A horror shooting night was all that stopped Norwood's men from seriously challenging Sandringham in tonight's Australian Club Championships Quarter Final at Mars.

The Sabres started the game on fire with a 7-0 run, forcing Rupert Sapwell into an early time out. Two free throws from Sam Grantham broke the streak and a three pointer from Todd Matthews bridged the gap further. When Sandringham forward David Mitchell was hit with an unsportsmanlike foul for running through a backcourt screen, the margin was back to 2.

The incident triggered a 5-0 run for Sandringham and when Sam Hurren hit a three, the Sabres' lead was back to eight. David Cooper, Jermaine Maybank, Simon Conn and David Mitchell all picked up their 2nd fouls within minutes but Sandringham maintained a size advantage and with Norwood playing single coverage in the post, the Sabres were able to score inside and create an 11 point lead at quarter time.

Corey Ottey reduced the gap with a coast-to-cost layup but down the other end, Conn was dominating the rebounds, and when he scored a put-back after two consecutive offensive rebounds, the margin was 14. A 3 pointer from Maybank capped off a 12-0 Sandringham run that blew the lead out to 24, and while Cooper broke the streak, the Flames still went into the long break down by 23, surely ruing their 1/15 3 point shooting for the half.

Norwood showed some fight in the third and when Matthews hit a three then a layup, the lead was back to 14 and Sandringham called time. The Flames' fun was short-lived, as Conn finished an alleyoup, then Maybank drove baseline for a monstrous jam, silencing the Marden crowd. Matthews kept Norwood in the hunt, first with a pass to Cooper in transition, then an incredible left hand up-and-under hook. Conn showed his versatility, hitting one of his five mid range makes for the game, and the lead was back to 20. Norwood experimented with a zone, but couldn't quell Sandringham's inside scoring, the lead still 20 at 3/4 time.

Ottey started the 4th with 2 threes, then Matthews hit one of his own. Sandringham called a timeout to regroup when a 20 footer from Sam Grantham reduced the lead to 13, but that was as close as it got, the Sabres steadying and playing out a 17 point victory.

Simon Conn ended up with 33 points and 15 rebounds (including 9 offensive) against the CABL's tallest team. Kye Patrick had 18 points at an impressive 89%, and while Sedale Threatt was held to 2 points, his 14 assists were key in keeping the Sabres' tally ticking over.

Todd Matthews found ways to get inside the key all game and his 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists kept the Flames competitive. David Cooper's 20 points came at 54% and Corey Ottey's 4th quarter kept the game interesting.

The 17 point margin was certainly respectable for Norwood, but the game could have been that much closer had they carried some shooting form forward from the CABL grand final.

Sandringham now progresses to the National Semi Finals, which start next Saturday night at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.