Norwood 84 defeated Central Districts 65

The Norwood Flames will battle Woodville next week for a spot in the Grand Final, after defeating the Central Districts Lions 84-65, behind an inspirational performance from Todd Matthews.

Matthews initiated the Flames’ offence to perfection on almost every trip down the floor, chiming in with 24 points on 10-15 shooting. He was 4-6 from beyond the arc, accounting for half his side’s made triples. On defence, he shut down Lions superstar Kyle Miller. Miller had 12 points and 6 assists, but only had one spurt where he impacted the game, near the start of the fourth with Matthews on the bench. Matthews added 8 rebounds and 4 steals in 24:46 court time.

The main difference between the two sides was decision-making on offence. The Flames executed their cuts and screens like clockwork, often having more than one player ready for an open shot.

10-20 point leads can be dangerous - many a team will get defensive and go away from what successfully got them to that lead in the first place, allowing their opponents to sense a change of momentum and get back into the game. But this was not the Flames on this night. The Flames continued to take the shots when they were open, and the final margin flattered a Lions team that was let off by some wide open Flames misses.

In contrast, the ball did not move crisply at all when the Lions were on offence. There was a lot of 1-on-1 play between their small players and the Flames’ strong defensive guards, which led to long rebounds and the opportunity for their opponents to get into their offence early. Occasionally, the Lions would move the ball, but even then they did it for the sake of moving it, rather than looking to score when the opportunity presented itself and put pressure on the Flames’ defence.

The Lions had a mammoth height advantage, but failed to use it. When the Lions did get the ball down low, the perimeter players stopped moving, rather than cutting and screening to create space and give the Flames something to think about.

Matthews was ably assisted by Andrew Webber (16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Daniel Webber (15 points, 7-11 FG). Lycett, the Flames’ leading scorer this season, was held to 9 points, but still made his mark on the match with game-highs of 12 rebounds and 6 assists.

Chris Clausen top-scored for the Lions with 14 points. Paul Joyce was lively with 10 rebounds and 9 points. The Lions will play West Adelaide in a do-or-die First Semi Final next week, after the Bearcats defeated reigning champions Forestville 77-72. The Lions won both regular season meetings with the Bearcats.

By James Woite