East Wrap | Men's Round 15

Featured image: Eyal Shorer,@eshots__

The Illawarra Hawks won twice in the last round to secure the NBL1 East regular season championship while the Sutherland Sharks enter the finals the hottest team in the league having won seven straight and setting up a mouth watering first final with the Norths Bears.

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FRIDAY

Sutherland Sharks (104) defeated Penrith Panthers (55)

The Sutherland Sharks held the Penrith Panthers to two points for the entire second quarter as they made it eight straight wins to be the hottest team with the 104-55 home win.

The Sharks have now moved into the top four and were taking on a Penrith team guaranteed of a bottom two finish but still arriving at Sutherland Basketball Stadium having won their past two games as well.

Sutherland then opened up a 31-18 lead by quarter-time but then totally dominated the second frame with 29 points to two with the lone score of the Panthers coming in the final minute courtesy of Noah Webb with the visitors going 1/19 for the quarter.

Sutherland cruised to the 49-point win from there to make it wight wins in-a-row to consolidate their top four spot at 13-6 ahead of a mouth watering finish to the regular season against the top-of-the-table Norths Bears.

The Sharks collected 19 offensive rebounds to offset 17 turnovers on the way to the 49-point victory as they improve to 13-6 with Harrison Raynor delivering 16 points, six rebounds and two assists on 3/5 shooting from beyond the arc.

James Hunter added 13 points and eight rebounds on 6/6 shooting, Jason Spurgin 12 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals, Bailey MacArthur 11 points and three assists, Tyler Robertson nine points, seven assists and four boards, and Lochlan Hutchison seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

The Panthers couldn’t quite make it three straight wins to now be 3-16 with Noah Webb top scoring with 12 points and five rebounds while scoring those lone two points of the horror second quarter.

Brodie Schwarzer added 11 points on 3/6 shooting from the outside, Jett Hickson eight points, three rebounds and two assists, and Ben Kearins eight points.

SATURDAY

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (97) defeated Bankstown Bruins (94)

Alex Sidhu sealed the win late with a clutch shot for the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders to see them end their season on a winning note with the 97-94 win against the Bankstown Bruins.

Both teams came into the match up out of playoffs contention at The Brickpit with Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai playing their last game of the season and trying to avoid a third straight defeat.

The Bruins were also trying to avoid ending their season with three straight losses with their double this weekend and it was a tremendous contest all evening with no more than nine points ever separating the two teams.

The Spiders were leading 25-19 by the end of the first quarter before they were still leading by four points at half-time and then seven at three quarter-time.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai managed to lead by as much as seven again in the final term and still by five inside the final minute before a dunk for the Bruins from Ted Wolfe and a couple of buckets from Bismark Nsiah to make it a one-point ball game.

Sidhu responded with the biggest shot of the game to put Bankstown back up three and they held on for the win when Anthony Mundine III's three at the death wouldn’t fall.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai ends the season with a 7-13 record with Martez Brown putting up 26 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on 10/13 shooting from the field.

Jackson Smyth added 12 points, Daniel Titus 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two assists, and Alex Sidhu 10 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Bankstown are now 7-12 with a game to go on Sunday with Alex Higgins-Titsha putting up 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots with 4/9 shooting from the outside.

Deonte Williams also had 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, Ted Wolfe 14 points, four assists, three boards and three steals, Jesse Edwards nine points and three rebounds, and Bismark Nsiah nine points and six boards.

Illawarra Hawks (94) defeated Hills Hornets (80)

The Illawarra Hawks put themselves in prime position to finish in top spot for the second straight season with the 94-80 win over the Hills Hornets with another 31 points and 11 rebounds from Todd Blanchfield.

The Hawks entered the weekend locked in a battle with the Norths Bears over the regular season championship as they hosted a Hornets team in Wollongong who had slipped from playoff contention with last week's loss to the Penrith Panthers.

The Hornets did start well away from home with 21 points to 16 in the first quarter before the Hawks mirrored that score in the second term and scores were all level by half-time as a result at 37-37.

Illawarra then took control in the second quarter with 30 points to 19 and then that lead got out to 17 in the last term before they secured the 14-point victory to improve to a 15-4 record with a Sunday game to play.

