South Wrap | Men's Round 7

Featured image: Trent Moore Sports Photography

Joe Palmer put up 64 points and 13 threes in a pair of road wins for Dandenong Rangers while Casey Cavaliers had two standout NBL1 South wins, Tom Wilson was huge for Melbourne Tigers, and Kilsyth Cobras won a fourth in-a-row.

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FRIDAY

Hobart Chargers (94) lost to Dandenong Rangers (98)

Joe Palmer put up 33 points and eight triples as the Dandenong Rangers scored a spirited and thrilling win over the Hobart Chargers 98-94 to open their Tasmanian road double.

Both teams came into the match up at Hutchins School on identical 5-4 records and coming off losses, and they would go on to play a game with plenty of feeling between the two line-ups.

Dandenong did lead by 16 points at quarter-time on the back of 38 points in the opening 10 minutes and while the Chargers never quite got in front again, they gave it a good crack without Luke Rosendale and only fell four points short.

It's the first game of a double in Tasmania for both teams this weekend with Dandenong improving to 6-4 with the win while Hobart are now 5-5 having lost three in-a-row.

Joe Palmer scored 14 points in the first quarter for Dandenong on his way to 33 for the game with 8/13 three-point shooting along with seven rebounds and three assists.

Harry Froling was up against the team he won a championship win and delivered another 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Michael Meadows added 17 points, 10 boards and four assists, and Josh Kunen eight points and eight rebounds.

The Chargers put up a good fight with Jacob Richards continuing his standout form with another 37 points, nine rebounds and two assists with 11/21 shooting from the floor and 12/15 at the foul line.

Anthony Drmic added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists for Hobart, Noah Clarke 16 points and five boards, and Nick Paul 13 points, 11 rebounds and two steals.

Northern Force (82) lost to Diamond Valley Eagles (112)

Seven Diamond Valley Eagles players scored in double figures led by 25 points from Xavier Bledson in the 112-82 win on the road to the Northern Force.

The Eagles arrived at Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre having lost their past four matches while the Force were still hunting a first home win.

Diamond Valley were narrowly leading 22-20 by quarter-time before it was 28 points apiece in the second term while the Eagles clung to the 50-48 advantage by the main break.

The Eagles then took charge in the second half with 29 points to 16 in the third quarter, and 33 to 18 in the fourth on the way to the 30-point win on the back of a 62-34 in the second half.

Diamond Valley improve to 3-7 with the win with Bledson delivering 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals with 6/8 three-point shooting.

Manny Malou added 18 points and two rebounds, Mitch Blackburn 13 points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks, Ryley Haywood 12 points and three rebounds, Noah Todd 11 points, three boards and three assists, and Aleksandar Bandilovski 11 points, 14 assists, six rebounds and five steals.

The Force are now 2-8 following the loss with Logan Gibson putting up 26 points and nine rebounds with Kye Savage having another 25 points, five boards, four steals and two assists, and Aaron Ridley III 12 points and four rebounds.

SATURDAY

Sandringham Sabres (98) defeated Ringwood Hawks (89)

The defending champion Sandringham Sabres got back to winning with Shea Ili into the starting line-up as they beat the Ringwood Hawks 98-89.

The Sabres were back home at the Southern Basketball Stadium coming off a one-point loss to the Casey Cavaliers while the Hawks arrived on a three-match winning streak.

The Hawks started well to be up eight in the first quarter on the way to still being up 23-21 by quarter-time before the Sabres turned on a blistering second term.

Sandringham piled on 39 points to 23 to be leading 60-46 by half-time and from there the Sabres cruised to the nine-point victory to improve to 5-5 in their championship defence.

Malith Machar top scored for the Sabres with 21 points, three rebounds and two blocks with his Melbourne United NBL26 teammate Kyle Bowen adding 17 points, six boards, three assists and two blocked shots.

Kyle Adnam added 18 points and three assists for Sandringham, Dane Pineau 10 points and 17 rebounds, Kaylan Kitto seven points and two steals, and playing-coach David Barlow seven points, three rebounds and three steals.

Ringwood are now 4-7 following the loss with Uche Dibiamaka top scoring with 19 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Harry Sealey also had 17 points on 3/4 three-point shooting for the Hawks with Jonathan Lawton adding 15 points, five rebounds and five steals, and Mitch Dielemans 11 points and two assists.

