East Wrap | Men's Round 14

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The Norths Bears had two big NBL1 East wins to now be clear in top spot while the Sutherland Sharks made it seven straight wins as did the Newcastle Falcons to wrap up the penultimate round of the regular season.

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | FALCONS SOAR BACK INTO PLAYOFF HUNT

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | SHARKS BEAT HAWKS TO STAY HOT

>> EAST SPOTLIGHT | BEARS GO TOP WITH WIN OVER SEA EAGLES

>> BOFINGER CREDITS BEARS FOR BREAKOUT SEASON

FRIDAY

Norths Bears (91) defeated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (74)

Hunter Goodrick set the tone early and Lachie Bofinger fired as the Norths Bears survived another 33 points from Quinn Slazinski to consolidate a top two spot with the 91-74 home win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

It was the first meeting between the two rivals since last year's quarter-final and a top two position went on the line at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre.

Even without the presence of Fabijan Krslovic, another NBL champion Goodrick helped the Bears to a dominant start with his 17 points in the first half helping the home team to a 21-point lead by half-time.

Manly Warringah did fire back including 13 points from Slazinski in the third quarter, but Norths responded once more to secure the 17-point win to at least for now improve to top spot at 15-3 while the Sea Eagles are 13-6.

The Bears go top with the win even without coach Tom Garlepp with Indiana Faithful stepping up with Hunter Goodrick having 17 points in the first half on his way to 19 for the night with eight rebounds and five assists.

Lachie Bofinger top scored for Norths with 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists with 3/4 three-point shooting with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk returning from Australian Boomers duties for 14 points and four assists with 4/10 shooting from downtown.

Iggy Mitchell also had eight points and six rebounds, Bailey Hanson eight points and three assists, and Michael Yoong eight points and two steals.

The Sea Eagles remain in third place with Quinn Slazinski a lone hand for much of the night finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots with 12/21 field goal shooting and going 7/8 at the foul line.

Stefan Valkovic also finished with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Emmanuel Tshimanga 10 points, eight boards and three assists, and Isaiah Lee nine points and nine assists.

Penrith Panthers (75) defeated Hills Hornets (72)

Both teams are out of the finals race but came into the match up in winning form and it was the Penrith Panthers coming from behind to beat the Hills Hornets 75-72 with a huge late three-pointer from Jett Hickson proving the difference.

The Panthers and Hornets arrived at Minto Indoor Sports Centre looking to continue their momentum to finish the season with Penrith fresh off beating the Albury Wodonga Bandits and Hills also having won their past two matches.

It was a blistering start from Penrith in their last home game of the season with 26 points to 11 in the first quarter but Hills responded with 22 to 14 in the second.

The Hornets then continued that momentum with another 26 points to 15 in the third quarter before the Panthers responded with an 8-0 run to get back in front in the last term and then seal the deal on the narrow win at the foul line after a clutch three-pointer from Jett Hickson.

The win improves Penrith to a 3-15 record with consecutive wins with Hickson ending up with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals with 3/6 shooting from the outside.

Simun Krpez added 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Jonah Pares 14 points, five boards and two steals, and Angus Ole nine points, nine rebounds and two steals.

The Hornets are now 7-11 following the loss and missing out on three in-a-row with Josh Pain top scoring with 17 points and three rebounds with Saxon Orsini adding 15 points, nine boards and four assists, and Meekness Payne 10 points and five rebounds.

Sydney Comets (94) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (89)

Providing plenty of other results go their way over the last two weeks, the Sydney Comets kept their finals prospects alive with the 94-89 home victory over the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders in overtime.

Sydney were at home at Comets Stadium needing to win their last three games of the season and then needing some help to be a chance to still play finals as they hosted the out of contention Spiders who had still won their past couple of games.

Hornby Ku-Ring-Gai did start well to be leading 20-17 by the end of the first quarter and then going into half-time on top 41-32. That lead for the Spiders got out to 13 points in the third quarter after a 12-0 run.

That was back to a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai's lead was back out to 13 points three minutes into the fourth quarter.

That had the gauntlet thrown down to the Comets but the home team went on a 17-3 run topped off by a three-pointer from Bailey Chambers to hit the front with just under three minutes to play.

The scores then continued to exchange hands the rest of the way before eventually it was Martez Brown tying scores back up in the dying seconds to bring the Spiders back level and get the game to overtime.

Then in the extra time, Sydney took control further with 11 points to six to win by five and keep their season alive at 8-10 with Akil Douglas finishing with 28 points and seven rebounds on 10/18 shooting from the field and 8/10 from the foul line.

Obi Kyei also had 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with 3/6 shooting from the outside, Ahmed Barba-Bey 18 points, six rebounds and four assists with 4/8 three-point shooting, and Bailey Chambers 10 points, nine assists, seven boards and six steals.

The Spiders are now 6-12 with the loss with Jackson Smyth ending up with 25 points and two rebounds with 4/10 shooting from the outside.

