By Mark Halliday

Norwood Flames 84 | Eastern Mavericks 67

A fast starting Norwood Flames team built an early lead and held it for the duration as they defeated the Eastern Mavericks 84-67 on Saturday night.

It was a perfect start for the Flames as they dominated the opening 6 minutes en route to a commanding 15-3 lead at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter and maintained a 12 point buffer at the end of the first quarter.

That form continued into the second quarter as the home side blasted the Mavericks once again, outscoring them 29-17 in the second quarter and taking a 24 lead into the half time break.

Matt Lycett (18 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals) was on fire in the first half, scoring 14 points before the major break. Daniel Webber (25 points, 5 rebounds) and Ian O'Boyle (11 points) both had 9 while Shaun Pontifex (10 points) scored all 10 of his points in the first half.

The Mavericks finally found some form in the second half as a 28 point leads was cut down to 17 by the end of the third quarter. Devon McGee (26 points, 7 rebounds) continued his great shooting to lead his team as the game got physical and Norwood struggled to find the net.

Norwood's scoring drought continued into the fourth quarter and the energised Mavericks had reduced the lead to just 8 points after a Tom Cioffi (7 points, 7 rebounds) 3 point play. Eastern had only let the Flames score 2 points in the fourth with 6:24 to play.

Lycett connected on a shot to get the Flames back on track and then Daniel Webber took control to put the game out of reach. Webber scored all 10 of Norwood's points to push the lead out to 18 points in the space of 3 minutes.

With the game in hand, the Flames emptied their bench for the run home as the Mavericks who had done well to fight their back, couldn't respond a second time.

Round 17: Saturday, 16 July at 8:15pm

Norwood Flames v Sturt Sabres @ Mars

North Adelaide Rockets v Eastern Mavericks @ Hillcrest