North Wrap | Men's Round 10

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Kobe McDowell-White had two standout performances as Cairns Marlins improved to 11-0 in the NBL1 North with Flynn Cameron delivering 71 points in two more South West Metro Pirates victories, and Tamuri Wigness had 35 for Southern Districts Spartans, and Preston Le Gassick 33 for Gold Coast Rollers.

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FRIDAY

Townsville Heat (86) lost to Cairns Marlins (96)

Kobe McDowell-White had a huge night with 28 points and five triples but it still took a big fourth quarter for the Cairns Marlins to stay perfect this season with the 96-86 road win over the Townsville Heat.

Townsville were back home and not only needing a win to revive their own season, but attempting to hand Cairns a first loss of 2026 and they did start on fire with 33 points to 23 in the opening quarter.

The Heat were still leading by four at half-time on 22 points and 10 rebounds from Nathaniel Pollard Jr before scores were level by three quarter-time, and then the Marlins delivered 24 points to 14 in the final period to secure the 10-point win and improve to 10-0 as a result.

After seeing their women suffer a first loss of the season earlier in the night, Cairns proved too strong with that big last quarter with Kobe McDowell-White delivering 28 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals with 5/9 shooting from beyond the arc.

Kody Stattmann had another strong showing with 23 points, six rebounds and two assists with 7/13 shooting from the floor and 7/8 at the charity stripe.

Amarco Doyle also had 15 points and four rebounds, Luca Yates 14 points, 10 boards, five assists, four steals and two blocks with Ky Stattmann contributing nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

Townsville couldn’t quite complete the job on what would have been a season reviving win with Nathaniel Pollard Jr starting on fire and ending up with 32 points, 17 rebounds, four steals, three blocks and two assists with 15/23 field goal shooting even while going 1/7 at the foul line.

Ethan Betts also ended up with 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds with 4/7 three-point shooting while Richard Peachey delivered 14 points, four boards, four assists and four steals, and Steven Richardson Jr eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

SATURDAY

Logan Thunder (101) lost to South West Metro Pirates (103)

Logan Thunder were in control most of the way but Flynn Cameron had 42 points to keep the South West Metro Pirates close and then Darryl McDowell-White inspired his team to score the last 13 points to snatch the 103-101 win.

The Pirates have been rejuvenated with the arrival of Cameron with the Adelaide 36ers NBL star leading them to their first two wins of the season as they took on Logan at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre.

The Thunder then did hold sway for most of the evening with a four-point lead by quarter-time with that growing to 11 by half-time and they were still up by 11 with 2:45 left in the game and appeared heading for an eighth win of the season.

But the Pirates had other ideas and went on a stunning 13-0 run the rest of the game highlighted by a steal from McDowell-White on Bruce that led to the game winning bucket with 6.5 seconds to go.

The horror finish from Bruce then continued when he struggled to get in the inbounds pass and it went off the foot of the defender, and then when he collected the loose ball, his rushed shot was never a chance.

South West Metro completed the remarkable finish for the two-point win to make it three straight with Cameron in the line-up to improve to a 3-8 record while Logan are now 7-3 with the frustrating home defeat.

Cameron had another brilliant performance for South West Metro with 42 points, nine rebounds and six assists with 6/15 three-point shooting and going 12/12 at the foul line on the back of his breakout NBL season at the Adelaide 36ers.

But playing-coach Darryl McDowell-White was the inspiration to the win and ended up with 28 points, six steals, five assists and two rebounds with 5/12 three-point shooting.

Harrison Huber also had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists for the Pirates, and Deng Mayot nine points and eight boards.

Given they led most of the way including by double figures inside the last three minutes, it will be a tough loss for Logan to stomach and even through Bruce had 25 points, 15 assists, four rebounds and three steals, he'll be kicking himself over that finish too.

Zac Triplett also had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, Cal Dalton 18 points, 15 boards and two blocked shots, Tyrone Fui 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and Hunter Marks 15 points and seven rebounds with 11/16 free-throw shooting.

Sunshine Coast Phoenix (103) defeated Brisbane Capitals (70)

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix bounced back from a last up loss with the 103-70 win over the Brisbane Capitals with a strong all-round team performance led by another 20 points and 15 rebounds from Luke Anderson.

The Phoenix were back home at Maroochydore Stadium trying to rebound from a loss to Flynn Cameron and the South West Metro Pirates while the Caps arrived trying to avoid a third straight defeat.

It was a flying start from Sunshine Coast with 31 points to 17 before the home team went into the half-time break leading 49-33.

It was another 28 points to 17 in the third quarter in favour of the Phoenix with another 26 to 20 in the last term with them on the way to the 33-point victory to improve to an 8-3 record.

DeShawn Ross-Paiwan delivered 22 points, three rebounds and three assists with 3/5 three-point shooting while Luke Anderson put up 20 points, 15 boards and two assists.

Earnest Ross also had 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, Liam Switzer 14 points and six boards, Darnell Robateau 12 points, eight rebound, three assists, two steals and two blocks, and Erik Kafritsas eight points and five assists.

Brisbane have now lost three in-a-row to be 6-6 on the season with Jarred Bairstow finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists with Geordan Papacostas adding 11 points, eight boards and three assists, Kai Bloom 10 points and four rebounds, and Chuatwech Reath nine points and five boards.

Southern Districts Spartans (102) defeated Ipswich Force (79)

Tamuri Wigness put up 35 points to revive life back into the championship defence of the Southern Districts Spartans with the 102-79 win at home to the Ipswich Force.

