South Wrap | Men's Round 15

Featured image: Mitchell Barlow

Kyle Adnam delivered a phenomenal NBL1 record scoring performance with 70 points for Sandringham Sabres in the final round while Melbourne Tigers locked up NBL1 South top spot and Will Hynes had 40 points for Ballarat Miners as did Kye Savage for Northern Force.

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FRIDAY

Sandringham Sabres (130) defeated Northern Force (80)

We have a new NBL1 single game scoring record and it was Kyle Adnam playing like a man possessed for the defending champion Sandringham Sabres as he delivered as simply remarkable 70 points in the 130-80 win over the Northern Force.

The Sabres arrived at Southern Basketball Stadium needing to win to lock away their finals position to prepare their championship defence and while Adnam wasn’t part of that title winning team last year, he sure was a man on a mission.

The 261-game NBL veteran started on fire shooting the Sabres to the 15-3 start to the contest and then it was Sandringham leading 36-16 by quarter-time with Adnam already up to 20 points including six three-pointers already in those first 10 minutes.

Adnam then put up another 23 points in the second quarter including another three triples so he had 43 points to his name already going into half-time with the Sabres leading the Force 82-34 on the back of 46 points to 18 in that period.

The result was beyond doubt coming into the second half but then the interest turned to if Adnam could chase down the NBL scoring record of 65 points set earlier this season in the NBL1 West by Anneli Maley at the Perth Redbacks in her one and only appearance in 2026.

Adnam put himself right in a good position for that with another 16 points in the third quarter and then during the fourth he broke the record at the foul line and then got to the 70-point barrier with his 13th three-pointer of the night.

Sandringham went on to win by 50 points to finish their season at 12-10 but all the interest was on Adnam who scored those 70 points on 19/34 field goal shooting, 13/22 from the outside and 19/21 at the foul line while also remarkably having nine assists.

Kyle Bowen also had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks, CJ Asuncion-Byrd seven points and five boards, Malith Machar seven points, four rebounds and two assists, Kaylan Kitto seven points, two boards and two assists, and Elliott Brown seven points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Vincent DeAngelo top scored for the Force with 19 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals, Kye Savage 17 points, five steals, three boards and three assists, Ole Angerstein 15 points and seven rebounds, and Aaron Ridley III 13 points, four boards, three assists and two steals.

Bendigo Braves (69) lost to Keilor Thunder (93)

Keilor Thunder will enter the finals with a five-game winning streak after beating the Bendigo Braves 93-69 on the road.

The Braves were back home for the last time in 2026 at Red Energy Arena trying to avoid a seventh consecutive defeat while the Thunder needed to keep on winning to try and finish as high up in the top 10 as they could.

Bendigo started well on their home floor with 26 points to 21 in the first quarter including going on a 10-0 run and by half-time the scores were all locked at 44-44.

Keilor took over in the second half with 26 points to 17 in the third quarter and 23 to eight in the fourth on the way to the 24-point victory as they close their regular season at 15-7 with five consecutive wins.

Daniel Forster top scored for the Thunder with 17 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals with Deng Dut contributing 14 points, nine assists and three boards, and Cooper Kirkman 14 points and four rebounds.

Tana Kopa also had 11 points and two assists, Landon Seaman 11 points and Ryan Philippe eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Bendigo are now 7-14 having lost seven straight with a game on the road to go on Saturday night against Kilsyth with Jarvis Doles providing 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Billy Smythe also had 15 points, three rebounds and two assists, Lachlan Somerville eight points, five boards, two assists and two steals, and Ray Turner eight points, three rebounds and two assists.

Eltham Wildcats (94) defeated Kilsyth Cobras (76)

The Eltham Wildcats retained top spot beating the Kilsyth Cobras 94-76 to open the last round of the 2026 season.

At Montmorency Secondary College, there was plenty on the line between Eltham and Kilsyth with the Wildcats trying to maintain top position with the Cobras still needing to lock in a top 10 finish.

Eltham ended up starting the better leading by 10 points at quarter-time and then seeing that advantage grow to 16 by half-time, 19 by three quarter-time and then they won by 18 in the finish.

The win keeps the Wildcats in top spot at 17-4 while the Cobras now must win on Saturday night against the Bendigo Braves to avoid any danger of missing playoffs altogether.

