Phoenix fire, too hot for 36ers

South East Melbourne fired on all cylinders as the Phoenix led wire-to-wire to defeat Adelaide 36ers 102-84 at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Nick Marshall was the shining light for the 36ers, scoring 15 points, but Adelaide were unable to control Phoenix trio Mitch Creek (24 points), Trey Kell (20 points) and Alan Williams (18 points).

Adelaide started with two quick three-pointers through Sunday Dech and Robert Franks, but the home side got rolling as Gary Browne sparked a 7-0 run.

Antonius Cleveland flew for a highlight dunk from a steal, but the Phoenix then scored the next nine points as the 36ers lived behind the three-point line.

The home side stared to flex their muscle inside through Williams and Kell got to the basket as the Phoenix built a double-digit lead.

When Creek scored after an offensive rebound on the buzzer, South East Melbourne took a 27-18 lead into the first break.

Phoenix started the second quarter full of confidence as Adelaide found early foul trouble and when Browne hit a triple, the home side had a 35-20 lead.

Marshall had instant impact off the bench, scoring seven second quarter points but the Phoenix continued to keep their 10-point advantage throughout.

Creek sparked the home side with 18 first half points as South East Melbourne took a 56-43 lead into intermission.

Adelaide had an extra spark starting the second half, but the Phoenix continued to play with confidence, Ryan Broekhoff connecting on a three-pointer to give the home side a 61-45 lead.

Daniel Johnson (10 points, eight rebounds) worked tirelessly at both ends of the floor and Marshall continued his great game, but Adelaide couldn’t get any momentum as South East Melbourne took a 78-60 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Franks, who had 18 points and eight rebounds, continued to battle inside, captain Mitch McCarron added eight points with nine rebounds and Sunday Dech had 10 points, but the Phoenix were too strong.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE 102 (Creek 24, Kell 20, Williams 18) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 84 (Franks 18, Marshall 15, Johnson 10, Dech 10) at John Cain Arena.

BOX SCORE