The Spartans were back home at Rowland Cowan Stadium having lost their past two games to be outside a playoff position with Ipswich arriving on a four-game winning run.

Southern Districts couldn’t afford to drop another game as defending champions and they started well with 27 points to 18 in the first quarter but Ipswich hit back with 23 to 17 in the second term which meant the Spartans only led 44-41 by half-time.

The Spartans then took control in the second half with 31 points to 18 in the third quarter and 27 to 20 in the fourth, and they went on to score the 23-point win to stay in finals contention at 6-7.

Wigness had a big night by producing 35 points, seven rebounds and four assists with 11/19 field goal shooting while going 10/11 at the free-throw line.

Troy Baxter Jr also had 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, Isaih Tueta 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Kurt Siwek eight points and two blocked shots.

Ipswich's winning run comes to an end with them now 6-5 with Merrick Small producing 19 points and nine rebounds with Lachlan Anderson adding 17 points and six boards, and Lamar Patterson 15 points and seven assists.

Mackay Meteors (91) lost to Cairns Marlins (111)

The Cairns Marlins made it a double win weekend on the road to remain undefeated with Kody Stattmann going for 31 points and Kobe McDowell-White having 17 points and 15 assists as they beat the Mackay Meteors 111-91.

The Marlins started their road double beating the Townsville Heat on Friday ahead of taking on the Meteors at Mackay Basketball Stadium who were clinging to sixth position.

Cairns got out to nine-point lead in the first term and were clinging to the 25-24 advantage by quarter-time before the Marlins took over with 27 points to 16 in the second term to be on top 52-40 by half-time.

It was then a monster 37 points to 25 in the third quarter in favour of the Marlins before they went on to score the 20-point victory to improve to the perfect 11-0 record.

Kody Stattmann continued his MVP contending form with another 31 points, seven rebounds and two assists while Kobe McDowell-White was outstanding with 17 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds.

Luca Yates added 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists, and Ky Stattmann 15 points and two boards.

Mackay are now 6-5 following the loss at home with Jalen Johnson top scoring with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots with Cameron Goldfinch adding 13 points and seven boards with 3/4 three-point shooting.

Khobie De Haan also had 13 points with 5/7 shooting with Maurice Calloo adding 12 points and four rebounds, Derek Emelifeonwu 12 points, eight assists and four boards, and Jerron Jamerson 10 points and two assists.

SUNDAY

North Gold Coast Seahawks (98) lost to South West Metro Pirates (102)

The South West Metro Pirates stormed home to keep on winning with Flynn Cameron in the line-up as they beat the North Gold Coast Seahawks 102-98.

The Pirates scored the last 13 points in a scintillating finish on Saturday night to beat Logan Thunder ahead of arriving at Runaway Bay Indoor Stadium to take on a Seahawks team coming off a win against the Townsville Heat.

South West Metro then had a scorching start on the back of that momentum from the night before and went on a 14-0 run in the first quarter to be leading by 13, and being up 32-21 by quarter-time.

That lead got out to 19 points in the second quarter and by half-time the Pirates were on top 62-48, but then the Seahawks fired back with 29 points to 14 in the third period to hit the front and set up a big finish.

South West Metro hit back in the final period with 26 points to 21 on the way to the four-point win to make it four in-a-row to improve to a 4-8 record.

Cameron starred once more in another win for the Pirates with 29 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals while Dominique Keyes delivered 26 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals on 3/4 three-point shooting.

Darryl McDowell-White had another 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, Harrison Huber 10 points and four assists, and Tyrell Mason eight points and four rebounds.

North Gold Coast are now 2-9 with the home loss with Sean Murphy delivering 20 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists with 10/14 free-throw shooting.

Zahn Agosta added 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, Isaiah Oste-Pinder 15 points, six boards and two assists, Jasraj Gill 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, Charlie Winks 10 points, and Conor O'Sullivan six points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Northside Wizards (90) lost to Gold Coast Rollers (118)

Preston Le Gassick and James Whitt combined for another 63 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds as the Gold Coast Rollers put on another impressive offensive display to beat the Northside Wizards 118-90.

The Wizards were back home at Northside Indoor Sports Centre trying to stay in finals contention as they played host to a Rollers team in second place and fresh off a 136-point outburst last week against the defending champion Southern Districts Spartans.

Then after scores were tied by quarter-time, Gold Coast took control outscoring Northside 94 points to 66 over the final three quarters for the eventual 28-point victory as they improve to 9-2 on the season to retain their top two position in the NBL1 North by the end of Round 10.

It was yet another impressive offensive showing from Gold Coast with the 118 points on the back of shooting 58 per cent from the field with 13/28 from three-point territory and 15/20 at the foul line with 28 assists to 10 turnovers.

Gold Coast are now 9-2 as a result of the win with Preston Le Gassick outstanding once more ahead of his first NBL season with the New Zealand Breakers. He finished with 33 points, eight assists and five rebounds with 6/12 three-point shooting.

James Whitt had 18 points in the third quarter on his way to 30 for the game with eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals on 15/21 field goal shooting.

Jensen Bradtke added 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists, Brodie McGregor 12 points, four boards and two assists, Ashley McGrath 10 points, and Boston Mazlin 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Northside are now facing an uphill battle to stay in the finals mix at 3-8 with Quintin Dove having 15 first-quarter points on his way to 29 for the game with seven rebounds and two assists.

Tyler Williams added 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Durrell McDonald 11 points and three assists, Jed Richardson nine points and 13 rebounds, and Mitch Standon eight points and two boards.