NBL 2014/15 Round 13: Adelaide keep rolling with OT victory
Behind Australian Boomers stars Brock Motum and Adam Gibson, the Adelaide 36ers have once again knocked off a higher ranked team on their quest for an NBL playoff berth, defeating the Cairns Taipans 84-77 at the Cairns Convention Centre on Wednesday night.
The Sixers entered the most dangerous venue in the NBL this season with one simple goal; win. The visitors may have thought the game was won with just seconds remaining in regular time, before Scottie Wilbekin stepped up and knocked down a cool mid-range jump shot to force an extra period.
Cairns then took the momentum and looked poised to escape with a close victory. However, Adelaide never shied away, with the visitors pounding home the final ten points of the contest which included big triples from Peter Crawford (14 points, 3 steals) and Brendan Teys (11 points).
Brock Motum was everywhere with a game high 27 points on 8-11FG shooting, including hitting on all nine of his free throw attempts. A sure fire sign that he has settled into his new home and that he will be looking to make a statement in the New Year.
He was joined by his teammate and captain in Adam Gibson who became the facilitator of the night. Despite struggling from the field (2-10FG), Gibson layed out four points, five rebounds and 14 assists.
The big players kept coming for the Sixers, with birthday boy Luke Schenscher (16 points, 5 rebounds) and Mitch Creek (16 points, 8 rebounds) both playing a major part throughout the game. Creek however, went down with a dislocated shoulder late in the match and is set to see some time back on the sidelines.
For the Taipans, it was once again Torrey Craig who led the scoring against his favoured Sixers outfit. Craig finished with 16 points and eight rebounds including an awesome one handed jam.
The backcourt of Scottie Wilbekin and Cameron Gliddon struggled all night, with the pair shooting a combined 6-28. Gliddon, who had come off back to back excellent games found his way back to earth with a poor 1-8FG performance.
With both teams finding scoring hard to come by, defence then played a major part in the contest. With only one quarter finding the combined score tick over 40 points, rugged defence and protecting the paint became priority number one.
As the game was in the balance for the majority of the game, big plays down the stretch meant even more for both sides. With lead changes going back and forth in the final stanza, it was time for the superstars to step up.
That they did, as Brock Motum led the offensive load for the road side, while Scottie Wilbekin escaped his shooting slump for crunch time.
An extra five minutes was exactly what the doctor ordered for the neutral fan and that again didn't disappoint. The Taipans opening the account early before yet another lead change swung the game into the Sixers favour who never let up for forty....five minutes!
Cairns Taipans 77 (Craig 16, Wilbekin 14, Bruce 12)
Adealide 36ers 84 (Motum 27, Schenscher 16, Creek 16)
@ Cairns Convention Centre