NBL 2013/14: Round 14 Wrap
Round 14 in the NBL provided some great season highlights, including one to win the game! Find out below what happened this past weekend.
Young inspires Kings past Taipans
Behind the thunderous Sam Young, the Sydney Kings registered a crucial road victory over the Cairns Taipans Friday night, defeating the Snakes 92-88.
In what was a tale of two halves, Cairns had looked the goods in the opening half pulling out to 6 points and 8 point leads during the opening two breaks.
This was due to hot shooting on behalf of their guards Cam Gliddon (18 points, 2 steals) and Jamar Wilson (20 points, 7/9FG). Gliddon lighted up the Cairns Convention Centre throughout the first quarter, hitting every shot he put up which gave his team that extra bit of confidence heading into the first break.
Cairns didn’t stop there as they extended their lead to half time, off the back of some light work by Matt Burston (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) inside.
From there it seemed as if coach Shane Heal gave his players a spray at half time which seemed to click his team into gear as Sam Young (31 points, 2 blocks) exploded through the Snakes defence. Young was dominant inside, finding his way to the line at will notching up several And-1 opportunities.
He was helped by none other than A.J. Ogilvy (19 points, 10 rebounds) who was resilient on the boards and brought his team back in the game together with Young.
The 8 point lead the Taipans had been quickly erased and by the end of the third period the game was tied.
Cairns weren’t giving up that easily though, as out of form Alex Loughton, who had again been in foul trouble for the evening, hit a deep shot from the corner to put his team in the lead. However, big plays from Young and new star Cody Ellis (9 points, 3 triples) settled the contest late.
Sydney now looks to extend their winning ways against a strong Melbourne team when they head home to take on the Tigers. The Taipans also play again this weekend as they head south to face the Wollongong Hawks, a crucial match with both teams looking for a finals berth.
Redhage fires as ‘Cats rout Breakers
Perth has re-asserted themselves as the dominant team of the competition with a 25-point win over the previously in-form New Zealand at a packed out Perth Arena on Friday night.
Shawn Redhage broke out of a form slump to ignite the ‘Cats, starring with 24 points at an incredible 67% from the floor, in the 97-72 victory in front of over 13,000 fans.
Credit: Joel Armstrong | Wollongong Hawks
The Breakers failed to grab the lead at any stage throughout the entire match as the Wildcats ran riot and clinched a clean sweep of the season series against their recent rivals for the first time since 2007.
From the tip it was all Perth as the home side raced to a 28-15 lead at the first break behind a red-hot Redhage, with Jermaine Beal (19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) also proving a handful for the visitors.
James Ennis (15 points, 7 rebounds) threw down a massive dunk over Casey Frank to bring the crowd to its feet, even though he had a rare off night from the field as he shot at just 31% and failed to connect on any of his five three-point attempts.
However it mattered little as his teammates picked up the slack, with Jesse Wagstaff (13 points, 4 rebounds) continuing his impressive run of form off the bench, with the Wildcats extending the margin to 20 and effectively ending the match as a contest.
Gary Wilkinson (21 points, 6 rebounds) was battled hard for the visitors but didn’t receive the support he needed, with Kerron Johnson (12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Mika Vukona (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) the only other players in double figures.
The Breakers shot at just 23% from beyond the arc, while the home side shot at 43% in one of the biggest differences between the two sides.
The Wildcats will host Melbourne on Friday night in front of another big crowd, while the Breakers will try and rebound when they welcome Wollongong to their home gym on Thursday night.
Sixers control Crocs, behind Gibson’s big night
A phenomenal game from Sixers guard Adam Gibson has pushed his team past a resilient Townsville Crocodiles squad 92-79 on Saturday night.
Gibson notched 28 points and 5 assists which included a brilliant third quarter which blew his team away.
Behind Gibson, it was a tandem ‘one-two’ punch that provided Adelaide a much needed win as Mitch Creek was just as influential off the bench. Creek tallied 15 points and 5 rebounds including a spirited second quarter which saw the slim margin they led by at quarter time, jump out to double digits in a matter of a couple of minutes.
Daniel Johnson was the third wheel of the churning Adelaide vehicle on the night, who registered 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Everything seemed to be going the Sixers way before the half mainly thanks to a great shooting percentage and only two turnovers.
The Crocs weren’t going to slide further behind the competition without a fight, with Peter Crawford (15 points) and Brian Conklin (14 points, 5 rebounds) willing their side back to a respectable and attainable margin.
As the visitors found themselves down 19 midway through the third term, the pair above along with a return to form of Josh Pace (14 points, 5 rebounds) after his latest injury pushed their way back to 12 points at the final change and to just seven points during the beginning of the final quarter.
While the Sixers offence looked as if it was going to derail, Joey Wright steered his men home with another Gibson charge, plus the return of Gary Ervin (4 points, 8 assists) found his way to get his teammates involved late to seal the double digit win.
Adelaide, who have a strong hold on second place on the NBL ladder travel to Sydney to face the in-form Kings in a danger game. The Crocs on the other hand, bringing up the rear have a decisive home game against the Cairns Taipans in another Reptile Rumble.