Martez Brown had a monster game made up of 20 points, 22 rebounds and four assists with Alex Sidhu adding 19 points and three boards with 4/5 shooting from downtown, and Daniel Titus 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

SATURDAY

Bankstown Bruins (69) lost to Hills Hornets (77)

The Hills Hornets hit back from their narrow loss the night before to make it three wins in the last four beating the Bankstown Bruins 77-69.

The Hornets were fresh off a three-point loss the night before on the road to the Penrith Panthers before backing up against the Bruins at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.

The home team was coming off beating Penrith last week as well and then started strongly with Bankstown on top 23-17 by quarter-time before Hills turned things around with 25 points to 13 in the second term to go into half-time leading 42-36.

The Hornets took further control with 20 points to 10 in the third frame and then despite an 8-0 run from the Bruins in the final term, Hills held firm for the eight-point victory.

The win improves the Hornets to an 8-11 record with Meekness Payne delivering 18 points and eight rebounds, Pafe Momoisea 15 points and three assists, Saxon Orsini 13 points and four rebounds, Ted Carr eight points, 10 boards and two blocks, and Liam Moss eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

Bankstown are now 7-11 following the loss with Anthony Mundine III finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds with Ted Wolfe adding 11 points and four boards, Deonte Williams nine points and four assists, Zeke Evans eight points and nine rebounds, and Elijah Kamu seven points, nine boards and five assists.

Sutherland Sharks (92) defeated Illawarra Hawks (88)

The Sutherland Sharks are still the hottest team with Jason Spurgin and Tyler Robertson standing tall late as they overran the Mason Peatling-less Illawarra Hawks for the 92-88 win.

The Sharks were back home at Sutherland Basketball Stadium on a six-game winning run taking on a Hawks team who came into the weekend in top spot but had slipped to second with a win on Friday for the Norths Bears.

Sutherland do need to keep winning if they want to end up in the top four and while they found themselves down by four with a few minutes to go, Robertson and Spurgin then scored their next 10 points to help them on the path to the four-point victory.

The win is a seventh in-a-row for the Sharks who improve to 12-6 on the season while the Hawks are now 14-4 with both teams having a double to finish the regular season with next weekend.

Sydney Kings NBL big man Jason Spurgin produced 25 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals including 3/4 shooting from the outside.

Luke Jamieson had 10 points in the first quarter on his way to 24 in the game with nine rebounds and two steals while Tyler Robertson contributed 16 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, Harrison Raynor 16 points, five boards and three assists, and Lochlan Hutchison five points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Hawks won't be too perturbed and will be confident of turning the tables with Mason Peatling back in the line-up with Todd Blanchfield delivering another 28 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals with 5/11 three-point shooting.

Matt Mims had a hot start with 14 points in the first quarter on his way to 27 for the game with two assists with 5/8 shooting from the outside.

Mohamed Kone added 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists, and Ethan Moss nine points, six boards and three assists.

Central Coast Crusaders (81) lost to Newcastle Falcons (82)

It was two clutch free throws that kept the Newcastle Falcons alive in the race for eighth spot as they scored the 82-81 win on the road to the team the are trying to replace, the Central Coast Crusaders.

It was a massive game in the context of the season for both teams in the race for eighth position with the Crusaders coming into the round eighth at 9-9 while the Falcons were just behind at 7-10 and on a five-game winning streak.

That had the stakes significant for their penultimate round match up with Central Coast starting well with 21 points to 16 in the first quarter before Newcastle responded with 29 to 22 in the second to be leading 45-43 by half-time.

Newcastle were able to open up a seven-point lead with six minutes to play before the Crusaders responded and found themselves back in front courtesy of a three-point play from Luke Cassidy with two minutes on the clock.

The Falcons responded with a triple from Ryan Beisty before Aaron Redhead made two free throws for Central Coast before Elias Cato responded with the same for Newcastle that won the game for them by a point.

The result is a sixth straight win for the Falcons to further close in on eighth spot at 8-10 with Cha'Vez Woods producing 17 points with 6/12 field goal shooting and going 3/7 from beyond the arc.

Trace Evans added 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, Mandrell Worthy 13 points, three steals and two boards, Elias Cato 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, Jaidyn Goodwin 10 points, two assists and two steals, and Ryan Beisty 14 rebounds to go with three points, two assists and two steals.

The Crusaders have now lost their past three to be 9-10 with Haidyn Gunderson top scoring with 19 points and two assists with Garric Young adding 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals, and Dylan Tea 14 points, two boards and two steals.

Aaron Redhead also had 10 points and two rebounds, Matur Maker eight points, 14 boards and five assists, and Luke Cassidy eight points, six assists and four rebounds.

Albury Wodonga Bandits (78) lost to Canberra Gunners (92)

The defending champion Canberra Gunners confirmed their place in the finals despite their round second half of the season with the 92-78 road win over the Albury Wodonga Bandits with 23 points and 12 rebounds from Will Mayfield.

The Gunners arrived at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre on a five-game winning steak but still inside the top eight and needing just one more win to lock away a chance to defend their championship.

Canberra opened up a 24-21 advantage by quarter-time before another 29 points to 18 in the second frame to go into the half-time interval leading 53-39.

