North Wrap | Men's Round 5

The Gold Coast Rollers had two big NBL1 North wins while Ethan Betts had a huge last five minutes for Townsville Heat on Saturday, Jalen Graham delivered first win for Rockhampton Rockets, and Lamar Patterson delivered for Ipswich Force.

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FRIDAY

Logan Thunder (96) lost to Gold Coast Rollers (104)

The Gold Coast Rollers hit back from a 12-point deficit to outscore Logan Thunder 55 points to 41 in the second half for their fourth straight win and hand their opponents a first defeat with the 104-96 victory.

Both teams came into the match up at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre in impressive form with the Thunder having won their first four matches of 2026 with Gold Coast having won three straight since an opening round loss to Logan.

Logan looked on track to make it a fifth consecutive win to open the season when leading by 12 points in the second quarter but Gold Coast hit back to cut the deficit to six at half-time.

The Rollers then had 26 points to 13 in the third quarter and then went on a 9-0 run in the fourth to secure the eight-point win to make it four in-a-row to be 4-1 while Logan now sit on the same record after a first loss.

It was a terrific performance from Gold Coast to make it four straight and hand Logan a first defeat with James Whitt shining once more with another 27 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists on 11/19 field goal shooting.

Preston Le Gassick was a standout once more showing why he earned an NBL opportunity at the New Zealand Breakers with 24 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Brodie McGregor also stepped up to provide 20 points and nine rebounds on 9/15 shooting for the Rollers with Boston Mazlin adding 15 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals, and Jensen Bradtke 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

Logan suffered its first loss of the season despite a big night from Cal Dalton who delivered 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 10/17 shooting from the field.

Shaun Bruce might not have had an assist in the first quarter but still had another nine for the game to go with 19 points, four rebounds and two blocks with Zac Triplett adding 18 points, nine assists and six boards, and Hunter Marks 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Sunshine Coast Phoenix (86) defeated Townsville Heat (75)

The Sunshine Coast Phoenix snapped a two-game losing run with six players scoring six players or more on the way to the 86-75 home win against the Townsville Heat.

Sunshine Coast were back home at Maroochydore Stadium having lost their past two games while Townsville started their road double having won just one of three so far.

The Phoenix made the flying start with opening up a 10-point lead in the first quarter before leading 20-17 by quarter-time but it was still just a two-point advantage their way by half-time.

Townsville then even hit the front in the third quarter and Sunshine Coast was only up by one at three quarter-time.

But then the Phoenix took over in the last term with 23 points to 13 to win by 11 and improve to 3-2 as a result with Townsville now 1-3.

Jamaal Robateau finished with 17 points, six rebounds and two steals for Sunshine Coast with Nelson Kahler delivering 16 points, 19 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and Luke Anderson 15 points and six boards.

DeShawn Ross-Paiwan also had 13 points and seven rebounds, Erik Kafritsas 11 points, seven boards, six assists and three steals, and Darnell Robateau nine points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Steven Richardson Jr top scored in the loss for the Heat with 22 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks with Ethan Betts adding 16 points, four boards and two steals.

Richard Peachey added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists, Max Norton 11 points and six boards, and Josh Corcoran 10 points and two rebounds.

SATURDAY

Ipswich Force (97) defeated Brisbane Capitals (85)

Lamar Patterson showed he still has plenty to offer as he works back to full health with 26 points to lead the Ipswich Force to the 97-85 home win against the Brisbane Capitals.

Patterson's NBL26 season ended prematurely with a serious hamstring injury with the Brisbane Bullets, but he has now worked his way back to health and was ready to fire on Saturday night against the Caps at Ipswich Basketball Stadium.

Ipswich were trying to snap a three-game losing run with the Caps arriving having won four of six matches so far and it was Brisbane with the narrow 27-26 lead by the end of one.

The Force then fired up in the second quarter and went on a 14-0 scoring run on the way to outscoring the Capitals 27 points to 16 to head into the half-time break leading 53-43.

Ipswich then managed to open up a 23-point lead by early in the fourth quarter before the Caps did make a charge and went on a 13-0 run but it was too much to overcome with the Force winning by 12.

Patterson finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win for the Force with Jason Ralph adding 18 points, five assists and three boards, and Will Mahoney 16 points, five assists and four steals.

Merrick Small also had 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks, Lachlan Anderson 11 points, four assists and three boards, and Kane Bishop eight points and three rebounds.

The Caps are now 4-3 following the loss with Jarred Bairstow ending up with another 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Kai Bloom also had 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, Chuatwech Reath 12 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, Ben Volkman nine points, 15 rebounds and two assists, and Kai Woodfall seven points, four assists and three boards.

Gold Coast Rollers (114) defeated South West Metro Pirates (96)

Jamies Whitt, Jensen Bradtke and Preston Le Gassick all scored 23 points each for the Gold Coast Rollers to make it a perfect weekend double with the 114-96 win over the South West Metro Pirates.

Gold Coast were back home at Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium having handed Logan Thunder their first loss of the season the previous night with the Pirates coming into the clash still hunting a first win of 2026.

The Rollers were just clinging to the two-point lead by the end of the first quarter before they did open up a 31-point edge in the second term only for South West Metro to stay in touch and close the deficit to six at half-time.

