By James Woite

 

Eastern Mavericks (0-4) v Forestville Eagles (3-1)

The Eastern Mavericks have little time to dwell on last week’s heart-breaking loss to Southern, with a matchup against the Forestville Eagles, who have dominated this series.

The Mavericks appeared destined for their first win of the season when they led the Tigers by six with 17 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. However, that was enough time for them to give up a three-pointer and a three-point-play, draw blanks on two free throws, miss a field goal and commit a turnover. Ultimately, the Mavericks went down 87-94 in overtime, despite 38 points from DeCorey Jones.

The Eagles have loved playing in the hills over the years – the 118 points they scored there last season was actually a somewhat low score for them, given they scored 134 in 2013 and reached 152 a few seasons back. The Eagles put up 102 in a 20 point win over Sturt last week, with Jake Rios, Daniel Sims and Kyle Howe-Tipene combining for 79 points. The Eagles are now 3-1.

All statistics point to a big win for the Eagles.

 

Sturt (2-2) v Norwood (4-1)

Jacob Holmes is set to make his debut for the Norwood Flames against one of his former clubs, the Sturt Sabres, at Pasadena this weekend.

Holmes was a member of the Townsville Crocodiles in the NBL this season, but is best known as a 36er. Locally speaking, Holmes has won three Woollacott Medals, two with Eastern and one with the Sabres. With his rebounding ability, Holmes is a perfect addition to the Flames’ undersized frontcourt.

The Flames have made a strong start to the Premier League season. Last week’s 11 point win over South makes it four wins in a row since their opening day loss to West Adelaide. Matthew Lycett had a game-high 26 points, while Andrew Webber connected on five threes and scored 23 points.

The Sabres won their first two of 2015, but a loss against the Flames would make it three consecutive defeats. The Sabres trailed by just seven points after three quarters against Forestville last week, but were demolished 18-31 in the fourth quarter. The setback happened in spite of 25 points from Clinton Reed, and 14 from Nicholas Fassos.

The home team came out victorious on both occasions last season, as these teams split their series 1-1. This fact gives the Sabres’ an edge, but the Flames are in better form.

 

West (3-2) v North (4-0)

In the Match of the Round, the West Adelaide Bearcats will attempt to bounce back from their shellacking at Woodville when they host the league’s only unbeaten side, the North Adelaide Rockets.

The Bearcats got carved up in the first half against the reigning premiers, trailing 19-57 at half-time, before Blake Truslove (18 points) and Tristan Braithwaite (13 points) helped them gain a little respectability on the scoreboard in the second half. The 62-96 defeat has caused their record to drop to 3-2.

The Rockets have now won more games than they did in the entirety of 2014. Import Aric Miller has been a big reason for their newfound success, scoring 29 points in the 103-88 win over Centrals in Round 4. John Wernham and Daniel Goodluck combined for a further 40 points, as the Rockets registered victory number four.

The Bearcats have not lost to anyone not named Woodville Warriors since August 2 last year. The way the Rockets are playing, they are a great chance to change that.

 

South (0-5) v Centrals (1-2)

With just one victory between them so far, the South Adelaide Panthers and Central District Lions require a win to get themselves out of the bottom three.

The Panthers have come up empty in all five of their outings this season, including last week’s 87-98 loss to Norwood. 24 points from Ryan Gardner and a further 17 from Jeremy Read helped the Panthers improve by 18 points on their previous loss to the Flames. The Panthers only trailed by four points going into the fourth quarter, but never got any closer.

An 11-29 third quarter was responsible for the Lions’ loss to unbeaten North. Tyler Kennedy was one of four double figure scorers for the Lions with 22 points, but they could not hold on to their lead, having been in front at half-time.

The Lions swept the Panthers last season, but will need to do a better job on the boards (outrebound 25-40 last week) if they are to have a chance of repeating that feat.

 

Southern Tigers (1-3) v Woodville Warriors (3-1)

Having just stolen a first W of 2015, the Southern Tigers have an enormous task ahead of them in their quest for back-to-back wins, as they will be up against a Woodville Warriors side that is in demolition mode.

The Warriors’ form over their first three games was decent, but not spectacular. They raised their performance for Round 4 though, taking down reigning West by 34 points, having led by as much as 42. Mitch Creek scored 24, but it was a total team effort by the reigning premiers.

Stephen Branson scored 19 points, including the game-tying three-point-play, as the Tigers defeated the Mavericks in overtime last week, ending a three game losing streak. Bradley Ficken had a team-high 20 points, including five straight in the space of 15 seconds in overtime, taking the Tigers from a one point lead to a six point advantage.

The Warriors swept the Tigers last season, and if they bring the same intensity on the road as they did at home in the previous round, they should not have too much trouble notching up their fourth victory of 2015.