The Ballarat Miners have put together another stifling defensive performance, registering a dominant 100-66 win over the Southern Sabers on the road.
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The Miners got out to a blazing start, hitting three three-pointers in a row in the opening minute to establish the Sabers zone defence would not work against them.
After not being able to extend their lead beyond 10 points in the opening quarter, Ballarat put their foot on the gas, outscoring Southern 29-15 in the second quarter to open up a very comfortable 23-point half-time lead.
American guard Marqueze Coleman was showing no signs of an ankle injury he sustained in the Miners Saturday night win over the Thunder, torching the Sabers defence for 22 points and 6 steals off the bench.
The second half was more of the same for the Miners as their press defence caused all sorts of issues for Southern, forcing 20 turnovers and leading to 19 easy points off those turnovers.
Despite fouling out in the contest, Miners Centre Deng Acouth was once again dispruptive on the defensive end, using his length to block four shots and grab two steals.
The win will keep Ballarat on top of the NBL1 men's ladder.
Rush make it four straight
The Ballarat Rush have finished the the weekend with back-to-back wins in the NBL1 women's competition, pulling away from the Southern Sabers on Sunday afternoon to win 90-72.
The Rush started the game firmly in control, leading by as many as 10 points in the first quarter thanks to some strong play inside from Joy Burke (17 points and 13 rebounds).
Burke looked simply too tall for the Sabers to deal with, getting open looks at the basket at will.
Southern did manage to close the deficit, tying the scores at 23-23 at the end of the first quarter before taking a nine-point lead of their own mid-way through the second quarter.
Much like Ballarat's Saturday night victory over Launceston, the Rush flipped the switch with their back's against the wall, ratcheting up the pace of the game to suit their run-and-gun style of play.
After taking a two point lead into half-time, Ballarat were able to out-work the Sabers, outscoring them in the third quarter 30-21.
Ballarat were able to extend their lead in the fourth quarter, ultimately ending the game as 18-point victors.
Returning to the starting line-up, American import Chanise Jenkins followed up her strong play on Saturday night with an all-rounded performance to help the Rush seal their fourth consecutive win of the season.
DETAILS
FINAL SCORE:
BALLARAT MINERS - 28, 29, 22, 21 (100)
SOUTHERN SABERS - 19, 15, 11, 21 (66)
SCORERS: Miners - Coleman 22 (1 three-pointer), Kuany 19 (4), Evans Jr 17 (2), Acouth 13, Short 11 (2), Fox 8, Fisher 5 (1), Dunmore 3 (1), Lingard 2. Sabers - Gabsch 24 (3), Box 15 (3), Pantelis 9, Beisty 8 (2), O'Brien 6 (2), Davies 2, MacNamara 2.
STATS
REBOUNDS - Miners 44, Sabers 39
ASSISTS - Miners 13, Sabers 10
STEALS - Miners 14, Sabers 7
BLOCKS - Miners 9, Sabers 1
TURNOVERS - Miners 13, Sabers 20
FOULS - Miners 17, Sabers 18
FINAL SCORE:
BALLARAT RUSH - 23, 20, 30, 17 (90)
SOUTHERN SABERS - 23, 18, 21, 10 (72)
SCORERS: Rush - Hackman 19 (3 three-pointers), Burke 17, Jenkins 16 (2), Cochrane 12, Taylor 11 (2), Amoore 10, Constable 3 (1), Collins 2. Sabers - Jarry 31 (3), Glennie 15, Phillips 10 (2), Riley 7 (1), Batish 4, Hobba 3 (1), Van Vliet 2.
STATS
REBOUNDS - Rush 44, Sabers 37
ASSISTS - Rush 21, Sabers 16
STEALS - Rush 12, Sabers 5
BLOCKS - Rush 1, Sabers 0
TURNOVERS - Rush 13, Sabers 16
FOULS - Rush 19, Sabers 14