Eltham were able to make it seven straight victories on the back of ending up shooting 55 per cent from the field to the 45 from Kilsyth along with making 10/31 from the outside to 8/28, and 18/19 at the free-throw line to 8/19.

TJ Weeks top scored once more for Eltham with 23 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists on 5/15 shooting from the outside.

Zak Cunningham also had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Leonardo Colimerio 19 points, seven boards and two assists, Mitch McCarron 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, and Sam Short eight points, four assists and three boards.

Kilsyth are just clinging to their playoff position at 11-10 having now lost three straight with Angus Glover top scoring with 16 points with three rebounds on 3/8 shooting from the outside.

Malik McKinney added 14 points and four rebounds, Adrian Tomada seven points, six boards and four assists, Corey Jeffs seven points and five rebounds, and Chris Payton Jr seven points and two boards.

Knox Raiders (121) defeated Hobart Chargers (86)

The Knox Raiders wrapped up their regular season with a second straight win to get 15 with the 121-86 victory at home over the Hobart Chargers with Kobe Williamson delivering 34 points and 11 rebounds.

The Raiders were back home at the State Basketball Centre to close their regular season needing to win to try and finish as high up as possible while the Chargers were out of contention coming into their road double weekend.

Knox made a flying start with 33 points to 26 in the first quarter before another 36 to 18 in the second term to be well in control leading 69-44 by half-time.

The Raiders added another 28 points to 22 in the third period and 24 to 20 in the fourth to secure the 35-point victory to finish their regular season with at 15-7 record.

Kobe Williamson delivered 34 points, 11 rebounds and two assists with 11/19 field goal shooting and going 10/10 at the foul line in the win for Knox.

Trazarien White added 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, Brandon Slater 15 points, three boards and two steals, Keli Leaupepe 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Brody Nunn eight points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Noah Clarke top scored for Hobart with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists with Tommy Stewart adding 15 points and three rebounds with Jacob Richards contributing 13 points, two boards and two assists, Nick Paul 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and Harry Griffiths 10 points on 2/2 three-point shooting.

SATURDAY

Geelong United (94) defeated Hobart Chargers (89)

Geelong United closed their season with a 94-89 home win against the Hobart Chargers with both teams wrapping up proceedings for 2026.

Neither team remained in playoff contention coming into the match up at The Geelong Arena but were looking to finish off on a positive note with Hobart starting well away from home with 27 points to 25 in the first quarter.

The Chargers were still leading 48-46 by half-time but then Geelong went on an 11-0 run in the third period and that proved the difference in the game with United going on to score the five-point victory.

The result sees Geelong end the season on a 7-15 record in 14th position with Lachlan Barker delivering 25 points, four rebounds and four assists while Liam Herbert contributed 15 points and seven assists.

Jackson Talbot also had 11 points and nine rebounds, Malang Athian 11 points and four boards, Deng Riak 10 points and nine rebounds, and DeMarcus Gatlin nine points, six boards, five assists and two steals.

The Chargers finish in 17th spot at 7-15 as well with Luke Rosendale delivering 30 points, five rebounds and two assists with 3/6 shooting from the outside.

Jacob Richards added 22 points, nine rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks on 4/9 three-point shooting, and Nick Paul 10 points and 10 boards.

Waverley Falcons (94) lost to Ringwood Hawks (102)

The Ringwood Hawks might have just fallen short of a playoff spot but they gave themselves a chance with a third straight win beating the Waverley Falcons 102-94.

The Hawks arrived at Waverley Basketball Centre having won their last two games to be still a shot of breaking into the last round should the teams above them slip up to leave the door ajar.

First things first and Ringwood just had to win and that was a much more significant task when Waverley scored 28 points to 14 in the first quarter.

Ringwood fired back with 37 points to 21 in the second quarter to be leading 51-49 by half-time and they stayed in front throughout the entire second half to secure the eight-point victory in the finish.

The win sees the Hawks end the regular season in 11th place at 11-11 having won those last three matches with Junior Garbrah delivering 21 points on 10/14 shooting while Tom Carroll added 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Jonathan Lawton also had 16 points, five assists and four rebounds, Lawson Eales 11 points, nine boards, two assists and two steals, and Harry Sealey 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Waverley also miss finals with an 8-14 record in 12th position with Shaquille Maharaj top scoring with 21 points and eight rebounds with 5/10 shooting from the outside.

