 12 rebounds) and Nelson Larkins (15 points, seven assists), who combined for 15 of the Braves’ 21 fourth quarter points, the visitors surged back into the lead with six minutes remaining and never looked back.
Bendigo held off all of Albury-Wodonga’s attempts to retake its advantage over the final few minutes to secure the important victory.
The loss is the Bandits’ third in a row.

Picture: Ian Knight Photography