NBL 2014/15 Round 2: Breakers secure victory over Sixers in home opener
New Zealand opened up their home account with a well earned victory as the Breakers scored a 101-80 win. While the scoreboard may have shown a large difference between the two sides, the game certainly didn’t pan out that way with the Sixers making major noise early on in the final quarter.
The combination of Corey Webster (23 points) in the opening half and Tai Wesley (15 points, 10 rebounds) to finish the job in the final five minutes, the Breakers ran away with their second straight W.
It was Adelaide who started the better, jumping out to an early 8-0 advantage off the back of some great defence from Luke Schenscher (10 points). From there the Breakers wanted to push the ball and chip away at the early deficit, as the home side managed to swing the momentum back in their favour later in the quarter thanks to back to back triples from Tom Abercrombie (11 points, 6 rebounds).
The Breakers managed to muster up their own 8-0 run towards the back end of the opening quarter, before a Jamar Wilson (15 points) bucket restored Adelaide’s composure to be only down nine at the first break.
Throughout the second stanza the game took on two major runs. Firstly, it was the visitors who looked to bounce back into the game and cut the lead back to four just moments into the term. Wilson was able to provide a major hand, scoring 11 points while handing out three assists in the opening half.
New Zealand burst out of a time out midway through the quarter on a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 13 towards the end of the half. Corey Webster was the man of the moment, providing plenty of offence for the Breakers with 17 points on 6-10 shooting including three triples in as many attempts. Ekene Ibekwe proved a menace on the glass, recording eight rebounds by half time, four of them offensive.
Cedric Jackson seemed to be off tune tonight, however still had enough class to fill a need for his team in any way he could. Two big three pointers during the third quarter swung all the advantage to the Breakers, getting fans jumping out of their seats watching their home team secure a 26 point lead with one quarter to play.
However, a 20-5 start to the fourth from Adelaide brought the visitors right back into contention and had Breakers coach Dean Vickerman in a slight panic. The Breakers inserted Wesley into the line-up and paid dividends straight away, steering the ship on both ends to lead the team to the finish line.
New Zealand 101 (Webster 23, Wesley 15, Jackson 15)
Adelaide 80 (Wilson 15, Creek 13, Montreal 13)
@ Vector Arena