The Norwood Flames have erased their lone black spot of the season with a comfortable 33-point win against an undermanned Southern Tigers.

Todd Matthews had another eye-catching game, with 24 points, seven assists and seven steals, while Dan Thompson also returned a solid game with 22 and 8 rebounds. Paul Smith lead the Tigers with 16 points and nine rebounds.

On the road without centre Brad Bungey and impact player Ryan Franceschinis, the Tigers were always going to have it tough, but as the only team to defeat the Flames this season, there was a glimmer of hope.

‘Hope’ turned to ‘help’ halfway through the opening quarter when the Flames reserves piled on 19 points to nine to finish 33-19 at the first break, increasing to 19 at the half, 58-39.

The Tigers won the third quarter, on the back of some good outside shooting and creative post moves, trailing by 15 at the final break. Relentless pressure from Norwood and greater depth eventually wore down Southern, however, with the Flames blowing the lead out in the final quarter to the final margin of 33 points.

Besides Matthews and Thompson, other notable Norwood performances came from centre David Cooper (17 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists), Keith Krause (13 & 7), Andrew Webber (18 points) and Corey Ottey (11 rebounds).

For the Tigers, who were smashed 61-37 on the boards, there were five double-figure scorers: Smith (16), Shane Boal (13), Daniel Lalic (11), Tristan Braithwaite (11) and Phil Brown (10).

The Flames now have two weeks to prepare for the June 14 blockbuster against arch rivals North Adelaide, who themselves have been belting opponents. The showdown is looming as the first real test for each team in a number of weeks.