October 26, 2015

Photo: Craig Martin from Lightning hit 18 in upset win over the Uni Rebels.

Championship Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results – Sunday 25 October 2015

 

Men Round 18

League Men – Uni Rebels v Lightning

Lightning knocked off the league leading Uni Rebels 73-56 to stay alive in the hunt for a playoff position with just three rounds remaining. The absence of live-wire guard Marcus Ch’ng from the Rebel line-up due to injury was evident in more ways than one. Without Ch’ng to direct traffic the Rebels looked very vulnerable indeed. Lightning’s defense stood out as they limited the Rebel offensive thrust considerably, holding a number of players to well below their season averages. The Lightning also had their best shooting day from outside the arc, nailing 9 treys during the game (3 each to Lachlan Edwards & Chris Charman). Lightning led after one quarter 20-14 and 37-27 at the half. The Rebels bounced back a bit in the third quarter with a 17-14 run, but failed to show any indication that they could win the game. Lightning put the game on ice with a 22-12 fourth quarter run. Lightning’s Craig Martin (23.5ppg) led all players with 18, Edwards had 15 and Cameron Bailey 14. Bradley Radovic hit 17 for the Rebels, David Ronchi hit 14 and Jamie Hamill 12. It was only the second loss of the season for the Rebels.

Palmerston Power v Eagles

Palmerston toyed with the Eagles for one quarter then opened up the game through big man Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson to dominate in a 91-59 thrashing of the Birds. Hohipa-Wilson (19.2ppg) led all scorers with a game high 32, just one point shy of his season best. The score was all tied up at 17 apiece after one quarter, but after that the Power took control and won the next three quarters by a 74-42 margin. The absence of big man Deola D'Folarin had a huge impact on rebounding & scoring for the Birds as they struggled to shut down Hohipa-Wilson inside the keyway. Jesse Bell & Tom Godwin contributed 16 each for the Power while Ernest Holmes (15ppg) led the way for the Eagles with 20, Reece Turner (19.4ppg) had 13 and Jesse Williams-Hook added 10. With only two games remaining for the Eagles they may have to rely on other results to stay in a playoff position.

Tracy Village Jets v Razzle

Tracy Village Jets accounted for the Razzle 76-55 to keep their playoff chances alive like three other teams hanging in there. Presently tied with the Eagles for third place on the ladder their remaining games include matches against the Rebels and Lightning of which they will need to win one of those plus they end the regular season with the fast finishing Ansett side. Not an easy road to the finals. After a slow start to this game, however, they swept aside the Green & Gold with a game winning 46-21 run during the second & third quarters for a 60-35 lead with a quarter to go. Travis Ellis (22.4ppg) was again the ‘go to’ man for the Jets, finishing with a game high 24. He had support from Jai O’Shaughnessy (5.9ppg) with his season high 18. Nathan Radonich hit 18 for the Razzle with Rob Oliver getting 11 and David Carroll & Stuart Peace 10 each.

Ladder:    Uni Rebels 11-2, Palmerston Power 9-4, Eagles & Tracy Village Jets 6-7, Lightning 6-6, Ansett 5-7 & Razzle 1-11

Next week Round 15:    Thursday – Eagles v Uni Rebels 8:00pm. Friday – Ansett v Palmerston 6:30, Lightning v Tracy Village Jets 8:00pm, Bye – Razzle

Sunday 1 November Rd 17    Palmerston v Razzle 12:00pm, Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets 1:00pm & Ansett v Lightning 7:00pm