Breakers upset by Phoenix who continue NBL fightback

Angus Glover of SE Melbourne dunks the ball during the ANBL basketball game against the New Zealand Breakers. Photo / Photosport

South East Melbourne have continued their NBL resurgence, producing another huge upset in an 88-62 thumping of the New Zealand Breakers on the road.

League-leading scorer Matt Hurt (19 points, seven rebounds) and Nathan Sobey (12 points, seven assists) were integral as the Phoenix built an early lead and were never headed at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena on Thursday.

Angus Glover (13 points), Ben Ayre (13) and Joe Wieskamp (11) also stood up and posted double-figure tallies in the absence of injured import Derrick Walton Jr (hamstring).

American guards Parker Jackson-Cartwright (19 points, six assists) and Matt Mooney (11 points, three steals) fought hard for New Zealand, and Grant Anticevich (12 points) was effective off the bench.

But starters Sam Mennenga, Jonah Bolden and Karim Lopez combined for just 14 points as the injury-hit Breakers posted the lowest score of any team so far this season.

Phoenix interim coach Sam Mackinnon now has a perfect 2-0 record at the helm after Mike Kelly was sacked this month following a 0-5 start to the season.

Mackinnon will take charge of Saturday’s home clash with league leaders Illawarra, before handing over to incoming American head coach Josh King.

“I’m really proud of the guys. It’s been a big couple of weeks and we’ve got three games in seven days,” Mackinnon said.

“I thought the guys came out with the right intent and energy, and we held them to (62) points.

“That’s something we said we were going to build our foundation on for the rest of the season, and to a man they all stood up and did a great job.”

A scrappy start had the Phoenix up 24-9 as Sobey and Glover led early scoring, firing the visitors to a double-digit lead at the end of the first period.

They held sway throughout the first half despite the efforts of Jackson-Cartwright, whose energy in spurts helped keep the Breakers in touch.

Jackson-Cartwright added seven points early in the third term as New Zealand slashed the deficit to four points.

But the Phoenix steadied with a 10-0 run to end the third period, and Ayre’s quick six points at the start of the fourth gave the visitors a game-high 18-point buffer.

The margin blew out late on the back of a pair of triples from Ayre and Luke Rosendale.

South East Melbourne dominated the rebound count (44-29) and second-chance points (18-6), outscoring their opponents in all four periods as the Breakers struggled to overcome the absence of Mitch McCarron (knee), Mojave King (quad) and Max Darling (leg).

“It’s unfortunate, but we have to have that ‘next man up’ mentality and today wasn’t our day,” New Zealand coach Petteri Koponen said.

“We were not really sharp from the beginning ... we didn’t shoot the ball well and couldn’t get stops so we could make some runs.

“Offensively we couldn’t find solutions, no advantages.”

New Zealand (3-2) face a tough few weeks, with six of their next seven games on the road, starting on Sunday with an away game against the Sydney Kings.