Todd Blanchfield starred once more for the Hawks with 31 points, 11 rebounds and three steals with 4/12 shooting from the outside and 11/12 at the foul line.

Mohamed Kone added 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds with 5/6 shooting from the outside with Ethan Moss contributing 13 points, three steals and two assists, and Mason Peatling 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

The Hornets now have ended their season with an 8-12 record with Meekness Payne delivering 27 points and four rebounds with 5/8 shooting from the outside.

Saxon Orsini also had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Pafe Momoisea 10 points and five boards, Ned Carr nine points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals, Liam Moss nine points, three rebounds and two assists, and Ben Williams nine points and six boards.

Maitland Mustangs (80) defeated Newcastle Falcons (73)

The Newcastle Falcons came into the round in hot form to still be a chance to play finals should they keep winning but the Maitland Mustangs ended their prospects with the 80-73 victory.

Newcastle arrived at Mojo Homes Centre having won their last seven matches to storm back into playoff contention and one more win over the Mustangs and they could very well end up inside the top eight by season's end.

The Falcons then did start well opening up a nine-point lead and then still being on top 19-16 by quarter-time before again pushing out to an 11-point advantage in the second term and still leading 43-36 by half-time.

Maitland then fired back in the third quarter with 23 points to 15 and then completed a 15-0 scoring run into the fourth term which saw them build an 11-point lead of their own and end up winning by seven to end Newcastle's season.

The Mustangs end up at 12-8 in seventh position with Will Cranton-Lown putting up 27 points, six assists and five rebounds with 3/6 three-point shooting and going 8/9 at the foul line.

Reyne Smith also provided 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals with Myles Cherry adding 13 points, seven boards and three blocks and Isaac Testoni eight points and four rebounds.

Despite that late season seven-game winning streak, it wasn’t quite enough for the Falcons who finish ninth at 9-11 with Elias Cato top scoring with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Jude Jennings also had 12 points and two rebounds, Jaidyn Goodwin 12 points and three assists, and Trace Evans 10 points and nine rebounds.

Sutherland Sharks (63) defeated Norths Bears (62)

Not even the Norths Bears could stop the charging Sutherland Sharks who made it nine straight wins with Jason Spurgin hitting the late winner for the 63-62 victory that keeps the top spot battle alive on the last day.

It had all the makings of a finals preview match up at Sutherland Basketball Stadium with the Bears arriving still in top spot having won their past three matches while the Sharks are the hottest team in the NBL1 East.

Sutherland made it eight straight wins on Friday night beating the Penrith Panthers by 49 points and they maintained a chance to finish as high as third ahead of hosting Norths.

The Bears did need to win as well to avoid the risk of conceding top spot to the Illawarra Hawks, and it was a low-scoring and tense grind the entire way with no love lost between the two outfits.

Norths were narrowly leading 17-15 by the end of the first quarter and the Sharks then took charge in the second period scoring 19 points but holding the Bears to just seven points over the 10 minutes.

That saw Sutherland leading 34-24 by half-time and the Sharks were still leading 48-41 by the end of the third quarter but finally the Bears started to find their shooting touch and three balls to Fabijan Krslovic and Lachie Bofinger had them back within a point with three minutes to play.

Krslovic then hit another from downtown with just under two minutes on the clock only for Lochlan Hutchison to respond with two free throws and Matthew Wacher scored to return Norths to the lead inside the final minute.

The lone score from there came with 5.9 seconds to go and after running down the clock, Hutchison found Robertson on the baseline who found the rolling Jason Spurgin for the game winning layup.

The win is a ninth in-a-row now for Sutherland who will finish the regular season with a 14-6 record and move up into third position as a result ahead of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

The fact that both teams combined for just 125 points highlights what a physical defensive battle it was with Sutherland shooting 37 per cent to the 32 from the Bears but Norths did get up an extra 17 shot attempts with 11 offensive rebounds and forcing the Sharks into 19 turnovers.

The Bears went 6/14 from downtown in the second half to end up shooting 7/37 for the game while Sutherland went 1/16 but they did manage 20/24 at the free-throw line to 7/12 from Norths which was crucial in the eventual win.

