Sturt Sneak into Top Four
The Sabres continued their recent good form on Saturday night by cruising to a 67-90 victory over the struggling Panthers at Marion.
In a game which mimicked the women’s contest before it, Sturt’s Men started red-hot on the offensive end on the back of some sharp shooting from import Matt Dougherty (22 points, 50% FG including 4/5 from beyond the arc) and youngster Jordan Heading (17 points, 70% FG) to give the Sabres an early advantage.
South had no troubles of their own hitting the scoreboard thanks to 11 first quarter points from reliable big man Tom McKenzie (23 points 5 assists), but they were still staring down the barrel of an early blow-out after giving up 33 points in the first period to see the visitors skip out to an early 12 point lead.
The Panthers continued to look inside in the second quarter. McKenzie combined well with young big man Brad Pfitzner (11 points, 9 rebounds) with a slick high-low combination to keep the home squad in touch. When Cameron Myles nailed a corner three to cut the deficit to 10 the Panthers looked like making a run to close out the half.
However the momentum swing proved to be short-lived after a swooping John Marriot dunk off a Sam Daly assist brought the Sturt bench to its feet, the momentum-shifter allowed Sturt to regain a handy 15 point buffer by the major change.
There was little resistance in the second half as the visitors pushed the lead past 20 early in the third quarter. Heading and Dougherty sustained their hot-shooting from the perimeter, whilst John Marriot (14 points) provided two more thunderous dunks for the entertainment of the South Adelaide crowd, albeit against their own team.
In the end it was a balanced and efficient attack from Sturt that got the job done. The Sabres shot an outstanding 47% from deep (9/19) and 48% from the field in a match which saw them lead from start to finish. South were ultimately unable to clamp down defensively and disrupt the rhythm of the Sturt shooters after their hot start.
The win pushes Sturt into fourth despite a slow start to the season and sets up a fourth versus fifth showdown next week against North Adelaide in what will be a telling match in terms of the young Sabres’ finals aspirations for this year.
Meanwhile the Panthers will continue to search for their second win when they take on Forestville at Wayville stadium.
By Lachlan Sellar
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.