At three quarter-time of the North Adelaide Rockets v Forestville Eagles clash at Hillcrest, it seemed inevitable that the Rockets would continue go on to record their fourth straight victory, whilst Forestville would succumb to a fourth straight loss. After trailing exclusively since late in the first quarter, North went on a 19-5 run between the 5.04 and 1.16 minute mark in the third quarter, and led comfortably at 65-55. The Rockets had turned up the pace of the game, and the Eagles, minus Brad Gerlach and Luke Hoban, did not look like getting back into the game, whilst resorting to their all too familiar reliance on import Riley Luettgerodt (28 points, 22 at three quarter time). 

However, led by an inspirational final six minutes from 18 year old Point Guard Adam Doyle, along with some tremendous hustle from undersized Centre Scott Arnold, the Eagles stunned the Rockets with a 30-12 fourth quarter to upset North 85-77. Doyle finished with 12 points for the quarter without a single missed field goal and hit the go ahead basket with 2.26 to go in the quarter. Doyle finished with 18 points on 7 for 9 shooting in 27 minutes. Arnold (12 points, 8 boards) had a couple of invaluable blocked shots and a huge put-back lay-up that put Forestville up 7 with 1.12 to go, whilst frustrating his much bigger opponent Nick Hambour into a technical foul that ended his night. The win puts the Eagles within one game of the Rockets, who were left to rue their 40% shooting from the foul-line.

The Eagles began the game in an unusual 2-3 zone defence, a tactic that Coach Andy Simons obviously employed to counter the inside presence of Rockets’ bigs Hambour (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Pero Vasilijevic (13 points, 9 rebounds). However, the early going saw North gain the incentive, leading 6-0 after the first minute and a half, before Brad Sullivan got the Eagles on the board with a three-pointer. Tom Rowe answered right back with a three of his own, and it seemed every time Forestville got within a basket, North had all the answers. However, some strong play down the stretch from Doyle and Doug MacDonald-Taylor (9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 fouls) saw the Eagles hold sway 20-18 at quarter-time. 

North changed their defence during the second quarter, switching from man-to-man to a trapping zone, clearly keen to force the ball out of Luettgerodt’s hands. Forestville made a couple of big runs on the back of the Luettgerodt-Nick Blair partnership (17 points combined for the quarter), getting out to a lead of nine at one stage in the period. Luettgerodt made one particularly incredible play, making a transition block on Leif Burdon, before running the floor to finish with a lay-up. Despite their dominance, the Eagles were unable to split the Rockets open, and another three from Rowe on the brink of half-time meant the Eagles would go in with a slender 39-43 advantage. 

North Coach Tracy York was finished with substituting her key players, leaving Hambour, Vasilijevic and Point Guard Michael Zorich (21 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists) on the floor for the duration of the quarter. That move worked a treat, with Zorich, in particular, dominant, as the Rockets took control of the game. The Rockets’ defence had clearly lifted, forcing the Eagles into terrible shots and poor passes, and using this to build a running game that led to numerous uncontested layups. At one stage, North scored on 9 out of 11 possessions, including a rare Nick Hambour three, as the Rockets build a 13 point lead. Riley Luettgerodt gave the Eagles some hope with a shot-clock beating three-pointer in the quarter’s final minutes, as North went into the final break with a 10 point lead and the Eagles staring down the barrel of another ugly defeat.

The fourth quarter was one which showed the tremendous potential that this Forestville team holds. Two more baskets from Luettgerodt got the Eagles back to within 6, forcing the Rockets into a time-out. The following few minutes saw neither team able to put the ball in the basket, with tempers flaring and Arnold and Burdon both receiving technical fouls in the same play. It wasn’t until almost four and a half minutes into the quarter that the Rockets finally made a field goal, following a jumper from Vasilijevic, breaking a 6-1 Forestville run. The teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes, before an eight-point burst from Adam Doyle and two gifted free throws to Riley Luettgerodt off Hambour’s technical foul turned a 70-65 deficit into a 75-71 advantage. The Eagles got their lead out to seven, but Vasilijevic had the chance to cut the deficit to five with 56.1 seconds to go and the Rockets still some hope. After missing his first free throw, Vasilijevic through the ball at the ring on the second, running in way too early and turning the ball over to Forestville, summing up the Rockets’ terrible last quarter. North did cut the gap to 4 with 30.5 seconds to go, but Doyle hit two more free throws to seal the game, as the Eagles scored a ripping 85-77 road win. 

The Eagles have finally overcome one of the league’s top sides, having lost their previous four games against teams above them, whilst North will be bitterly disappointed with the way they threw the game away. Forestville has a double-header next week, starting with Southern at home, before travelling to Mt Barker to play the Mavericks. The Rockets have an away match against Centrals on Saturday, before hosting South on Sunday.