By Benito Carbone (@_DavidCarbone)

Woodville Warriors 78 | Norwood Flames 76

The Woodville Warriors bounced back from last round’s agonising 1-point loss, producing a colossal last quarter effort to defeat the Norwood Flames in the final seconds. In what was another St Clair nail-biter, the Warriors were guided by 26 points and 15 boards from star-man Kirksey, as well as a 19-point contribution from Luke Stanbridge and 18 from substitute Maiorana. Jacob Holmes was vital for the visitors with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while the Webber brothers were again prolific, combining for 29 points.

The match was a battle of strength throughout and this was evident early. Darren Ng (10 points) and Matt Lycett traded triples early as the two powerhouses displayed their offensive prowess. A magical windmill layup from Stanbridge levelled scores late in the opening term but a late three from O’Boyle helped the Flames to a 5 point quarter-time lead. The second term saw each side continuing to trade blows but it was the reigning champions who had the better of the quarter thanks to consecutive maximums from Andrew Webber (5-14 3FG).

Norwood looked to build on their 8 point half-time lead but failed to account for a tremendous third term from Nelson Kirksey. In the space of a minute, the Warrior holed a 3-pointer, provided an incisive assist for Stanbridge and rejected Long’s attempted drive to drag his side to within a score. Late points from the visitors allowed them to rebuild their lead though and the Premiers reached the final interval ahead 56-63.

The sides continued to slog it out in an enthralling final term and Norwood’s lead stayed at 6 points for much of the quarter. That was until a sudden free-scoring run with around four minutes remaining propelled the hosts to a two-point lead. A huge defensive effort, combined with huge plays from Maiorana (7-9 FG), Kirksey and Stanbridge handed the Warriors a remarkable 6-point lead with just 44 seconds remaining. The Flames were not finished though and demonstrated their title credentials with back-to-back threes from Webber and Holmes. Astonishingly, scores were again tied with 0:18 on the clock and Woodville flooded forward to find the winning score. Kirksey was handed the responsibility and drove to the ring only to see his lay-up rebound off the backboard. Adam Miller stood tall to grab the rebound and converted from under the ring with just a second left to bathe himself in glory and win the game for Woodville.

Extraordinarily, it was the Warriors captain who had fouled Mitch Creek in controversial circumstances in Round 9 to give Southern the win. The incredible victory sees Woodville close the gap to just one win between them and Norwood as the Flames now sit 4 points behind the first-placed Tigers ahead of their matchup this week.

Rd 11: Saturday, 28 May

Southern Tigers V Norwood Flames @ Mars at 8.15pm

Woodville Warriors V North Adelaide Rockets @ Hillcrest at 6.30pm