East Spotlight | Hornets beat Crusaders with big finish

Featured image: @Damianclarkshoots

The Hills Hornets had to come from behind but with Shaun Stewart and Ned Carr leading the way, they put up 27 points in the last quarter to beat the Central Coast Crusaders 80-68 in NBL1 East on Anzac Day.

The Hornets hosted the Crusaders at Hills Basketball Stadium with both teams trying to build some momentum into their seasons and it proved a tight battle most of the way.

Hills were leading by five at quarter-time before Central Coast held them to seven points in the second term to go into half-time up two, and still leading by that margin at three quarter-time.

The Hornets then took control in the final period with 27 points to 13 to win by 12 and improve to a 3-2 record with the Crusaders now 3-3 after the loss.

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | BRUINS WITH TOO MANY WEAPONS FOR COMETS

>> EAST WRAP | MEN'S ROUND 3

The Hornets only got to the foul line four times in the entire game while the Crusaders went 13/18 at the stripe, but Hills managed 17 extra field goals and thot it slightly better while also took better care of the ball with just seven turnovers to the 16 from Central Coast.

Ned Carr put in a strong showing in the win starting with 11 points in the first quarter on the way to 20 for the game for the Hornets with 10 rebounds in almost 26 minutes.

Point guard Shaun Stewart did a standout job running the team for 17 points, seven assists and four steals with Meekness Payne adding 15 points, Liam Moss 10 points, two steals and two blocks, and Gum Majak six points and eight rebounds.

The Crusaders are now 3-3 on the season following the Anzac Day defeat with Matur Maker settling in and delivering 19 points and 14 rebounds with 7/13 shooting from the field and 5/5 at the free-throw line.

Aaron Redhead added 15 points, 14 rebounds and three assists, Jamal Shoaib 13 points, two boards and two assists, and Luke Cassidy nine points, five assists and three rebounds.

Both teams are still trying to find their feet early this season so the Anzac Day clash presented a chance for them to do that and by the end of the first quarter it was the Hornets with the 23-18 advantage.

That was with Ned Carr scoring 11 of those 23 points while they shot 53 per cent from the field to just the 35 from the Crusaders.

It remained a tight affair through the second period and the scoring really dried up especially for the Hornets who managed just the seven points.

The Crusaders only managed 14 themselves but that was enough for them to head into the half-time with the slender 32-30 advantage.

Things picked up offensively for both teams in the third quarter with them scoring 23 points apiece and that meant Central Coast were still up two going into the fourth frame.

That's when the Hornets took control by completing a run of scoring 15 straight points to open up a 14-point lead and then to score the 12-point win to improve to 3-2 on the season in the process.

The Crusaders back up to play the Inner West Bulls at home now on Sunday while the Hornets will host the Norths Bears next Saturday.

NBL1 EAST 2026 SEASON | ANZAC ROUND

HILLS HORNETS 80 (Carr 20, Stewart 17, Payne 15)

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 68 (Maker 19, Redhead 15, Shoaib 13)