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.
