Isaac
Years ago

Funny Captain Maher denies Cairns revenge

The Adelaide 36ERS tonight made an outstanding last effort to come from behind and deny the Cairns Taipans their revenge. Captain Brett Maher dashed to the hoop in a play that used the last 17 seconds and the basket fell to rapturous applause. As the crowd rose, the final seconds ran from the clock with Cairns unable to answer and the 36ERS maintained their perfect home record, winning 109-108.

With a lot less than a minute left in the game, the Sixers down by a point, and Cairns playmaker Darnell Mee with possession, it looked as though the Taipans would exact their revenge after losing to Adelaide on a hotly-disputed last-gasp effort around a fortnight ago. But Willie Farley harassed Mee and was joined in a double-team by Dusty Rychart that left Mee on all fours and the ball out of court from his own hands.

Adelaide were outscored in the last quarter falling behind by as much as four points in the final minutes before a huge clutch three point basket from Farley (23 points on 9 of 15 shooting) brought the home team within an unlikely striking distance.

Maher was also instrumental in the win, adding 10 assists to 20 points, while Dusty Rychart added to his tally across consistent periods, scoring 23 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

Earlier in the game, it was Cairns who had their way as Gary Boodnikoff had 8 points and Anthony Stewart matched that, both hitting long-range shots. But when Martin Cattalini picked up his fourth foul in the first few minutes, the Sixers responded, going on a 14-1 burst to establish a 39-28 margin at the first break. Oscar Forman found his shooting touch in the term, hitting 2 of 2 free throws and dropping two threes for 8 points.

In the third quarter, Cairns made their move, outscoring Adelaide 21-27, drawing mostly on the firepower and accuracy of Boodnikoff and Cattalini. David Cooper made every attempt to hold the Sixers lead scoring 8 points in the period en route to 13 points (including two solid dunks during the game).

From there, Cairns import Tate Decker performed well and Mee added points in the paint, but the Taipans revenge was not to be. The atmosphere in the Distinctive Homes Dome was awesome for the win, as Adelaide moved to 4-1 and equal top position on the NBL ladder, while Cairns dropped to 3-2, both losses being at the hands of the 36ERS.

Adelaide 109 (Rychart 23, Farley 23, Maher 20, Cooper 13, Forman 13)
Cairns 108 (Boodnikoff 23, Cattalini 18, Decker 15, Stewart 13, Mee 11)
Crowd: 4850.

Topic #4549 | Report this topic


Double Clutch  
Years ago

Where did you get the crowd figure from Isaac? Didn't see it on any match reports anywhere.

Reply #52882 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

4850 was on the official box score that I found after you left.

Thoughts on the game:

Crowd wasn't stunning but the publicity for the games is still low so our prediction of 4700 was under the real figure and compared to other figures around the country, it's decent and will get better (IMO). And despite that, the atmosphere in those final moments was amazing. The last couple of minutes felt like a finals game and you would've thought that the Dome was packed anyway.

Cairns deserved the win in a way, but the double-team stripped Darnell and Maher still had to make that tough lay-up. Brilliant.

Oscar found his touch and got a good dunk. I've read that some people didn't rate Cooper's game, but I thought he played very well and scored at just the right times. We were getting killed in the third and Coops had 8 from dunks and tip-ins, and he started hitting his free throws.

Dusty didn't have a great game, but still had a good statline. If he doesn't improve his free throw shooting, are opposition teams going to start playing Whack-a-Dusty?

Farley's three at the end was huge, shaking off Cattalini. Without that, a steal or lay-up would've meant nothing, so you have to give him credit for that. Plus he tried to get the crowd into it at the end, and I always appreciate that effort.

Nice work from the Seals to put Melvin off his game and to also make use of the giant box of tissues. At half-time, Melvin had a few things to say to them that were less friendly than they looked from afar.

Nice work from the Music Man pestering Alan Black to put Cattalini back on "because he's in my fantasy team".

Reply #52915 | Report this post


cavalo  
Years ago

Spot on Issac - I was so impressed with everything about the game last night. The only thing I can't comment on was the pre-game entertainment as we arrived just as tip-off was starting but all the routines from the Sixer girls were new and original, the half-time entertainment was great and interesting - two relatively simple things that had the crowd involved and they appreciated what they saw.

The atmosphere was fantastic thanks to the close game and it was awesome to feel and hear the crowd really get behind the sixers. Everyone was buzzing after the game and hopefully through word of mouth and people sharing with those around them what a great game it was, I'm sure the club can build on the 5000 people attendance figure.

Overall, I thought the team played well and I thought Coops was awesome. Forman shot well and only had the small negative of letting a few boards get through his fingers. Wild dunk down the middle! If Dusty had an off night with a missed lay-up and some poor FT shooting, I'll take that with his 23 points and 12 boards!! Just wait until he has a good night!

Great night - let's tell everyone about it now!

Reply #52926 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Brett Maher simply superior. Willie Farley superior, Nough said!

Reply #52951 | Report this post


Big plays and character, team building wins so early in the season - this team is looking reaaaal; goood. Get on Board people & make some noise.

Reply #52955 | Report this post


djm  
Years ago

Hi

I am in Tokyo and missed the game. Can someone tell me what the seals were up to whenit was said that:
`Nice work from the Seals to put Melvin off his game and to also make use of the giant box of tissues.`

Disappointed sounds like a fantastic game!

Reply #52963 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

They called out "Meeeelvin" over and over in a monotone whenever he was on court and annoyed the crap out of him. They'd also put together a large box of tissues with "Black Brand. For sooky la-las" on the side.

Reply #52968 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Darnell fouled by Rychart in double team, ball clearly out off of Rychart.
Another tremendous " home court advantage " win to the 36ers.

Reply #52970 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

"clearly out off Rychart"

- where were you sitting to get the clear view? (Can't be relying on the game tape because the camera didn't have a good view.)
- why didn't Darnell even look like protesting? (he reacted like someone who'd made a mistake)

The "home court advantage" delivered a foul count that went against Adelaide too. If that's home court advantage, I don't want it!

Reply #52972 | Report this post


Bulldog  
Years ago

Does anybody know what was wrong with Darnell Mee on Saturday night?

He did not look well, out of breath very easily everytime he came off, didn't chase down the guy on the break after a turnover like he normally does?

Does he have the flu or something?

Reply #53046 | Report this post


Mum  
Years ago

What "home court advantage" I am sure I heard the hum of "Sweet Caroline" comming from the Cairns bench quite a few times through out the game.

Reply #53048 | Report this post




You need to be a registered user to post from this location. Register here.



Close ads
Serio: Tourism photography and videography
Little Streaks - The fun and interactive good-habits app designed especially for kids.

Advertise on Hoops to a very focused, local and sports-keen audience. Email for rates and options.

Recent Posts



.


An Australian basketball forum covering NBL, WNBL, ABL, Juniors plus NBA, WNBA, NZ, Europe, etc | Forum time is: 9:43 am, Fri 29 Mar 2024 | Posts: 968,026 | Last 7 days: 754