Tyler Robertson delivered 25 points and three rebounds with 10/11 free-throw shooting in the win for the Sharks with his Sydney Kings NBL teammate Jason Spurgin adding nine points, nine boards, two assists and two blocked shots.

Lochlan Hutchison also had 10 points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists, and Luke Jamieson seven points, 18 boards, two assists and two steals.

Norths now finish the regular season with a 16-4 record and they will only remain in first place should the Illawarra Hawks lost to the Penrith Panthers to close the regular season on Sunday.

Fabijan Krslovic returned to the line-up for the Bears and delivered 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals with 3/6 shooting from the outside.

Matthew Wacher added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds, Iggy Mitchell 11 points, seven boards and two assists, Hunter Goodrick 10 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, and Lachie Bofinger seven points and six boards.

Inner West Bulls (73) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (106)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ensured they will enter the finals in winning form with the 106-73 win over the Inner West Bulls with another 26 points from Quinn Slazinski.

The Bulls were back home at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre to close their season and looking to avoid a fifth straight loss while the Sea Eagles were already safe in the top four no matter the result holding the season split over the Centre of Excellence.

Manly Warringah started strongly away from home with 27 points to 19 in the first quarter before another 29 to 16 in the second to go into half-time leading 56-35.

That lead continued to grow through the second half with the Sea Eagles leading by as much as 32 points in the third frame and 42 in the fourth on the way to the 33-point victory.

Manly Warringah end the season in fourth place at 14-6 with Quinn Slazinski producing another 26 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Emmanuel Tshimanga also had 14 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Isaiah Lee 13 points, seven boards and four assists, Stefan Valkovic 11 points on 3/4 three-point shooting, and Jamie Munro 11 points and six rebounds.

Inner West finish up at 8-12 with five straight defeats to close the season with Kobe Shannon top scoring with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals with 4/11 three-point shooting.

Louis Bleechmore also had 13 points, four rebounds and two assists, Acuel Deng 10 points and three boards, and Cooper Wilks nine points, six rebounds and two assists.

Albury Wodonga Bandits (82) lost to Central Coast Crusaders (105)

The Central Coast Crusaders confirmed their place in the playoffs for the first time in the NBL1 East by beating the Albury Wodonga Bandits 105-82.

It had been a rollercoaster ride of a season for the Crusaders and they had lost their last three games ahead of arriving at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre and needed to win to avoid the Newcastle Falcons replacing them in the top eight.

Central Coast did get off to a strong start for an early 12-point lead and still being up 22-17 by the end of the first quarter before clinging to a 45-41 advantage by half-time.

The Crusaders then pulled away further with 32 points to 22 in the third quarter and 28 to 19 in the fourth on the way to the 23-point victory to confirm their playoff position with a 10-10 record.

Garric Young produced a huge performance for Central Coast with 35 points, nine rebounds and two steals with 16/22 shooting from the floor and 3/5 at the foul line.

Matur Maker added 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals, Dylan Tea 13 points, Haidyn Gunderson 12 points, three rebounds and two steals, Jamal Shoaib 11 points, eight boards and two assists, and Luke Cassidy 10 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and five steals.

The Bandits end their season at 2-18 losing their last six matches despite 40 points, three assists and two rebounds from Christian Cook with 5/14 shooting from the outside and 16/35 overall.

Lochlan Cummings added 15 points, four rebounds and two assists, Marcus La Spina nine points and three boards, and Lochlin Harvey seven points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Canberra Gunners (88) defeated Sydney Comets (72)

The defending champion Canberra Gunners have not only steadied themselves ahead of another playoff run but also earned a home final with the 88-72 win over the Sydney Comets.

Coming off not only winning the NBL1 East championship last year but also winning the National Finals, Canberra started the season winning the first eight games but then lost eight of the next 10 before a steadying win last week away to the Albury Wodonga Bandits.

That saw them back at Southern Cross Stadium to close the regular season against the out of contention Comet but it was the visitors starting the better with 28 points to 19 in the first quarter and leading by as much as 12.

