NBL1 South Round 4 Saturday Men’s Recap

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

Sandringham Sabres 86 def by Diamond Valley Eagles 98
The Diamond Valley Eagles have gone on the road to hand the Sandringham Sabres its fourth consecutive loss.
The game started out with each side trading the lead, before Sandringham found itself able to pull ahead going into the quarter time break.
Strong play from Nicholas Gabsch (22 points) and Kuany Kuany (19 points) kept the Sabres in front for most of the second term, however Diamond Valley was able to lock in on defence, closing the gap and taking the lead heading into half time.
After the main break, the Eagles were able to remain in front for the remainder of the contest thanks in part to the one-two punch of Blancio Owili and Ngor Manyang,
Owili did his damage on the inside, attacking the Sabres’ bigs en-route to 29 points while Manyang stretched the floor with his three-point shooting (19 points, four three-pointers).

Geelong Supercats 66 def Nunawading Spectres 65
The Geelong Supercats have held off the Nunawading Spectres at home to remain unbeaten in the NBL1 South competition.
It was a back and forth game throughout, with neither team able to accumulate a significant lead, or hold onto the lead for a significant period.
Coming off a loss, the Spectres looked to its leaders for guidance.
Despite tough shooting evenings for both Dain Swetalla and Simon Conn, Nunawading remained in the game until the very end.
After a hard fought final term, the game would ultimately come down to a huge offensive rebound and a clutch free throw from Owen Odigie.
With only seconds remaining, Jack Macdonald drove inside for the Supercats in search of the winning basket, however when his attempt sailed over the rim, Odigie was right there for the putback attempt.
The bigman was fouled on the attempt, sank his first free-throw, before intentionally missing the second to allow time to expire and secure Geelong the win.

Ballarat Miners 77 def by Frankston Blues 89
The Frankston Blues have handed the Ballarat Miners its third consecutive loss after blowing out the home side in the fourth quarter on Saturday evening.
While the game was close across the first three quarters, it was the Miners who held the lead for the majority of the game.
Led by the slick passing of Sam Short and a strong all-around game from the interior duo of Jock Perry and Deng Acuoth, Ballarat had every reason to believe it could come away with the victory, despite trailing by four points heading into the final term.
Unfortunately for the Miners, this would not be the case, as Lachlan Barker and Dillon Stith secured the victory for the Blues.
Barker was lethal from behind the arch, connecting on eight of his 16 attempts, while Stith lit Ballarat up from all other the court on his way to 33 points and 14 rebounds.
Frankston outscored the Miners 23-15 in the final term to run away with the win.

Bendigo Braves 100 def Melbourne Tigers 62
The Bendigo Braves have put on a show in front of its home crowd, dominating the Melbourne Tigers en route to a 38-point victory.
Bendigo controlled the game from the start, never trailing the Tigers.
While the game remained somewhat close for much of the first half, once the Braves began to pull away, there was seemingly nothing Melbourne could do.
Tigers sharpshooter Felix von Hofe could not find his range, finishing the game with only nine points, while it seemed like just about everything was going in for Bendigo.
Six Braves players finished the contest with double digit scoring figures.
They were led once again by Ray Turner, who could not be stopped inside, tallying 23 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Dandenong Rangers 91 def by Mt Gambier Pioneers 97
The Mt Gambier Pioneers have denied the Dandening Rangers its first win of the NBL1 season, coming from behind to beat the home side.
Dandenong held a slim lead for much of the first half before pulling ahead by as many as 15 points in the third quarter.
Sean Macdonald stretched the floor effectively for Dandenong, connecting on six three-point attempts, while Oliver Hayes-Brown did a bit of everything to try and grab his side its first win of the year (17 points, 13 rebounds, five assists).
It would all come down to the final term, which saw Mt Gambier fire itself back into the contest.
Duom Dawam continued his strong season, leading the Pioneers with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Titus Robinson and Mich Marshall combined for 40 points to help chip away at the Rangers lead.
Dandenong couldn’t hold onto its lead in the end, falling in the final minutes of action, leading to the Pioneers win.

North West Tasmania Thunder 87 def Eltham Wildcats 69
The North West Tasmania Thunder have ensured the Eltham Wildcats will leave the state without a victory, running away with an 18-point victory at home.
It was a close contest for much of the first half, with Eltham holding the advantage for the majority of the first three quarters.
Adam Doyle continued his hot run of form, tallying 26 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists for the Wildcats.
However, the entire flow of the game shifted towards the end of the third term, as the Thunder got on a seemingly unstoppable roll while Eltham went ice cold.
Over the final 13 minutes of the game, NW Tasmania outscored the Wildcats 34-14 to secure the comfortable win.
Five Thunder players scored in double figures, with Joseph Chilcott leading the way with 18 points.

Albury Wodonga Bandits 69 def by Kilsyth Cobras 98
The Albury Wodonga Bandits remain without a win so far in the NBL1 season after falling to its fifth straight loss, this time at home against the Kilsyth Cobras.
The Bandits led early, opening up a 13-4 lead in the first quarter.
Albury Wodonga were able to keep up with the Cobras pace for much of the first half, however the second half was a completely different story.
The Bandits were outscored 31-56 across the final 20 minutes of action, as Kilsyth showcased its outside shooting skills.
The Cobras hit 16 three-pointers on the evening, with eight different players connecting from downtown.
Ringwood Hawks 92 def Knox Raiders 73
The Ringwood Hawks have gotten back to an even win-loss record after handling the visiting Knox Raiders at home.
Apart from some early lead changes across the first three minutes of action, Ringwood led for the entire contest.
The Hawks went into the first quarter break with a three point lead before expanding on it in the second period.
While the three-point shot was lacking for Ringwood, the side more than made up for it with an aggressive interior gameplan.
CJ Asuncion-Byrd led the way with 20 points, while Matthew Snow tallied a 13-point, 10 assist double-double off the bench to help the Hawks extend its lead to as many as 17 points.
Knox did its best in the second half to get back into the game, drawing as close as seven points, however it was too little, too late for the Raiders.
Simon Grant did his best for Knox, scoring 18 points to lead his side, however the team missed 23 of its 27 three-point attempts, which seemed to take the wind out of the Raiders’ sails.