- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Sydney Spirit guard Derrick Low defied his bigger opponents to lead a last-quarter charge and inspire his team to a 101-86 NBL win over the Perth Wildcats at Sydney’s State Sports Centre tonight.
It was the Spirit’s third win in succession after similar victories over Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Low had a game-high 25 points and was a constant worry to the Perth defence with his aggressive and fiery tactics.
In the final quarter the Sydney team got their act together with Dave Gruber and Drew Williamson combining with Low to score freely and outscore Perth 33-15.
The winning margin could have been bigger if Sydney had found the target, wasting numerous opportunities from all parts of the court.
“Our performance was absolutely disgraceful from the foul line and it is so critical to our game. Our players have to do a lot of work and look at 500 practice shots every day,” Spirit coach Rob Beveridge said.
“Low is an unbelievably talented young man and is quickly finding his feet.”
Spirit’s attempt to win three in a row did not look healthy in the first half. Their poor shooting allowed Perth to quickly establish a lead which they held to the half time break.
Perth posted court-long passes which frequently caught the Spirit out of position allowing easy baskets for the visitors.
Forwards Stephen Weigh had picked up 13 points and Ben Knight 10 as the Wildcats led 51-46 at the interval.
Sydney had trailed 27-19 at the quarter with Low sinking two long range shots in the second session to jointly lead on 10 points with Matt Knight.
The Sydney team was making life difficult for itself and by the end of the game had converted only 27 from 68 from the floor, including nine from 20 from the free throw line.
They started the second half however with eight unanswered points to take a one point lead before Perth recovered to again edge ahead.
The margin remained narrow until a Drew Williamson three pointer levelled the scores at 68-68 only to see Perth regain a three point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Sydney suddenly lifted its game, mainly through Low and Gruber to romp away with the points. Gruber led the final charge with 10 points, Low eight, and Williamson with two valuable long baskets.
Sydney had only led twice during the match in the opening minutes and did not regain the lead until early in the final quarter.
“Last night against Gold Coast we were down by 23 points and the comeback similar to tonight shows the character of the players,” Beveridge said.
The top scorers were Low with 25, Gruber and Matt Knight with 16 each, while for Perth Weigh and Ben Knight had 20 points each.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.