Cadee on fire as Rollers get top spot
Written By
Dale Fletcher
The red-hot NBL1 form of Adelaide 36ers off-season recruit Jason Cadee is going from strength to strength after another dominant display on the weekend.
Cadee led his Gold Coast Rollers to an impressive 2-0 weekend, while dishing out 30 assists across the two matches.
The 186cm point guard had a game-high 18 assists as the Rollers used a dominant first half display to defeat Brisbane Capitals 114-94 at Carrara Stadium on Saturday night. Cadee also scoring 21 points, grabbed five rebounds and had five steals.
Less than 24 hours later, Gold Coast staked their claim as one of the NBL1 North championship favourites with a 115-110 overtime win against Ipswich Force away from home.
Gold Coast outscored the Force 33-16 in the third quarter to storm back into the contest and were clutch down the stretch to take the five-point success.
Cadee had the chance to win the game at the end of regulation but hit some crucial free throws to seal the game for Gold Coast.
The two wins sends Gold Coast to the top of the NBL1 North standings at 14-2 ahead of this week’s home clash against North Gold Coast Seahawks at Carrara Stadium.
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Kyrin Galloway made a huge impact for Ipswich on Saturday night when the Force defeated former league leaders Logan Thunder 93-79 at Bendigo Bank Sports Centre.
A 26-11 third quarter surge by the Force propelled them to the 14-point success, with Galloway contributing 14 points, five rebounds and a block.
However, Galloway missed the 115-110 loss to the Rollers on Sunday due to personal reasons but will return to the Ipswich line-up, who remain in third place on the NBL1 North standings ahead of their home clash against Darwin Salties (8-7, 7th) at home on Saturday night.
After missing close to a month of action, Nick Marshall returned to the Mount Gambier Pioneers line-up and made an instant impact last Friday night.
Marshall scored 18 points, dished four assists and grabbed two rebounds as the Pioneers surged home late to defeat Geelong United 100-90 at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre.
The Pioneers outscoring Geelong 29-18 in the final 10 minutes in what was a crucial win for Mount Gambier, who remain in the hunt for a home final.
Mount Gambier, who sit fourth in the NBL1 South standings with an 11-5 win-loss record, now prepare for an import home double-header this weekend which can setup their playoff run.
Friday night, the Pioneers host Bendigo Braves (8-9, 10th) before backing up on Sunday afternoon against Dandenong Rangers (3-15, 18th).
Adelaide 36ers captain Mitch McCarron was on triple double watch on Saturday night as his West Adelaide Bearcats remained on top of the NBL1 Central standings.
McCarron scored 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished eight assists as the Bearcats defeated North Adelaide Rockets 89-78 at Port Adelaide Recreation Centre.
West Adelaide are now 11-3 and are in joint first place on the ladder with Forestville Eagles and the Bearcats play the Eagles this Saturday night at Wayville Sports Centre.
Alex Starling scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as his South Adelaide Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak with an 86-83 win against Central District at Mitchell Park.
The Panthers stormed home late in the game, a 25-9 last quarter avalanche saw South Adelaide record their ninth win of the NBL1 Central campaign as they keep in touch with the top three.
South Adelaide (9-5, 4th) will travel to Lights Community Centre this Saturday night to battle North Adelaide Rockets (7-7, 6th) in a crucial match which has serious playoff ramifications.
Keanu Rasmussen also scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds but his Sturt Sabres fell 90-84 to Forestville Eagles at Springbank on Saturday night.
The Sabres held a six-point lead at three quarter time, but the Eagles outscored the Sabres 24-12 in the final 10 minutes to move to equal first place on the standings.
Sturt return to their home court on Sunday afternoon when the Sabres host Southern Tigers (0-14, 10th) at Springbank.