By Kieren Vartuli

South Adelaide 82 | North Adelaide 78

North Adelaide hosted South Adelaide at Hillcrest in a tight match on Saturday night. Both sides on the lower half of the table still have much to play for in the remainder of the season.

The Panthers went on an entertaining 9-0 run to start the game, holding North scoreless until 5:38 remaining in the opening term. After a slow start, the Rockets’ found themselves back in the game after a 6-0 run which cut the lead to 5, then eventually a tie game at 14-14 with 2:20 remaining. Walking off the court after the first, the scores were level at 19-19. The even gameplay, fast ball movement and great transition from both sides allowed a great contest.

The start of the second term was slow for both clubs as turnovers were slowly piling up and both sides were trading buckets back and forth at both ends. Luke Mapunda was working both ends of the floor after sending a shot back with authority and throughout the night pouring in 17 points. North Adelaide’s top scorer for the evening Cameron Simmons (24 points) who helped take the lead briefly in the second after nailing a big three. After recapturing the lead, South Adelaide’s Adrien Coleman once again showcasing some of his talents after driving then dishing it out for the buzzer beating three which gave them an 8 point lead at halftime.

North Adelaide were showing signs of determination on the defensive end in the third, tearing down any board that came their way. Their opponents thriving in their own way by displaying some great ball movement and making some big buckets to halt any swings of momentum. This was seen though Coleman’s work on the floor as he still had a hot hand. Both sides were putting in the hard yards on their defensive ends for their own reasons. After a long battle throughout the quarter and a strong 8 points by Simmons in the final few minutes, the deficit was now 5 points (55-60).

The final quarter was an excellent sight for fans in attendance as the game went right down to the wire. Adam Schild opened up the terms scoring two points which cut the deficit to 3. Both Ryan Gardner and Cameron Myles put up 14 and 13 respectively to help build the small lead remaining

After a fantastic demonstration of court vision and team awareness, as well as some baskets inside, Coleman was able to help extend the lead. North Adelaide played well throughout the last quarter and were patient on offence.

Down the stretch and on the other end of the hardwood Shane Boal executed some clutch free throws to push the lead to 4 points. This was enough to give the visitors the victory as the final siren sounded seconds later.

Round 14: Saturday, 25 June at 8.15pm

North Adelaide v Norwood Flames @ Hillcrest

South Adelaide v West Adelaide @ Marion