Geelong United (75) lost to Knox Raiders (103)

The Knox Raiders hit back from a surprise loss to the Northern Force emphatically with the 103-75 win over Geelong United to consolidate their hold on a top four spot.

United were back home The Arena trying to snap a six-game losing slide but it was Knox who started the better to be leading 26-20 by quarter-time.

The Raiders then put up another 29 points to 20 in the second frame to go into half-time leading 55-40.

Knox continued to dominate the rest of the way with 22 points to 18 in the third term, and 26 to 17 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 28-point win to improve to an 8-3 record.

Trazarien White top scored for the Raiders with 22 points to go with five rebounds and three assists while Brandon Slater added 20 points, six boards and four assists.

Kobe Williamson also had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Henry Sewell 12 points, five boards and two blocks, and Tad Dufelmeier 11 points and seven assists.

Geelong are now 1-9 having lost seven in-a-row with DeMarcus Gatlin ending up with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists with Liam Herbert adding 15 points, three boards and three assists.

Jay Posterino added 10 points and three rebounds for United, and Malik Hunt 10 points and seven rebounds.

Hobart Chargers (107) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (78)

The Hobart Chargers hit back emphatically from their loss the night before to hammer the Diamond Valley Eagles 107-78 with Luke Rosendale back and going for 28 points while Anthony Drmic added 29.

Both teams played on Friday night with the Chargers losing a tight one to the Dandenong Rangers while the Eagles won big over the Northern Force.

They were back in action on Saturday night at Hutchins School with the Chargers leading by four at quarter-time and then turning that into the 49-39 advantage by half-time.

It was then 36 points to 20 in the third frame with the lead for Hobart growing to as much as 32 in the fourth quarter on the way to the eventual 29-point victory.

The win improves the Chargers to a 6-5 record with Rosendale back in the side after missing the night before and delivering 28 points, three rebounds and three steals with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Drmic also had 29 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists with Jacob Richards providing 22 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, and Xavier Clarke 18 points with 4/4 shooting from three-point territory.

The Eagles return home having split their road double in Tasmania to now be 3-8 on the season with Ryley Haywood finishing with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Daniel Poelsma 14 points, eight boards and two steals.

Manny Malou also had 14 points and five rebounds, Mitch Blackburn 12 points, six boards and two steals, and Xavier Bledson 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Nunawading Spectres (95) lost to Casey Cavaliers (103)

The Casey Cavaliers came from four points down in the last quarter to end up leading by 10 and going on to score the 103-95 victory against the Nunawading Spectres.

The Spectres were back home at Nunawading Basketball Centre sitting on top of the NBL1 South with a five-game winning run with the Cavaliers arriving trying to bounce back from a loss to the Waverley Falcons.

It was an entertaining opening quarter with both teams combining for 54 points with the Spectres leading 28-26 by quarter-time.

Casey turned things around going on a 9-0 run in the second term to open up a 12-point lead and going into the half-time interval leading 54-43.

The swings continued in the third stanza with Nunawading scoring 23 points to 13 and then to keep that going into the fourth quarter to open up a four-point lead.

But the Cavs weren’t done with yet and it was their turn to take control for good with 36 points in the last quarter on the way to the eventual eight-point victory.

The win improves the Cavaliers to a 5-5 record with Tanner Krebs putting up 27 points, five rebounds and five assists while Preston Bungei added 24 points, seven boards, five assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

Pat Ryan also had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Yuot Gai 18 points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks.

Nunawading's five-game winning streak is now over with them slipping to 8-3 as a result with Jack Gandolfo delivering 26 points and six assists with 4/7 three-point shooting.

Ben Griscti added 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists with going 4/6 from downtown while Christian D'Angelo added 12 points and seven boards, Dylan Penn 11 points and six assists, and Kingsley Box 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Bendigo Braves (82) lost to Mount Gambier Pioneers (94)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers started their road double with the impressive 94-82 win over the Bendigo Braves with Alex Mudronja putting up another 23 points.

The Braves were back home at Red Energy Arena looking to make it consecutive wins while the Pioneers arrived also fresh off beating the Hobart Chargers.

Bendigo did manage to be leading 20-18 by quarter-time before Mount Gambier took control in the second term with 31 points to 18 to go into half-time leading 49-38.

That lead for Pioneers got out to as much as 20 points in the second half too before they went on to score the 12-point victory in the perfect start of their road double.

Mount Gambier improves to 5-5 with the win with Alex Mudronja producing another 23 points and eight rebounds after his late heroics last week.