Michael Harper also had 18 points and three rebounds, Reaudale Williams 17 points, seven assists and three boards, Malik Meunier 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals, and Matthew McCarthy 10 points, nine boards and two assists.

Melbourne Tigers (88) defeated Eltham Wildcats (84)

They came into the last round the top two teams and that's where they finish but it's the Melbourne Tigers grabbing top spot with the 88-84 win in overtime over the Eltham Wildcats.

Top spot was on the line when the team's locked horns on the last night of the regular season at Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre but there was also the chance one of them dropped out of the top two should Nunawading win at the same time.

So there was plenty at stake for both teams and they would go on to put on quite the spectacular show beginning with 23 points to 19 at home in favour of the Tigers with Jack Purchase scoring 11 of those points.

It remained quite the battle the rest of the way and Eltham had 22 points to 18 in the third quarter to open up a six-point advantage and to be leading 62-58 by three quarter-time.

Melbourne then scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to grab the momentum and a six-point lead after three minutes when Kai Garnaut scored.

In the end, Josh Sykes scored on an offensive rebound for Melbourne against his former team and then Blagojevic split his two free throws to tie scores up at 79-79 and send the game into overtime.

Melbourne opened the extra period with an 8-2 run and in the end that was not only enough to secure the Tigers the four-point victory, but also the regular season championship.

The two teams finish the season on identical 17-5 records but on the back of winning the season split over the Wildcats, it's the Tigers that secure first place as they look to back up last year's Grand Final appearance.

Jack Purchase had a hot start with 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 22 to go with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks with 5/11 shooting from the outside.

Josh Sykes also had 20 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks against his former team, Mason Gaze 11 points, three assists and two boards, and George Blagojevic 10 points and six rebounds.

Wilson Amos added nine points and two assists, and reigning MVP Tom Wilson nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

TJ Weeks ended up with 22 points, three steals and two rebounds on 4/11 shooting from the outside for the Wildcats with Harrison Hornery adding 15 points and four boards with 3/5 three-point shooting.

Mitch McCarron added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Sam Short 13 points, five assists and two steals, and Zak Cunningham 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Kilsyth Cobras (90) defeated Bendigo Braves (73)

The Kilsyth Cobras confirmed their playoff position with the 90-73 victory against the Bendigo Braves with Angus Glover hitting four triples for 25 points.

The Cobras could have potentially still been in danger of missing the playoffs with a loss and if the Ringwood Hawks joined them on 11 wins as they hosted the out of contention Braves at Kilsyth Sports Centre.

Kilsyth started well on their home floor with 26 points to 18 in the first quarter before then completely dominating with 30 points to four in the second term including going on a 23-0 scoring run.

That saw the Cobras leading 56-22 by half-time and then going on with the job from there despite a 30-point third quarter from Bendigo to secure the 17-point win and lock in a playoff spot by improving to a 12-10 record.

Angus Glover knocked down 4/10 from beyond the three-point line with 25 points, seven assists, four rebound and three steals with Adrian Tomada adding 19 points and seven assists.

Hamish MacDonald added 15 points, nine rebound and two assists, Ben Ursich nine points, five boards and two steals, and Jamie Ahale nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

Bendigo finish their season in second last place at 7-15 having lost their final eight matches with Jarvis Doles again top scoring with 21 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

Seth Anderson also had 17 points and three rebounds with 5/12 shooting from the outside, Billy Smythe 12 points and nine boards, and Ray Turner 11 points and two rebounds.

Nunawading Spectres (99) lost to Ballarat Miners (115)

The Ballarat Miners might have still finished last but ended their season with consecutive wins beating the top four bound Nunawading Spectres 115-99 with Will Hynes delivering 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

The two teams might have been at opposite ends of the table entering the last night of the season with the Spectres at home at the Nunawading Basketball Centre and a chance to still finish in the top two while Ballarat couldn’t move out of last spot no matter the result.

The Miners were on a mission to end their season on a high note and started on fire with 31 points to 19 in the first quarter.

It was another 28 to 24 in the second term too for Ballarat with them leading 59-43 by half-time before another 37-point third period put them on the path to the eventual 16-point win despite a 16-0 run in the last frame from the Spectres.

The Miners do remain last at 4-18 but win their last two games with Will Hynes starring with 40 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals with 13/21 shooting from the floor and 11/11 at the foul line.

Lachlan Dent added 27 points and 12 assists with 6/9 three-point shooting, Yak Nyuon 14 points, 11 boards and two blocks, and Lucas Byrne 13 points and four rebounds.

