ABA 2023-24: Ambassadors put clamps on Owls, Crusaders survive a scare against Raiders

Ambassadors’ active hands turned their defence into offence while Griffins Crusaders survived a scare as both secured victories in the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade competition on Tuesday night. After losing their past two matches, Ambassadors found their way back into the winner’s circle on the back of some hard defence and hustle at both ends of the floor to beat Barking Owls by eight points. Ambassadors were all over the Owls in their 51-43 win, smothering them at any opportunity, forcing the turnover before scoring on a fast break. Owls tried to match their counter-attacking opponents but Ambassadors continued to apply the clamps. Todd Knuiman was enormous for Ambassadors with a game-high 16 points including two threes, while Jesse Carman hit two from beyond the arc. Zac Beeck and Ryan Barber combined for three triples, contributing seven points each. The first half was played at a far slower pace and it was Owls’ Tristan Mackenzie who had the hot hand early hitting three triples in a row. James Watters (12 points) attacked the basket frequently in the first half for seven points while the competition’s leading point-scorer Evan Delbene was far from his lofty best. Delbene struggled to find his three-ball, missing his first five attempts and ended with just five points. An undermanned Crusaders broke a four-game losing streak after defeating a spirited Albany Raiders side by three points. With five seconds to go and Crusaders leading 28-25, Max Grimes missed two free throws before Ben Queay tipped the offensive rebound to the perimeter giving Ashton Henrickson a shot to tie. Henrickson’s shot bobbled around the hoop as the buzzer rang before bouncing awry handing Crusaders a narrow win. Crusaders were without Jack Gleeson but found their way to the basket through Jayden-Paul Devenish and Kevin Sibasado who each scored 10 points. Sibosado hit the Crusaders’ only two three-pointers. Raiders were trailing by seven points at the half, but Henrickon’s six second-half points sparked a comeback. Grimes hit their only three-pointer on the night on his way to five points. North Albany Kangaroos made it three wins on the trot after upsetting Denmark by nine points. Beauden East hit a game-high 16 points including four triples while Drew Willcocks (seven) and Calum Dixon (five) were also impressive on offence as the Kangaroos romped home to a 39-30 win. Kye Griffiths attacked the hoop on his way to 11 points and Jackson Shaw scored nine as Denmark’s main avenues to the basket. A David Arthur masterclass gave Sonics their 13th straight win of the season after belting Railways Tigers by 45 points. Arthur dominated on offence scoring a game-high 25 points including seven from beyond the arc to steer his side to an 80-35 victory. Mark Elentorio scored 13 points including one three while Kayden Collins (seven), Ben Queay (seven) and Dillon Gadean (five) each converted from the perimeter. James Penson led the floor for the Tigers hitting three triples on his way to a team-high 11 points.