Ngor Manyang added 18 points and four rebounds, Scott Telfer 12 points on 6/8 shooting, Micale Mee nine points, two rebounds and two steals, Lucas Gordon nine points and 11 boards, and Collin Moore nine points, five assists and four rebounds.

Bendigo are now 5-4 following the loss with Jarvis Doles finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds with Billy Smythe adding 18 points and four boards, Dashiel Walker nine points and two rebounds, Ray Turner eight points and two boards, and Jake Lloyd eight points, four rebounds and four assists.

Northern Force (93) lost to Dandenong Rangers (116)

The Northern Force are still hunting that elusive first win at home with the Dandenong Rangers making it a perfect Tasmanian double with the 116-93 win.

Both teams had played on Friday night with the Rangers beating the Hobart Chargers in a thriller while the Force went down to the Diamond Valley Eagles.

The Force were back home at Elphin Sports Stadium but it was the Rangers already opening up a 12-point lead in the first term and being on top 29-22 by quarter-time.

Dandenong then put up another 29 points to 18 in the second frame to go into half-time leading 58-40 with the Rangers going on with the job from there with 58 more points in the second half to 53 to win by 23.

Remarkably the Rangers scored 29 points in all four quarters to now improve to a 7-4 record with Joe Palmer producing another 31 points, eight rebounds and three assists with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Sam Davidson added 25 points on 9/12 shooting while Harry Froling had 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Ryan Rapp 13 points and seven boards, Bayley Rough nine points on 4/5 shooting, and Josh Kunen seven points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

The Force slip to 2-9 while yet to win in six home matches in 2026 with Kye Savage producing another 27 points, six rebounds and three assists on 4/11 three-point shooting.

Logan Gibson also had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Aaron Ridley III 15 points, Cameron Brown 10 points, six boards, two assists and two steals, and Vincent DeAngelo eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

Keilor Thunder (88) lost to Kilsyth Cobras (99)

It took until the fourth quarter but the Kilsyth Cobras hit the first seven points of it to set up their 99-88 road victory against the Keilor Thunder as they close in on a top four spot.

Both teams came into the match up at Keilor Stadium in winning form and knocking on the door of the top four with the Thunder in seventh place after beating the Hobart Chargers while the Cobras had won three in-a-row to be fifth.

Keilor managed to stay in touch of Kilsyth with it just a three-point ball game by three quarter-time, but the Cobras then hit the first seven points in a dramatic and delayed start to the fourth quarter.

That proved to be the match winning move from Kilsyth with them on the way to the 11-point victory to make it four in-a-row and to improve to a 7-3 record while Keilor are now 6-5.

Kilsyth made it four straight victories even with losing Dillon Stith to injury in the second half when he already had 15 points and six rebounds with 3/4 three-point shooting.

Chris Payton Jr ended up top scoring for the Cobras with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Jamie Ahale added 17 points, three boards and two assists, Adrian Tomada 16 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals, and Hamish MacDonald 10 points and seven boards.

Deng Dut finished with 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds for Keilor on 9/15 shooting but it was a frustrating start for him to the fourth quarter when he had four fouls next to his name and had to sit while Kilsyth put up six straight points only for one of those fouls to be swiped shortly after.

Landon Seaman added another 12 points, three assists and two steals, Tana Kopa 12 points and three rebounds, Matthew Johns 11 points, four boards and four assists, Nick Banon 10 points and three rebounds, and Zach Hinton five points, five boards and three steals.

Frankston Blues (84) lost to Waverley Falcons (88)

The Waverley Falcons scored seven straight points in the last two minutes to go from a point down to securing the 88-84 road win against the Frankston Blues.

It always had the makings of a fascinating match up at Jubilee Park Stadium with the Blues trying to bounce back from a loss to the Melbourne Tigers and the Falcons out to back up a win against the Casey Cavaliers.

It was the Falcons who made the flying start away from home with a 12-0 run in the first quarter on the way to leading by 15, and still being up 29-21 by quarter-time.

The Falcons were still leading 43-39 by half-time and then still leading by five at three quarter-time, but then the Blues made their move.

Frankston went on a 13-0 scoring run to come from 10 points down to leading by three, and they were still up one with 1:30 to play.

That's when Waverley hit back with a triple to Gabe Hadley, bucket to Malik Meunier and free throws to Mawot Mag to suddenly be up six, and from there to complete the four-point victory.

