Southern Tigers (69) defeated North Adelaide Rockets (63)

The Southern Tigers kept their finals hopes alive on Saturday, taking their record to 6-7 with a 5 point win over the North Adelaide Rockets at Morphett Vale Stadium.
 
The Tigers raced away at the start, opening up a 9 point lead at the first break, and then going on to create a 13 point buffer at half time. Rocket’s captain Thomas Rowe worked hard to inspire his side in the second quarter, however it was tough going. Southern’s Samuel Johns and Sam McDaniel had 8 points each at half time, as did as Pero Vasiljevic and Daniel Goodluck for the Rockets.
 
The third quarter was kept relatively even for the most part until a three from Luke Mapunda gave the Rockets that much needed spark to draw the game closer. Goodluck fired away bringing the margin back to 4 points, before a miraculous half-court shot from Luke Pike on the three-quarter time buzzer left the two sides separated by only a point.
 
The fourth quarter went an eye for an eye all the way to the end, with both the Rockets and Tigers sharing the reigns during the quarter. Southern were holding on to a small 4-point lead for the majority of the quarter after the Rockets peeped ahead by a point at one stage. The crucial three-pointer to square the scores with 10 seconds to go was missed by Rowe, allowing the Tigers to eventually prevail by 5 points.
 
McDaniel had a brilliant night under the bucket, pulling down 15 rebounds to go with his team-high 16 points. Cody Ellison contributed 13 points, as well as 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Goodluck sunk 17 points as North Adelaide’s top scorer, alongside Rowe with 11 points and Vasiljevic with 10.

By Sam Tugwell

Top Scorers Southern
Samuel McDaniel 16
Codey Ellison 13
Craig Catford 10
Top Scorers North
Daniel Goodluck 17
Thomas Rowe 11
Luke Mapunda 11