Marshall stars as Pioneers bounce back

Adelaide 36ers swingman Nick Marshall has led Mount Gambier Pioneers back to equal second position in the NBL1 South standings after another outstanding performance on the weekend.

Marshall scored an equal game-high 18 points to go with 13 rebounds and four assists as the Pioneers defeated Keilor Thunder 80-64 on Friday night.

Mount Gambier were in control for much of the contest, winning every quarter as the Pioneers bounced back after back-to-back defeats at home.

The Pioneers now move to a 10-4 record to sit equal second with Sandringham Sabres, who defeated DJ Vasiljevic’s Waverley Falcons 110-84 last Saturday night.

Vasiljevic scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds for the Falcons, who were outclassed by the Sabres after quarter time.

Waverley now move to 9-5 on the season and will face Diamond Valley Eagles (17^th, 4-9) on Saturday night on the road before returning home on Sunday afternoon for a clash against league leaders Ballarat Miners (1^st, 10-3).

Mount Gambier also face Diamond Valley Eagles (17^th, 4-9) this weekend on Sunday afternoon, after their Saturday night clash against Kilsyth Cobras (18^th, 3-11).

Sunday Dech scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists as East Perth Eagles defeated Joondalup Wolves 94-90 in NBL1 West on Friday night.

In a tight contest all evening, the Eagles trailed by one point going into the final 10 minutes but outscored the Wolves 24-19 in the last quarter for the four-point win.

Friday night’s win was Dech’s last game for the Eagles as the 195cm swingman now travels to Rwanda for the South Sudan Olympic camp.

The Eagles made it a perfect weekend with a 96-88 success against Mandurah Magic on Sunday as East Perth move to sixth on the NBL1 West standings with a 9-6 record ahead of Saturday night’s clash against South West Slammers (13^th, 3-12) at Eaton Recreation Centre.

Point guard Jason Cadee again filled the stats sheet in NBL1 North, but his Gold Coast Rollers lost both games across the weekend.

Cadee scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished seven assists and had three steals on Saturday night, but the Rollers fell 87-86 to North Gold Coast Seahawks at Runaway Bay Stadium.

The Rollers fought back strong in the final quarter, coming back from a double-digit margin but were unable to hit some clutch free throws down the stretch as the Seahawks won a thriller.

Gold Coast now fall to 4-6 on the season and are in 10^th spot after the Rollers also fell 92-79 to Logan Thunder on their Carrara Stadium home court on Friday night.

Cadee had nine points, seven assists and three rebounds against the Thunder and the Rollers will now face the Far North Queensland road double this weekend, playing against Townsville Heat (14^th, 2-9) on Friday night, before backing up against Cairns Marlins (8^th, 5-6) on Saturday night.

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NBL1 Central had the King’s Birthday long weekend off but will return this week with a double-header round of matches.

Sturt Sabres duo Jacob Rigoni and Ben Griscti will be playing at home against Norwood Flames (5^th, 5-6) on Saturday night, before travelling to Mitchell Park Sports Centre on Sunday for a clash against Alex Starling and the South Adelaide Panthers (3^rd, 8-3).

Before Sunday afternoon’s showdown against Sturt, Starling’s Panthers will travel to Lights Community Centre on Saturday night to play North Adelaide Rockets (10^th, 2-9).

Across the Tasman in the NZNBL, Lat Mayen scored four points and hauled in four rebounds as Wellington Saints defeated Taranaki Airs 96-85 at TSB Stadium on Saturday night.

The Saints started strong away from home, building up a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and were in control of the contest for most of the night.

Wellington now moves to a 10-4 record and sit in third spot ahead of Sunday’s clash against Franklin Bulls (5^th, 9-4) on home court.