Goulding fires as Melbourne sink NBL leaders Illawarra

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Goulding fires as Melbourne sink NBL leaders Illawarra

Melbourne ******* star Chris Goulding has celebrated his 36th birthday with a vintage ********* display, steering his team to a gritty 92-87 road win over NBL ladder leaders Illawarra.

Goulding entered Thursday night’s contest having shot the three-ball at a sub-par 28 per cent over the opening five rounds of the season.

But he found his range and landed 5-of-11 triples on his way to a game-high 25 points at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Jack White (12 points, 19 rebounds), Flynn Cameron (18 points) and Ian Clark (14) were also outstanding for Melbourne, whose win was a strong response after last round’s shock loss to rivals South East Melbourne.

It came despite Kyle Bowen exiting the game during the third term after a hit to the face, and with back-court duo Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova also sidelined.

Will Hickey (17 points) was brilliant at both ends of the floor for Illawarra just days after signing a fresh contract extension, while Sam Froling (16 points), Tyler Harvey and Todd Blanchfield (both 12) were also in double figures.

The Hawks lost star import Trey Kell to a back injury before half-time and trailed by 11 points during the third *******.

Harvey had a horror first-half ********* display but helped spark the home side, and the lead changed hands half a dozen times in the fourth *******.

Melbourne led 87-84 with 22.1 seconds left on the clock when Hickey was called for a controversial foul on Goulding, who tumbled theatrically after minor contact.

It left the Hawks incensed and coach Justin Tatum was unable to challenge the call, with all of his timeouts used up.

In bizarre scenes, the play was wiped off because the clock had not started running, and Tatum was then hit with a technical foul as tension boiled over on the sidelines.

A Blanchfield triple got the Hawks back within one point in the dying stages, but he missed another attempt that would have tied the game.

Either side of his miss, White was fouled twice and hit all four of his free-throws to ice the game for Melbourne.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Goulding #fires #Melbourne #sink #NBL #leaders #Illawarra

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up