Crocs thump Breakers in first semi

Updated March 30, 2012 21:02:59

Townsville has a great chance of knocking the top-seeded New Zealand Breakers out of the NBL finals after an upset 99-82 first semi-final victory in Auckland.

The Breakers could not overcome a strong Crocodiles defence in the first of the best-of-three semi-final series and were blown away with hot shooting by the visitors in a 30-18 third quarter.

The Breakers will now have to repeat last year's effort against Perth of scoring an away victory in their second semi-final to have a chance of repeating their 2011 title.

The Crocodiles made a quick start, but the home team held firm and a three-pointer in the last minute by Leon Henry took the Breakers to a 21-19 lead at quarter-time.

Seven straight points after the break took the Crocodiles to a 26-21 lead, though the Breakers quickly replied with a seven-point run of their own.

The Crocodiles stayed in touch for the rest of the quarter, and a three-point play from bench player Elvin Mims helped the Crocodiles take a 44-41 lead into the half-time break.

There was only one team playing in the third quarter.

Jacob Holmes was strong at both ends of the court, leading the visitors to 30 points, while the Breakers could not get any momentum offensively and were down 74-59 at the end of the quarter.

The locals tried to get going in the final quarter but were always playing catch-up and now face having to win in Townsville if they are going to make the final.

Mims, Holmes, Eddie Gill, Peter Crawford and Luke Schenscher all got into double figures for the Crocodiles, with Holmes and Schenscher also making a big rebounding impact.

"As good as it is to win one, you need to win two before you can actually say you've done anything," Crawford said.

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said it had been difficult to get the team going in the week leading up to Friday's game and they needed to improve their intensity to make it to the final.

"We didn't play to our normal level tonight," he said.

"I don't think that was a Breakers-style performance and I think we'll play better on Thursday."

The Crocodiles led by three at half-time but a 30-18 third quarter by the visitors forced the hosts into catch-up mode in the final quarter and they were unable to respond.

"I think we executed our game plan about as well as I could hope for, at both ends of the floor," Crocodiles coach Paul Woolpert said.

"We did a good job of executing at the offensive end and getting good shots and I think that helped take away their transition game."

AAP

Tags: sport, basketball, nbl, new-zealand, townsville-4810

First posted March 30, 2012 20:26:26

View the original article here

Blaze thump Taipans

Updated March 04, 2012 11:37:18

Gold Coast blew Cairns off its own court with a deadly shooting display to post a 94-77 NBL win at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday night.

The Blaze shot 58 per cent from beyond the arc and barely missed when given an open look to keep the Taipans locked in a battle with Townsville for a spot in the top four.

Adris Deleon hit 23 points to lead the way for the Blaze while Jamar Wilson also notched 23 points for Cairns.

The Taipans' usual stingy defence was not on show in the first half, summed up when Jason Cadee scored another Blaze transition basket to give the visitors a 47-45 half-time advantage.

Cairns started fast and earned a four-point lead, but lost its way when Wilson headed to the bench.

Coming off the bench Chris Goulding exploded when given the nod by coach Joey Wright and finished the first quarter with a steal and a slam to give the Blaze a 10-point lead.

Unlike the Blaze, who were at one stage shooting 80 per cent from long range, the Taipans were struggling to find their range although Aaron Grabau hit a triple to give them an early 39-38 lead.

Deleon sat out most of the third quarter after running into foul trouble but his team-mates stepped up and the Blaze took another big step towards the play-offs.

AAP

Tags: sport, basketball, cairns-4870, qld, australia, southport-4215

First posted March 04, 2012 00:12:04

View the original article here

Crocodiles thump 36ers

Updated February 05, 2012 22:42:16

Townsville Crocodiles turned around a slow start to defeat Adelaide 36ers 89-71 at The Swamp on Sunday night.

The Crocs trailed by five at half-time, but capitalised on four 36ers turnovers to go on an 11-2 third-quarter run and break the game open.

Centre Luke Schenscher was dominant for Townsville with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field along with seven rebounds and two blocks.

Australian junior international Mitch Creek had the best game of his professional career with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists for the losers.

The home side sank 46 points after the main break on the back of imports Eddie Gill (16) and Elvin Mims (11), while the visitors could only manage 23 points for the half as stars Daniel Johnson and Stephen Weigh were kept quiet.

Adelaide had shot Townsville to pieces in the first quarter with six three-pointers - including 3-of-3 from Weigh - to take a 10-point lead before closing the period in front 27-21.

Schenscher battled hard in the paint while Mims added a quick seven points off the bench.

Creek snuck under the defensive radar to sink 10 points in the second stanza as the visitors went into half-time holding a 48-43 advantage.

The 36ers lost their way after the break, committing careless turnovers and missing multiple three-point attempts, as the Crocs surged ahead 67-58 after three periods.

Michael Cedar then sank back-to-back three-pointers to continue the momentum and kill off any thoughts of a fight-back.

Creek was Adelaide's only threat as the clock ticked down but lacked support, the hosts recording a comfortable victory to hold on to third place.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, townsville-4810, qld, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted February 05, 2012 21:35:55

View the original article here

Hawks wind back clock to thump Tigers

Updated January 27, 2012 22:47:45

Ayinde Ubaka and the new-look Hawks carved out a commanding 90-68 NBL win over the Melbourne Tigers in Wollongong to end a run of seven losses at home.

The Hawks built a 20-point buffer in the first half and survived a shaky third quarter to record the comfortable victory with the help of their newest recruit and former Tiger Ubaka.

Ubaka gave his new fans plenty to cheer about on his way to 15 points, including eight-from-eight free throws, three steals and three assists.

Mat Campbell produced a vintage outing with 17 points that included four three-pointers, while Glen Saville added 13 points and nine boards.

For the Tigers, forward Liam Rush poured in 18 points and Myron Allen impressed with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists as Melbourne slumped to its sixth straight loss.

Wollongong got off to a dream start as Campbell streaked to the hoop for a three-point play off the initial jump ball.

The Hawks captain continued to roll, draining a pair of triples as the hosts ran away with a 31-16 first-quarter advantage.

An early 8-0 spurt in the second term extended the Hawks' lead to 20, then after Allen and Rush rallied for the Tigers, Tim Coenraad's jumper produced a 56-36 half-time lead.

Melbourne notched the first six points of the third to momentarily silence the crowd, but the Hawks faithful let out a sigh of relief when Larry Davidson stroked a three from the top of the key.

Both teams then struggled to find baskets until Joevan Catron broke the stalemate to keep the Hawks afloat at 69-52 with 10 minutes to play.

The Tigers threatened early in the fourth, but a string of threes by Oscar Forman, Saville, Campbell and Ubaka secured the Hawks' second home win of the season.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Breakers made it four wins in a row with a 93-64 thrashing of Sydney Kings in Auckland.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, wollongong-2500, melbourne-3000

First posted January 27, 2012 22:47:45

View the original article here