Basketball: Breakers learning tactics for home

Brant Bailey of the Breakers scores a basket over Clint Reed of the Razorbacks during their game at Waitakere Trusts Stadium, Auckland, yesterday. Phil Walter / Getty Images

Breakers 109 Razorbacks 102

The Breakers sent another strong home court message in victory over mid-table West Sydney, and it was way too loud and clear for visiting coach Mark Watkins.

The Razorbacks' boss will complain to the ANBL after a spectator at the Waitakere Trusts Stadium blasted his team via a loud hailer throughout the match, won by the Breakers.

The bottom-placed Breakers' second consecutive home win gives them a two-out-of-three record at Waitakere, but they have lost all five on the road.

Captain Paul Henare praised the antics and enthusiasm of the 2340 crowd, saying the Breakers needed to build home stadium advantages. The megaphone man was among a group of fancy-dressed supporters from a radio station that backs the Breakers. Watkins protested to the officials but no action was taken.

There was a suggestion Watkins was also unhappy with the Breakers' mascot, Cheeky, twirling a striped umbrella to distract the free throw shooters.

Watkins, who otherwise praised the enthusiastic crowd and the quality of the game, hotly denied this.

Watkins said: "I do have a problem with someone with a megaphone in a stadium right behind your ear. I think there is an NBL rule that they can't have that.

"I don't mind if he's yelling like everyone else, but I think a megaphone is a bit unfair."

Henare, who was in the dark over the details of Watkins' complaint, said: "When we play at West Sydney there is a little stand of guys right by our bench basically hurling personal abuse at us the whole game.

"At Cairns you've got people right behind the bench hurling abuse at you. It's just one of the things you have to deal with in this league.

"I'm glad we've finally picked up on it and are giving it to them as well. If it's in the heads of visiting teams it's an advantage to us.

"It's the type of environment we want to build. That's what home court advantage is all about."

The Breakers overcame the brilliance of Razorbacks guard James Harvey to prevail. Harvey, the ANBL's leading scorer, was all class with his sleight of hand, and landed 39 points including a perfect 10 free throws.

The Breakers' first lead came late in the opening quarter, and they burst to a 62-55 halftime advantage.

The match was a classic tussle with Brant Bailey's three-pointer with a minute left giving the Breakers a 107-99 lead to protect.

Henare said: "Last year, there would have been a very high chance of letting that one slip. It's really good to know we can grind it out.

"The formula is to never lose at home, and nick a couple of wins on the road. Then a play-off place is pretty much guaranteed - although it's easier said than done."

Scoring was shared around, with Rich Melzer (24), Aaron Olsen (16), Lindsay Tait (14) and Ben Pepper (13) the main contributors. The 213cm Pepper shone at both ends of the court as coach Andrej Lemanis relied on his smaller men in the final stages.

Lemanis said: "We want to make our home court a place teams don't like coming to. It's something I absolutely believe in. Everything flows from that and the guys are buying into it."