Vasiljevic stars as Falcons continue win streak

Adelaide 36ers star guard DJ Vasiljevic has led Waverley Falcons to their fifth consecutive win of the NBL1 South season, defeating Kilsyth Cobras 87-82 on Saturday night.

Waverley fought back after trailing for a majority of the contest, but a 21-14 burst in the final 10 minutes sparked the home side.

Vasiljevic scored a team-high 28 points to go with six assists and three rebounds as the Falcons moved their record to 7-4 to sit in fourth position on the standings after the five-point success.

The Falcons now face North West Tasmania (14^th, 5-6) at home on Sunday afternoon with the chance to move into the top three.

Swingman Nick Marshall was huge for Mount Gambier as the Pioneers won both games on the road to stay in first position on the standings at 9-2.

Marshall scored a game-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds as the Pioneers defeated reigning NBL1 National Champions Knox Raiders 98-77 on Saturday night.

The Pioneers exploded in the first quarter, taking a 32-13 lead into the first break but the Raiders fought back, cutting the lead in half before Mount Gambier were too strong in the final quarter.

Less than 24 hours later Marshall scored 18 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists as the Pioneers made it a perfect weekend with an 82-70 success against Casey Cavaliers.

Mount Gambier return to their home court this Friday night when the Pioneers will host Eltham Wildcats (12^th, 5-5).

East Perth Eagles won their third consecutive match in NBL1 West, with Sunday Dech leading his side to a 109-95 win against Cockburn Cougars on Friday night.

The Eagles had seven players in double figure points and stamped their authority early in the match in the 14-point success.

Dech scored 13 points, dished six assists, grabbed two rebounds and had two steals as East Perth took an 11-point lead into the main interval to move to a 5-4 record.

The Eagles face a double-header this weekend, travelling to HBF Arena this Friday night to play Joodalup Wolves (2^nd, 7-1) before backing up at home on Sunday afternoon against Geraldton Buccaneers (1^st, 8-1).

In NBL1 North, Jason Cadee dished a game-high 10 assists to go with eight points, four rebounds and two steals but it was not enough for Gold Coast Rollers, who fell 93-79 to Logan Thunder on Saturday night.

In a tough contest for almost three quarters, the Rollers were just unable to stop the home side’s momentum in the final 10 minutes, Gold Coast now move to a 3-3 record on the season, the Rollers now face the undefeated Mackay Meteors (1^st, 5-0) at Carrara this Saturday night.

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Alex Starling and Jacob Rigoni both had the weekend off from NBL1 Central duties due to the Basketball South Australia State Junior Championships.

Starling will lead his Panthers this round on home court against the in-form West Adelaide Bearcats at Mitchell Park, while Rigoni and the Sabres will look to bounce back from last round’s loss to the Bearcats when Sturt host North Adelaide Rockets at Springbank, both games are on Saturday night.

Across the Tasman in the NZNBL, Lat Mayen and his Wellington Saints bounced back into the winners’ circle after a thrilling 87-85 victory against Franklin Bulls on Sunday afternoon.

The Saints, who are now third on the standings with a 7-2 record, turned a five-point opening quarter deficit into a five-point half-time lead and held on down the stretch.

Mayen scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds but fouled out of the contest after only 20 minutes on court.