Nunawading now finish the regular season in third position at 16-6 with Ben Griscti delivering 31 points and nine rebounds with 7/13 shooting from the outside.

Dylan Penn also had 16 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and two blocks, Jack Gandolfo 14 points and four assists, Owen Lobsinger 11 points, four boards and two assists, and Kingsley Box 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Casey Cavaliers (108) defeated Northern Force (90)

The Casey Cavaliers came from behind at three quarter-time to put up 38 points in the last quarter to confirm their playoff position with the 108-90 win over the Northern Force.

The Cavs closed the regular season at home on Saturday night at Casey Stadium just needing to win to shut the door on the Ringwood Hawks in the top 10 race as they hosted a Force team trying to respond to Kyle Adnam's outburst against them the previous night.

It was the Force leading 19-14 by quarter-time before Casey hit back with 34 points to 24 in the second term to go into the half-time break on top 48-43.

Northern had 28 points to 22 in the third frame to be leading by one at three quarter-time but then Casey had too much to play for and produced 38 points to 19 in the last term to secure the 18-point victory.

The win sees the Cavaliers finish in ninth position with a 12-10 record with Ibrahima Diallo delivering 26 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Joel Robinson added 25 points, six assists and four rebounds, Pat Ryan 16 points, three steals and two boards, Yuot Gai 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Preston Bungei 10 points, seven boards and three assists.

The Force end their season at 7-15 losing both games on the road this weekend with Kye Savage putting up 40 points with eight rebounds and three assists on 7/18 three-point shooting.

Vincent DeAngelo also had 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Logan Gibson 12 points, five boards and two assists, and Ole Angerstein seven points and five rebounds.

Frankston Blues (107) lost to Mount Gambier Pioneers (116)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers finished their frustrating season winning two of their last three matches beating the fourth placed Frankston Blues 116-107 with 30 points from Deng Deng.

Frankston could officially confirm a top four spot with a win ahead of hosting the out of contention Pioneers at Jubilee Park Stadium but it was Mount Gambier leading by two at quarter-time.

The Pioneers then caught fire with 34 points to 21 in the second quarter to be leading 62-47 by half-time before that advantage blew out to 20 in the third frame.

Frankston attempted to mount a fightback and did go on an 11-0 scoring run but it wasn’t to be with Mount Gambier holding firm for the nine-point win to end their season with a 7-15 record in 16th place.

Deng Deng produced 30 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocks in the win on 4/8 shooting from the outside with Ngor Manyang adding 21 points and three boards also going 4/8 from deep.

Elijah Saifaleupolu also had 16 points and two steals, Titus Robinson 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, Micale Mee 17 points, four assists, three boards and three steals, and Lucas Gordon 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Despite the result, Frankston remain in fourth place at 15-7 finishing off winning nine of the last 11 games with Jeremy Combs putting up 28 points, 13 rebounds and six steals on 13/16 shooting from the floor.

Austin Shelley added 18 points, six assists and two blocks, Corey Hastings 16 points and two assists, Daniel Trist 11 points and two assists, and Jack Stanwix 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Diamond Valley Eagles (97) defeated Dandenong Rangers (87)

Mirko Djeric also had another triple double and Ryley Haywood and Archie Woodhill combined for 52 points as the Diamond Valley Eagles ended their season beating the playoff bound Dandenong Rangers 97-87.

The Eagles might have been out of the playoff race but had put together a strong second half of the season and despite having lost five straight games coming into Saturday night, they had all been by seven points or less so they easily could have gone the other way.

The Rangers arrived at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre having won their past two games to be locked into the playoffs and they were leading narrowly 19-18 by quarter-time.

Diamond Valley then worked on top in the second quarter with 23 points to 17 before the Rangers hit back with 28 to 23 in the third quarter which meant scores were all level by three quarter-time.

The Eagles then took over with 33 points to 23 in the final frame for the 10-point victory to end their season with an 8-14 record.

Mirko Djeric ran the team expertly once more with 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds while Archie Woodhill had 28 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks, Ryley Haywood 24 points with 6/7 shooting from the outside and Xavier Bledson 15 points with 3/6 long-range shooting.

Dandenong end up in seventh position at 12-10 with Harry Froling delivering another 33 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Sam Davidson contributed 21 points and two steals, and Joe Palmer 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists.