South Wrap | Men's Round 14

Featured image: Mitchell Barlow

Jonathan Lawton for Ringwood Hawks and Malik Meunier for Waverley Falcons hit NBL1 South game winners while there were plenty of standout individual performances including from Joe Palmer and Harry Froling for Dandenong Rangers, Lachlan Dent for Ballarat Miners and Dylan Penn for Nunawading Spectres.

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | HAWKS CONTINUE STRONG LATE FORM

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | KNOX OVERPOWER KILSYTH IN Q4

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | FROLING, PALMER DELIVER RANGERS CRUCIAL WIN

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | SPECTRES SURVIVE COBRAS IN OT

THURSDAY

Kilsyth Cobras (111) lost to Nunawading Spectres (119)

The Nunawading Spectres saw a 25-point lead disappear and the Kilsyth Cobras got all the way up by four themselves late in the fourth quarter before in overtime it was the Spectres proving too strong for the 119-111 win.

With the Spectres still fighting for a top two spot and the Cobras hunting a home final, it was a tantalising Thursday night match up at Kilsyth Sports Centre.

The Spectres arrived on a four-game winning run and then led by 25 in the second quarter and still by 10 at three quarter-time only for the Cobras to build on their momentum of a 30-point third term.

Kilsyth found themselves up four with two minutes to play before Nunawading answered with three-pointers to Ben Griscti and Dylan Penn before ultimately it was two missed free throws from Penn that kept scores level by the end of regulation.

The Spectres responded with 15 points to seven in the extra period to now sit at 16-5 for the season with five consecutive wins while the Cobras are 11-8.

Penn shook off missing those two late free throws to deliver another 31 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Owen Lobsinger also had 25 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals with 3/5 three-point shooting while Christian D'Angelo added 23 points, six boards and five assists, and Ben Griscti 14 points and eight rebounds.

It was a spirited showing from Kilsyth to fight back as they did with Chris Payton Jr finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with 11/17 field goal shooting.

Angus Glover went just 3/11 from deep but had 24 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals with Malik McKinney adding 22 points, five assists, four boards, three steals and two blocks, Jamie Ahale 16 points and five assists, and Corey Jeffs 13 points and six rebounds.

Melbourne Tigers (97) lost to Sandringham Sabres (101)

Elliott Brown and Kyle Bowen scored the nine points of the game for the Sandringham Sabres as the defending champions consolidated a top 10 position with the 101-97 win over the league leading Melbourne Tigers.

It was a tantalising Grand Final rematch on Thursday night at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre with the Tigers looking to retain top spot and the Sabres their playoff position.

Melbourne then put up 32 points to 28 in the first quarter and the Tigers were clinging to the 54-52 lead by half-time before the Sabres got on top and had their own seven-point lead in the third frame.

Sandringham were leading 78-77 by three quarter-time and it remained a tight battle the rest of the way with Jack Purchase hitting a three ball with two minutes to play to put the home team up 95-92.

Brown then responded with the next four points for Sandringham and then Bowen threw down a dunk to have the Sabres up by three with 45 seconds to go.

Brown and Bowen were then able to secure the win for the reigning champions at the foul line to improve them to an 11-9 record on the season.

Six players scored in double figures for the Sabres with Kyle Adnam finishing with 21 points and four assists with 4/7 shooting from the outside.

Malith Machar added 18 points and three rebounds, CJ Asuncion-Byrd 15 points with 3/5 three-point shooting, Harry Neilson 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, Kyle Bowen 13 points, 10 boards, six assists and thee steals, and Elliott Brown 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The six-game winning run of the Tigers is now over with them 17-4 with reigning MVP Tom Wilson putting up 38 points, six rebounds and five assists with 6/10 shooting from the outside.

Jack Purchase added 25 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks, George Blagojevic eight points, six boards, four assists and two steals, and Wilson Amos seven points, two rebounds and two steals.

FRIDAY

Mount Gambier Pioneers (69) lost to Keilor Thunder (102)

Keilor Thunder kept themselves in the mix for a top four finish with the big 102-69 road win over the Mount Gambier Pioneers with Landon Seaman scoring 22 points on 12 field goal attempts.

Keilor arrived at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre knocking on the door of the top four and having locked in a playoff spot while the Pioneers' prospects were done but they were fresh off beating the Bendigo Braves.

The Thunder made a strong start away from home with 27 points to 15 in the first quarter before another 31 to 14 in the second to go into half-time on top 58-29.

That lead got out to as much as 35 points in the second half before Keilor settled on the 33-point victory to improve to 14-7 on the season with four straight wins.

Landon Seaman ended up top scoring for Keilor with 22 points and three rebounds on 11/12 shooting from the field while being +23 in his 25 minutes.

Deng Cut was +27 in his 28 minutes for 20 points, five assists and three rebounds with Tana Kopa adding 17 points, four boards and two assists, Daniel Foster 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and Nick Banon eight points, four boards, three steals and two assists.

Mount Gambier are now 6-15 following the defeat in their last home appearance of 2026 with Lucas Gordon finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Deng Deng also had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, Micale Mee, the son of NBL great Darnell, 11 points and two boards, Ngor Manyang seven points, and Scott Telfer seven points and three rebounds.

Northern Force (104) defeated Waverley Falcons (84)

Finals might be out of reach but the Northern Force offered a glimpse again of what they are capable of with the 104-84 win over the Waverley Falcons with another 34 points and five assists from Kye Savage.

With the Sandringham Sabres winning the night before, Waverley were no longer a chance to break into the top 10 ahead of their Tasmanian road double this weekend starting against the Force in Ulverstone.

It was an exciting first quarter with the teams combining for 64 points with scoring 32 each before the Force had 22 points to 15 in the second frame to lead 54-47 by half-time.

Northern then added another 24 points to 19 in the third quarter and 26 to 18 in the fourth on the way to the 20-point home victory in their last appearance in front of their local fans for 2026.

The Force are now 7-13 for the season with Kye Savage the star with 34 points and five assists with 5/13 shooting from the outside.

Vincent DeAngelo added 20 points, six assists and five rebounds, Logan Gibson 17 points, eight boards and six assists, Aaron Ridley III 15 points and five rebounds, and Ole Angerstein nine points, 10 boards and two blocked shots.

Waverley slip to 7-13 as well with three straight defeats with Ryan Tobler finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and two steals with 3/4 shooting from the outside.

Malik Meunier added 15 points, four assists and three rebounds, Reaudale Williams 12 points, five assists and three boards, and Mawot Mag 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

Knox Raiders (77) lost to Eltham Wildcats (84)

The Eltham Wildcats produced a massive last quarter to turn a five-point deficit into the 84-77 win over the Knox Raiders to take them back to top spot with the loss of the Melbourne on Thursday night.

The Raiders were trying to break back into the top four when hosting the Wildcats at the State Basketball Centre with Eltham having the chance to reclaim first position.

Knox were leading narrowly by a point at quarter-time before going into the half-time break on top 44-39 and then the Raiders remained five points to the good by three quarter-time.

Eltham then took over in the last quarter including going on a 9-0 scoring run and outscoring Knox 29 to 17 to end up securing the seven-point win to improve to 16-4 with six straight wins to reclaim top spot.

TJ Weeks delivered 20 points and five rebounds in the win for the Wildcats with Sam Short adding 18 points, five boards and five assists with 4/7 three-point shooting.

Mitch McCarron also had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Leonardo Colimerio 13 points and six boards, and Zak Cunningham eight points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Knox are now 13-7 following the defeat with Kobe Williamson finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds with Keli Leaupepe continuing to build on his return with 18 points and 10 boards.

Trazarien White also had 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, Brody Nunn 12 points with 4/9 shooting from the outside, and Brandon Slater 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Casey Cavaliers (84) lost to Dandenong Rangers (89)

Harry Froling and Joe Palmer combined for 55 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Dandenong Rangers to a crucial 89-84 dramatic victory over the Casey Cavaliers.

The two teams arrived at Casey Stadium on identical 11-9 records in eighth and ninth spot respectively to be solid in the top 10 in what was their second last games of the season so there was plenty at stake.

And both played like that all evening with Dandenong making the flying start away from home with 25 points to 11 in the first quarter and then leading by 20 at the half on the back of 38 points from Palmer and Froling.

But Casey dominated the third quarter with 27 points to six on holding the Rangers to 2/16 shooting and to have eight turnovers, but Dandenong responded and it was a late triple and huge dunk from Palmer that ended up securing the five-point win.

Froling and Palmer were ultimately the difference even with the former copping plenty all evening from all angles including the commentary booth but dishing it back as good as he got, and Dandenong improved to 12-9 as a result with Casey now 11-10.

Froling was at the forefront of everything once again for Dandenong and attracted plenty of attention, and the Cavs did their best to get under his skin and his frustration spilled over at times, but he also delivered a match winning performance at the same time.

He finished with another 31 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals with 12/18 from the field, 3/7 from deep and 4/8 at the foul line.

Palmer then came up huge once more including that late three-pointer and massive dunk for 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Ryan Rapp added 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Josh Kunen 12 points, 11 boards and four assists.

Casey did have the momentum by three quarter-time but couldn’t quite go on with it with Ibrahima Diallo finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks after going at it with Froling all evening.

Jesse Ghee added 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Preston Bungei 16 points, seven assists, six boards and three steals, Pat Ryan 12 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Joel Robinson nine points, four boards and three assists.

SATURDAY

Hobart Chargers (92) lost to Waverley Falcons (94)

The Waverley Falcons produced a stunning finish with the last nine points of the game in the last two minutes to come from seven down to score the 94-92 road win over the Hobart Chargers.

The Falcons were playing their second game of the weekend in Tasmania after losing to the Northern Force on Friday while the Chargers were playing a last home game of 2026 at Hutchins School.

Hobart started well on their home floor to be leading 23-19 by quarter-time and remaining on top 47-44 by half-time before by three quarter-time scores were all tied at 72-72.

The Chargers were still on target to finish their season at home on a winning note leading by seven after Harry Griffiths scored with 1:45 to play, but Waverley weren’t ready to accept that.

Bennie Lewis scored to bring the margin back to five, Malik Meunier then scored to bring it back to three and then Reaudale Williams connect from downtown to tie scores up with 30 seconds remaining.

Meunier was then the one to hit game winning shot for the Falcons as they pulled off the stunning finish with the last nine points to improve to an 8-13 record.

Meunier just missed a triple double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists with Williams top scoring with 22 points and four boards on 3/3 three-point shooting.

Mawot Mag added 19 points and eight rebounds, Ryan Tobler 13 points, four boards and two steals, and Bennie Lewis 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Chargers are now 7-13 with two road games to go with Jacob Richards finishing with 32 points, seven assists and six rebounds with 5/8 shooting from the outside.

Xavier Clarke added 16 points and two assists, Luke Rosendale 15 points and 13 assists, Nick Paul nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and Tommy Stewart eight points and two boards.

Geelong United (92) lost to Ringwood Hawks (94)

Jonathan Lawton continued to shine for the Ringwood Hawks and this time he hit the game winner to keep the season alive for the Ringwood Hawks for the 94-92 road win over Geelong United.

Ringwood arrived at The Geelong Arena needing to win to stay a chance of breaking into the top 10 while United were out of contention but coming off a win against the Diamond Valley Eagles.

The Hawks made a fast start opening up an 11-point lead but Geelong responded with a 7-0 run to cut that deficit back to four by quarter-time.

United then kept that momentum going with 27 points to 21 in the second term to be leading 51-49 by half-time while they led by as much as 10 in the third and were still on top 74-73 by three quarter-time.

Inside the last two minutes and Ringwood had worked on top by five points before Geelong responded with Deng Riak hitting a three-pointer and then DeMarcus Gatlin scoring after an offensive rebound.

There was 5.5 seconds left on the clock with the Hawks coming out of a timeout and after he took the inbounds pass, the ball came back to Jonathan Lawton and he made a tough one-handed finish in the paint that bounced around and went in.

That ended up being the winner for the Hawks to win by two and keep their finals hopes alive at 9-11 with Lawson Eales ending up with 24 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

Tom Carroll also had 24 points, eight rebounds and two steals with 7/10 shooting from the outside while Lawton added 23 points, six assists, five boards and three steals.

Harry Sealey added 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Geelong are now 6-15 following the loss with Lachlan Barker finishing with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists with 4/8 from the outside.

Liam Herbert also had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Deng Riak 18 points, seven boards and six blocks, and then DeMarcus Gatlin produced a triple double made up of 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Sandringham Sabres (107) lost to Ballarat Miners (111)

The Sandringham Sabres had a chance to confirm their playoffs position after Thursday's win but the Ballarat Mainers weren’t in a charitable mood with the wooden spooners knocking them off 111-107.

The defending champion Sabres stayed solid in a top 10 position by beating the Melbourne Tigers back on Thursday night ahead of hosting the bottom placed Miners at Southern Basketball Stadium.

The Sabres could confirm their playoff position with a win while the Miners aren’t able to get out of bottom spot with two games to go in their season, but they started on fire with 29 points to 22 in the first quarter having gone on a 16-0 run.

Ballarat had another 33 points to 29 in the second quarter to be leading 62-51 by half-time and then still leading by 15 points at three quarter-time.

That left quite a taste for Sandringham to get the win they needed and they did go on a 10-0 run and put up 34 points in the last term, but the deficit was too much to make up with the Miners holding on to win by four.

Ballarat are now 3-18 on the season having snapped their seven-game losing run with Lachlan Dent having his best performance of the season with 31 points and 10 assists.

Will Hynes also had 26 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals, Dyami Hayes 12 points on 4/6 shooting from the outside, Riley Nicolson 12 points on 4/5 from deep, and Ethan Fiegert 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Sandringham are now 11-10 with one game to go that they need to win to lock in a playoff spot as defending champions with Kyle Bowen delivering another 28 point, six rebounds and four assists.

Elliott Brown also had 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists, Malith Machar 16 points, eight boards, three assists and three blocks, CJ Asuncion-Byrd 10 points and three rebounds, and Kaylan Kitto 10 points and three steals.

Knox Raiders (102) defeated Kilsyth Cobras (89)

Both teams were looking to bounce back from losses and with Brandon Slater showing the way and Keli Leaupepe continuing to grow in his return, Knox Raiders got the job done with 30 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Kilsyth Cobras 102-89.

Coming into the Saturday night match up at the State Basketball Centre and Kilsyth had lost to the Nunawading Spectres back on Thursday night while the Raiders went down to the Eltham Wildcats on Friday.

So both were looking to hit back and it was a 28-point second quarter that saw the Raiders go into half-time up 10 before a 16-poiunt third term for Kilsyth from Chris Payton Jr kept his team in touch.

But then it was another 30 points in the final term from Knox that secured them the 13-point victory to steady with a 14-7 record while Kilsyth are now 11-9 with both having two games to go in the regular season next weekend.

Brandon Slater delivered 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists for Knox with Trazarien White adding 17 points, four boards and four assists.

Tad Dufelmeier also had 15 points and four rebounds, Keli Leaupepe 15 points, 13 boards and three steals, Brody Nunn 10 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals, and Kobe Williamson 11 points, eight boards and four assists.

Kilsyth are now 11-9 with the two losses this round to two teams above them with Chris Payton Jr having 16 points in the third quarter on his way to 28 on the night with eight rebounds and shooting 10/13 from the field and 8/15 at the free-throw line.

Angus Glover had 16 of his 19 points in the first half while Jamie Ahale finished with 13 points on 2/12 shooting from the outside with Adrian Tomada contributing nine points and 11 assists.

Diamond Valley Eagles (101) lost to Frankston Blues (108)

The Frankston Blues made it nine wins in the last 10 games to maintain their hold on a top four position with the 108-101 win over the Diamond Valley Eagles.

Frankston arrived at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre in fourth position up against an Eagles team out of the playoff hunt but still playing well and being no pushovers.

It was a flying start from the Eagles on their home floor with 34 points to 23 in the first quarter but then the Blues hit back with 31 to 21 in the second which saw Diamond Valley leading 55-54 by half-time.

It remained a tight contest throughout the second half but eventually the Blues went on a late 8-0 run to open up their biggest lead of 11 points and to end up winning by seven.

The win is a third in-a-row for Frankston who have now won nine of the last 10 to improve to a 15-6 record

Diamond Valley are now 7-14 with five straight defeats with Xavier Bledson producing 34 points, six rebounds and four assists with Archie Woodhill adding 23 points and 11 boards.

Ryley Haywood also had 21 points on 5/9 shooting from the outside, Aleksandar Bandilovski 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Mirko Djeric five points, 14 assists and two rebounds.

SUNDAY

Ringwood Hawks (95) defeated Bendigo Braves (76)

The Ringwood Hawks kept their hopes just alive of a playoff spot and they are finishing the season in strong fashion after Sunday's 95-76 home victory against the Bendigo Braves.

The Hawks did open the season losing six of their first seven games so have been playing catch up the rest of the way and given they will lose the season splits against the Kilsyth Cobras, Sandringham Sabres and Casey Cavaliers they are competing with, they might not quite be able to sneak into the top 10.

But it still has been an encouraging finish to the season and again on Sunday at The Rings they had a massive 37 points to nine second quarter to set them on the path to the eventual 19-point victory against the Braves.

That means Ringwood have now won six of the last 10 games, and nine of the last 14, to be sitting on a 10-11 record with one game to go but they are unlucky to leapfrog any of those teams above them into a top 10 position even with a final round win against Waverley.

Bendigo are now 7-13 on the back of six straight defeats after their lone appearance of the weekend.

Ringwood are now 10-11 with the pair of wins this weekend with Harry Sealey producing 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists with 9/13 field goal shooting and going 2/2 from the outside.

Jonathan Lawton had 10 points in the first quarter on the way to 18 for the game with seven assists with Lawson Eales contributing 17 points, 10 boards, three blocks and two steals, Tom Carroll 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Mitch Dielemans 10 points, four boards and two assists.

Bendigo are now 7-13 following their lone appearance of the round with Biwali Bayles producing 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Billy Smythe contributed 14 points and nine boards.

Jarvis Doles added 15 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, Jordan Straatsma 10 points, three blocks, two boards and two assists, and Seth Anderson six points and three rebounds.