The Gunners maintained that advantage through the second half leading by as much as 21 points and then winning by 14 in the finish to lock in their playoff place at 11-8.

Will Mayfield delivered 23 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the win for Canberra with 4/7 shooting from the outside.

Cameron Pender also had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, Will Rice 19 points and four boards, Angus Byatt eight points and eight rebounds, and Evan Wardlow eight points, three assists and two steals.

Albury Wodonga have now lost their last five to stay in bottom spot at 2-17 with Christian Cook putting up 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Kevion Blaylock also had 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Sam Webb 12 points, six boards, two assists and two blocks, Lochlin Harvey nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Lochlan Cummings five points, five rebounds and four assists.

Sydney Comets (88) lost to Maitland Mustangs (110)

The Maitland Mustangs took another step towards locking in a home final with the 110-88 road victory against the Sydney Comets with Reyne Smith hitting another six three-pointers for 25 points.

The Comets kept themselves a chance at a finals position with the Friday night win over the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders while the Mustangs were solid inside the top eight even with a loss last week to the Hills Hornets.

Sydney started well at Comets Stadium to be leading 27-23 by the end of the first quarter before Maitland managed 21 to 13 in the second frame to be leading 44-40 by half-time.

It was then a monstrous third quarter from the Mustangs with 37 points to 18 to end up leading by as much as 30 on the way to the 22-point victory to guarantee a finals place at 11-7.

Reyne Smith knocked down 6/14 from the outside for Maitland for 25 points with four steals, three rebounds and two assists.

Will Cranston-Lown added 20 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals, Billy Parsons 15 points, six boards and three steals, Matthew Gray 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks, Myles Cherry eight points and four boards, and Ben Matthews seven points, five rebounds and five assists.

The loss could be a fatal blow to the finals prospects of the Comets who are now 8-11 with Akil Douglas putting up 24 points and three rebounds with Ahmed Barba-Bey adding 23 points, three assists and two boards.

Obi Kyei also had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Bailey Chambers eight points and three boards.

Inner West Bulls (72) lost to Norths Bears (114)

The Norths Bears backed up their crucial win the night before to move to top spot to remain there with the 114-72 hammering of the Norths Bears with nine players scoring eight or more points.

The Bears were fresh off beating the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles the night before to return to top spot as the Bulls were back home at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre still a chance to play finals despite losing their past three matches.

Norths kept their momentum going from the previous night with 28 points to 18 in the first quarter and then another 29 to 18 in the second term saw them leading 57-36 by half-time.

The Bears weren’t in any mood to let up and had another 26 points to 18 in the third period, and 31 to 18 in the fourth to end up winning by 42 to retain top spot at 16-3 with three straight wins.

NBL championship winner Hunter Goodrick produced 21 points and eight rebounds for Norths with Bailey Hanson adding 14 points, six assists, three boards and two steals, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 12 points and three rebounds.

Lewis Holey added 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists, Lachie Bofinger 11 points and six boards, Ben Gill nine points on 4/5 shooting, Iggy Mitchell nine points, 12 rebounds and two assists, and Matthew Wacher eight points and two assists.

The Bulls remain outside a playoff position at 8-11 with four losses in-a-row with Kobe Shannon finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Josh Morgan also had 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Cooper Wilks 11 points and two boards, Josh Kordahi eight points and three assists, and Kwabena Brefo eight points and three rebounds.

SUNDAY

Newcastle Falcons (76) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (72)

Seven games ago and the Newcastle Falcons' season looked dead and buried, suddenly they have won seven in-a-row and one more in the final game could get them to the playoffs after Sunday's 76-72 win over the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The Falcons lost 10 of the first 12 games of the season to look closer to contending for the wooden spoon than a playoffs spot, but that has now dramatically changed with them entering the penultimate round on a five-game winning streak.

They then beat the Central Coast Crusaders who are in eighth place by a point in stunning fashion on Saturday night before backing up on Sunday at Newcastle Basketball Stadium against the out of contention Spiders.

Newcastle then managed to end up securing the four-point victory to make it seven in-a-row to now improve to a 9-10 record to be equal with the Crusaders and it all coming down to the last round.

Central Coast plays the bottom placed Albury Wodonga Bandits and the Falcons face the locked in Maitland Mustangs.

It's a seventh straight win now for Newcastle on the back of beating the Central Coast Crusaders the night before as they chase down a finals spot with Cha'Vez Woods putting up 17 points and three steals with 3/5 shooting from the outside.

Elias Cato added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, Trace Evans 14 points, five boards and five assists, and Ryan Beisty seven points, 12 rebounds, five steals and two assists including a crucial late offensive board on a missed shot from Cato that helped secure the win.

With the pair of losses this weekend only by a combined nine points, the Spiders are now 6-13 for the season with Daniel Titus finishing with 18 points and five rebounds.

Jackson Smyth added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds, Brian Ansuh-Yeboah 11 points and two assists with 3/4 shooting from the outside, and Martez Brown nine points, 14 rebounds and three assists.