Canberra turned things around in the second frame with 26 points to 14 to go into half-time leading 45-42 before going on with it in the third with another 25 to 11.

That saw the Gunners end up leading by as much as 23 points before seeing off the fast finishing comets who did manage a 14-0 scoring run to win by 16.

The win sees Canberra finish in sixth position at 12-8 to earn a fascinating home final renewing their rivalry with the Maitland Mustangs with Will Mayfield delivering 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Cameron Pender added 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Will Rice 14 points and two boards with 4/7 shooting from the outside.

The season ends for the Comets at 8-12 in 10th place with Ahmed Barba-Bey finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and three steals with Akil Douglas adding 13 points and 10 boards, Ethan Marten-Coney 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, and Maxim Nesterov nine points with 3/6 shooting from the outside.

SUNDAY

Maitland Mustangs (87) lost to Bankstown Bruins (91)

It was the last day of the regular season and the equation was simple for the Maitland Mustangs – win and they would earn home court advantage to open the playoffs against their old foes the Canberra Gunners.

The Mustangs were back home at Mojo Homes Centre hosting the out of contention Bruins and fresh off beating the Newcastle Falcons the night before while the Bruins had lost a thriller to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

Maitland started well enough with 25 points to 18 in the first quarter having led by as much as 12 along the way before Bankstown fired up in the second frame with 38 to 22 to go into half-time on top 56-47.

The Mustangs hit back with a home final at stake and found themselves back in front by four points in the final term but the Bruins responded once more with six straight points to end up securing the four-point win to end their season on a high.

Bankstown end their season with an 8-12 record in 13th position with Jesse Edwards top scoring with 20 points on 6/10 shooting from the outside.

Bismark Nsiah added 19 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists, Ted Wolfe 13 points, four boards and four assists, and Alex Higgins-Titsha 10 points and seven rebounds.

Maitland will still play finals but now finish in seventh place at 12-8 to mean they have an away trip to the defending national champion Canberra next week to deal with.

Two-time MVP Will Cranston-Lown finished with 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Mustangs who were without the services of Reyne Smith.

Myles Cherry added 20 points, five assists and four rebounds, Billy Parsons 18 points, seven boards, three assists and two blocks, and Daniel Millburn nine points and two rebounds.

Illawarra Hawks (101) defeated Penrith Panthers (76)

The Illawarra Hawks had already locked away a top two position and closed the season with Matt Mims dropping 10 three-pointers for 30 points in the 101-76 Sunday victory over the Penrith Panthers by grabbing the regular season crown once again.

It was the last day of the regular season and it saw the Hawks playing host to the Panthers with Illawarra having already guaranteed a top two position by beating the Hills Hornets on Saturday night but a chance to finish first with another win.

Penrith were just trying to avoid another big loss after losing on Friday to the Sutherland Sharks by 49 points.

The Hawks stayed home in Wollongong and opened up a 10-point lead in the first quarter and were still on top 23-18 by quarter-time.

That lead got out to 20 points in the second frame from Illawarra and by half-time last year's Grand Finalists were leading 51-36.

Penrith were fighting hard to end their season on a positive note, though, and outscored Illawarra 25 points to 23 in the third quarter including going on a 9-0 scoring run.

The Hawks took back control with another 14-0 run in the fourth quarter and then ended up leading by as much as 28 points before settling on the 25-point victory.

The results sees Illawarra finish with a 16-4 record to end up in top spot for the second straight season after making the Grand Final last year after ending up with a 15-5 record.

A big reason for the standout shooting performance from the Hawks was what Matt Mims provided with all 30 of his points coming from the three-point line where he went 10/15 to go with six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Mohamed Kone also had 20 points and seven assists, Todd Blanchfield 15 points, seven boards, four blocks and three assists, Philip Dopud 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Mason Peatling eight points, eight boards and three assists.

The Panthers finish their season at 3-17 for the identical record they had in 2025 with Jett Hickson finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Simun Krpez also had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals, Angus Ole 10 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals, Jonah Pares 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, Jesse Weinstein eight points and three assists, and Brodie Schwarzer eight points, two rebounds and two assists.