Gold Coast continued to build on their advantage, though, with it getting out to 18 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth before securing the 18-point victory to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Le Gassick delivered another 23 points, 11 assists, three steals and two rebounds for the Rollers with 5/12 three-point shooting while Bradtke provided 23 points, eight boards and four assists, and Whitt 23 points, nine steals, three assists and two rebounds.

Boston Mazlin also had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Brodie McGregor 13 points and five boards.

South West Metro are now 0-5 following the loss with Oliver Amajoyi finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists with Brandon Edwards adding 21 points, seven boards and seven assists on 9/13 field goal shooting.

Dominique Keyes added 16 points and 12 rebounds, Louis Jones 12 points, two rebounds and two steals, Tyrell Mason nine points and four assists, and Harrison Huber eight points and seven assists.

Northside Wizards (96) lost to Townsville Heat (99)

Ethan Betts hit five three-pointers and scored 17 points in the just over the last five minutes to help the Townsville Heat fire back from a five-point deficit to secure the 99-96 victory to split their road double weekend.

Townsville started their weekend with a loss on Friday night to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix while the Wizards were home at Northside Indoor Sports Centre trying to back up their first win of 2026.

It was a swinging first quarter with the Heat starting strongly with an early seven-point lead before Northside hit back with 10 straight points to be leading 27-21 by quarter-time.

The Heat then put up 31 to 26 in the second frame and by half-time it was the Wizards just clinging to the 53-52 advantage.

Townsville then managed an 11-0 run in the third term to open up a nine-point lead but then when Quintin Dove hit a three with just four minutes left in the game, it was the Wizards in control with the five-point lead.

The Heat dug deep from there starting with the next five points to Ethan Betts to tie scores up and then after Tyson Warren made a free-throw for Northside, Betts hit two more massive three-pointers and suddenly Townsville were in control by five with just over a minute left.

They were able to complete the deal on the three-point win from there to improve to 2-3 having split their weekend while the Wizards are now 1-3.

Betts scored 27 points for the game for the Heat with 5/8 from downtown but 17 of those points and all five triples came in the last six minutes. He also had seven rebounds and six assists.

Max Norton added 21 points and four assists, Richard Peachey 19 points, six boards and two assists, Steven Richardson Jr 16 points, six assists and four rebounds, and Declan Condon 12 points and 13 boards.

Quintin Dove delivered 25 points and five assists for the Wizards with Tyler Williams adding 22 points and four rebounds, Isaiah Jorgenson 12 points, five boards and five assists, and Jeremiah Almencion 11 points and four assists.

North Gold Coast Seahawks (83) lost to Southern Districts Spartans (97)

It took until the final quarter for the defending champion Southern Districts Spartans to shake off the challenge from the North Gold Coast Seahawks with another 32 points from Tamuri Wigness leading to the 97-83 win.

The Seahawks have returned to the NBL1 North in 2026 but lost their first three matches ahead of hosting the defending champions at Runaway Bay Indoor Stadium who were trying to bounce back from a last up loss to the Northside Wizards.

North Gold Coast did well sticking with Southern Districts through the first three quarters with just a four-point deficit by three quarter-time, but then the Spartans took control.

Southern Districts outscored the Seahawks 25 points to 13 in the last quarter on the way to the 14-point win that sees them improve to 4-3 in their championship defence with North Gold Coast still winless after four games in 2026.

There wasn’t much that separated the teams overall but Southern Districts did end up with seven extra shot attempts on the back of the 20 offensive rebounds to 17, and having 20 turnovers while forcing the Seahawks into 23.

Last year's Grand Final MVP Tamuri Wigness was again the difference for Southern Districts with another 32 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals on 12/22 field goal shooting and 8/8 free-throw shooting.

Griffin Biwer also produced 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the Spartans with Isaih Tueta adding 12 points and seven assists, Ben Hastings 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Cameron Thew eight points, five boards and two steals.

North Gold Coast did put in a strong showing especially for three quarters with Sean Murphy top scoring with 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Zac Dunmore also added 21 points, four rebounds and four assists with 3/5 three-point shooting, Cole Ross 14 points, 11 boards and two assists, Jasraj Gill 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Zahn Agosta seven points, four steals, three assists and two boards.

Rockhampton Rockets (104) defeated Mackay Meteors (85)

Jalen Graham starred with 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks to lead the Rockhampton Rockets to a first win of the season, beating the Mackay Meteors 104-85.

The Rockets were back home at Bravus Arena after losing their first three matches of 2026 while Mackay arrived having won their past couple.

Rockhampton managed to be leading 29-26 by quarter-time and then took complete control in the second term with 33 points to 13 to go into half-time on top 62-39.

The lead grew to as much as 33 points as well in the second half for the Rockets before they secured the 19-point victory to improve to 1-3 on the season.

Graham starred in the win for Rockhampton while shooting 13/21 from the field to be +19 in his 29 minutes.

Isaac Ayoubi was then +34 with his 13 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals with Treauhn Williams +33 while providing 21 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

Junior Madut also had 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the Rockhampton victory.

Mackay are now 3-3 following the defeat with Justin Ochaya top scoring with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists on 9/10 shooting with Seth Ham contributing 18 points, 14 boards and two assists.

Jerron Jamerson also had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, Kobey Sager nine points and seven boards, and Khobie De Haan nine points and two steals.