Harvey leads Kings past Tigers
The Sydney Kings have capped an important week with another strong win against a top four contender, this time blowing away third placed Melbourne in a 97-84 win on Sunday afternoon.
The star of the show was James Harvey (21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 7-8 FG), who wound back the clock to propel the Kings to their third straight win in the final quarter.
The match was evenly poised throughout; with the Tigers reeling in their opponents on several occasions after the home side had built a lead.
The margin was no more than five points at any of the breaks before Harvey stole the show as the Tigers lost the plot and the Kings kicked away.
AJ Ogilvy (12 points, 9 rebounds in 22 minutes) was the catalyst early in the final term after the Tigers had closed to within three points, kicking the final 10 minutes off with a dunk and then scoring again to give the Kings some breathing space a couple of minutes later.
Enter Harvey, who drained a three on the next possession off an Ogilvy pass before nailing another after Chris Goulding was whistled for an offensive foul in between.
Despite Harvey’s brilliance, the Tigers refused to lie down and hung around for most of the final term before a Tom Greer foul was followed by a bench technical with 90 seconds on the clock and the margin at eight.
Tom Garlepp (16 points, 4 rebounds) obliged and made four straight foul shots and Harvey completed a three-point play on the ensuing possession to kill the contest.
Scott Morrison (25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 12-15 FG) kept the Tigers in it all afternoon but failed to get enough help from his teammates, with Goulding (10 points, 3-14 FG) particularly disappointing in the loss.
Sydney star Sam Young (7 points, 3-11 FG, 1-5 FT) also failed to fire in his dirtiest game since arriving in Australia, with Ben Madgen (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4-6 FG) chipping in to cover for the loss of scoring.
The Kings will look to continue their purple patch when they host second-placed Adelaide on Australia Day, while Melbourne will travel to Perth on Friday night before moving onto Wollongong on Sunday afternoon in a tough road double.
McCamey lifts Cairns at the buzzer over Hawks
A Demetri McCamey shot at the horn has seen the Cairns Taipans victorious in a thriller against Wollongong Sunday at the WIN Entertainment Centre, in which the visitors escaped with a crucial road victory 79-77.
In what was a story of two halves, Wollongong had the home crowd cheering loudly throughout the first half as the crept out and maintained an early lead at the first break.
Kevin Tiggs (27 points) lit up the opening half with 17 points, as the Hawks built on their lead with an opening 10-2 run in the second quarter thanks to the help of Rotnei Clarke (15 points) and Oscar Forman’s (10 points, 7 rebounds) long distance shooting.
As the Hawks held a massive 16 point lead at the half time interval, it all seemed to be too much for the visiting Taipans, who hadn’t shown any improvement throughout the game.
In what seemed to be an Aaron Fearne spark inside the locker room, the Snakes burst out of the gates after the team’s changed ends and their defence was stifling, allowing Wollongong just 10 points for the third quarter.
Behind Stephen Weigh’s (18 points, 5 rebounds) deep shooting and McCamey’s electric performance, the Taipans found their way back into the contest trailing by only eight at the final change.
The fourth was a matter of Wollongong scrambling to maintain their lead, as Cairns charged at them from nearly all angles. Weigh’s final triple for the game, followed by Jamar Wilson (16 points, 2 steals) and Alex Loughton’s (10 points, 8 rebounds) involvement late gave the Hawks nightmares as the margin became one point.
The final minute was couldn’t have been any better for NBL fans (minus Wollongong) both teams traded buckets that traded leads. Tiggs and McCamey put on a show with seconds remaining with a tough drive to the hoop by the Hawks guard with four seconds left.
McCamey was the bigger man though, executing the perfect full court play to pull up for a mid-range jumper which stole the game for the Snakes as time expired.
Cairns head to the Reptile Rumble next week looking to add another win to their charge to the playoffs, while the Hawks face a tough double header with a trip to New Zealand followed by a home game against the Tigers.
Round 14 Summary
Cairns Taipans 88 (Wilson 20, Gliddon 18, Burston 13) Sydney Kings 92 (Young 31, Ogilvy 19, Carmouche 11) Attendance: 3,916 @ Cairns Convention Centre
Perth Wildcats 97 (Redhage 24, Beal 19, Ennis 15) New Zealand Breakers 72 (Wilkinson 21, Johnson 12, Vukona 10) Attendance: 13,206 @ Perth Arena
Adelaide 36ers 92 (Gibson 28, Johnson 16, Creek 15) Townsville Crocodiles 79 (Crawford 15, Pace 14, Conklin 14) Attendance: 5,737 @ Adelaide Arena
Sydney Kings 97 (Harvey 21, Garlepp 16, Hill 13) Melbourne Tigers 84 (Morrison 25, Worthington 19, Tomlinson 11) Attendance: 4,492 @ Sydney Entertainment Centre
Wollongong Hawks 77 (Tiggs 27, Clarke 15, Forman 10) Cairns Taipans 79 (McCamey 20, Weigh 18, Wilson 16) Attendance: 2,025 @ Wollongong Entertainment Centre