PARALYMPIAN Brett Stibners amassed 44 points and Michael Auprince made his rebounding presence felt in a successful trip to Perth for the Wollongong Roller Hawks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Returning from the US, Auprince collected a double-double in each game as the Hawks marched to 87-75 and 94-76 victories over the Red Dust Heelers.
It puts the Roller Hawks within striking distance of first-placed Perth Wheelcats, with two games in hand.
Williams praised the team’s work ethic on the road. “They were both hard fought wins,” said Roller Hawks coach Jim Williams after the game.
“We played well and controlled the ball with very few turnovers.
“Everyone contributed well and we had a good spread of point scorers.
“Aupie (Auprince) dominated the boards and worked hard for his points in the paint.”
Luke Pople set the tone on Saturday, top scoring with 27 points while Stibners finished with 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Nick Taylor had 14 points, after scoring 18 points in the first game, as Wollongong sealed the head-to-head series.
(Auprince) dominated the boards
- Jim Williams
Stibners dominated the rematch on Sunday, with 44 points in the 94-76 win.
“It was a very good result for us. Luke and Nick were stand outs in the first game,” Stibners said.
“Tim Markcrow played really well in both games and has shown he can play at this level as a starter.”
Meanwhile, the Illawarra Hawks women’s team kept their Waratah League top two hopes alive with a win over the Hills Hornets on Sunday.
An 18-6 second quarter set the platform for a convincing 58-34 win.
Renae Garlepp led the way with 20 points and seven rebouncs, while Courtney Dean had 13 rebounds.
The men’s team recorded their second win of the season, on the back of a dominant third quarter performance to beat Hills Hornets 72-60.
Sean Vincent Mullan led the way with 17 points, former NBL development player Zac Delaney had 15 and Jarrod Sorenson 10 points and 16 rebounds.
NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Round five
Saturday
WOLLONGONG ROLLER HAWKS 87 (L Pople 27, B Stibners 21, N Taylor 18) d RED DUST HEELERS 75 (B Ness 28, R Pike 14, J Blair 12)
Sunday
WOLLONGONG ROLLER HAWKS 94 (B Stibners 44, L Pople 16, M Auprince 16) d RED DUST HEELERS 76 (B Ness 44, J Blair 14, J Kavanagh 8) Ladder: Perth Wheelcats 8-2 (26 pts), Kilsyth Cobras 8-1 (25), Red Dust Heelers 5-7 (22), Wollongong Roller Hawks 6-2 (20), Queensland Spinning Bullets 2-9 (15), Sydney Metro Blues 0-8 (8).
WARATAH LEAGUE
Saturday
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 72 (S Vincent Mullan 17, Z Delaney 15, B O’Brien 11) d HILLS HORNETS 60 (P Collins 16, B Graham 14, M Claus 8)
Women
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 58 (R Garlepp 20, E Morris 9, O White 8) d HILLS HORNETS 34 (A Roditis 6, L Anderson 5)