Sydney Kings overcame the loss of one co-captain and were sparked by another to notch a notable Queensland NBL road double.
A 92-87 win over Townsville (0-5) on Saturday was followed by a 71-69 victory at Cairns (2-3) on Sunday to lift Sydney (3-2) into the top four.
It is the first time the Kings have had a win-loss record above 50 per cent since winning their opening match on readmittance to the NBL for the 2010-11 season.
Co-captain Ben Madgen scored 23 points against Townsville, just behind the 25-point haul of Aaron Bruce.
He followed up with a team-leading 22 points against Cairns where Sydney came from eight points down in the last quarter.
Import Corin Henry produced a game-tilting steal and basket inside the last 20 seconds.
The Kings are currently without their other co-captain James Harvey, who is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks with a broken arm.
"Pressure was mounted and you can either get it done or suck your thumb and now the challenge is to maintain the level we've set," Kings coach Shane Heal said.
Wollongong (4-0) maintained its perfect start to the season with a 77-63 away win over Adelaide (2-2).
Guard Adris Deleon scored 16 of his 23 points in the last quarter, as the Hawks rallied from a 12-point, first-quarter deficit.
"We thought we probably should have been 15 or even more down at half-time, but we found a way to hang around," Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod said.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia First posted October 28, 2012 20:38:21
No comments:
Post a Comment