The win improves the Falcons to a 5-5 record with Hadley delivering 24 points and six assists on 4/8 three-point shooting with Meunier ending up with 24 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Matthew McCarthy also had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Mag 10 points, three boards, two assists and two blocks.

The Blues slip to 6-5 with the loss with Daniel Trist delivering 21 points and 10 rebounds with Austin Shelley providing 21 points, five boards, four assists and two steals.

Dibaji Walker added 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, Corey Hastings nine points, four boards and two assists, and Tom Garrett nine points and three rebounds.

Ballarat Miners (82) lost to Melbourne Tigers (108)

Even without Jack Purchase the Melbourne Tigers turned a four-point deficit at quarter-time into the 108-82 road win against the Ballarat Miners.

The Miners were back home at Selkirk Stadium trying to snap a seven-game losing slide while the Tigers arrived having won their past two.

Melbourne were without Purchase, though, and Ballarat started well to open up an early nine-point lead and were still on top 24-20 by quarter-time.

The Tigers turned things around from there with 32 points to 19 in the second quarter, 28 to 16 in the third and 28 to 23 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 26-point victory.

The win improves Melbourne to an 8-2 record with reigning MVP Tom Wilson delivering 32 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals while shooting 6/10 from three-point territory.

Wilson Amos added 26 points and three rebounds on 11/16 shooting with Josh Sykes having 13 points, nine boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks, George Blagojevic 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, and Mason Gaze eight points, nine boards, six assists and four steals.

Ballarat have now lost eight straight to be 1-9 with Jaden Campbell delivering 28 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks with 5/11 three-point shooting.

William Hynes added 16 points and two blocks, Bol Bak 12 points and four boards, and Yak Nyuon eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

SUNDAY

Eltham Wildcats (95) defeated Mount Gambier Pioneers (77)

The Eltham Wildcats bounce back from a loss to the Nunawading Spectres to close in on top spot with the 95-77 home victory over the travelling Mount Gambier Pioneers.

The Pioneers were fresh off beating the Bendigo Braves the night before to start their road double while Eltham were playing for the first time since last Sunday's loss to the Spectres.

The Wildcats made a flying start with 23 points to 14 in the opening period on their home floor and then turned that into the 43-30 half-time edge.

Eltham then closed the deal on the 18-point victory with a 31-point fourth quarter to improve to an 8-3 record as a result.

Zak Cunningham top scored for the Wildcats with 23 points, five rebounds, four blocks and three assists on 10/14 shooting from the floor.

TJ Weeks added 21 points, five rebounds and two blocks, Harry Hornery 17 points, eight boards and three assists, Leonardo Colimerio 16 points and three rebounds, Mitch McCarron 11 points, seven boards and five assists, and Sam Short 10 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals.

Mount Gambier return home having split their road double to now sit at 5-6 with Titus Robinson putting up 16 points and five rebounds with Lucas Gordon adding 14 points and 14 boards, Scott Telfer 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Collin Moore 11 points, five steals, three boards and two blocks.

Casey Cavaliers (109) defeated Bendigo Braves (76)

The Casey Cavaliers made it a double win weekend with an emphatic showing with all eight players contributing strongly to their 109-76 home victory against the Bendigo Braves.

The two teams arrived at Casey Stadium having played the previous night with the Cavaliers beating the Nunawading Spectres who are in top spot by eight points while the Braves went down at home to the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

The Cavaliers shot right out of the blocks with 37 points in the first quarter and then never let up the rest of the afternoon on the way to the eventual 33-point victory as they improve to a 6-5 record on the back of the pair of wins this weekend.

The Braves are now 5-5 for the season having lost twice this weekend.

All eight Casey players that suited up made a strong contribution with Tanner Krebs putting up 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds with Jesse Ghee adding 19 points, five assists, four steals and three boards.

Pat Ryan also had 18 points, five rebounds and two steals, Yuot Gai 16 points, eight boards, three blocks and two assists, Preston Bungei 11 points, five rebounds and two steals, and Trent Andre 11 points, two boards and two assists.

Then there was Jarred Burnett adding eight points, three rebounds and two steals, and Chan Nai seven points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

Billy Smythe top scored for Bendigo with 19 points and six rebounds with Jarvis Doles having a double double with 15 points and 13 rebounds with Ray Turner adding 14 points and two boards, and Jordan Straatsma 12 points, three rebounds and two steals.