Goulding powers United to record-breaking win

Melbourne United claimed a monster win in Throwdown VII and it all started with Chris Goulding. After hearing boos in the opening stages of the game, Goulding reminded everyone that John Cain Arena is United’s stadium and his playground.

Shea Ili opened United’s scoring account with a nifty drive and finish, before Goulding scored five quick points in what was a sign of things to come as the superstar sharpshooter caught fire.

Goulding and Cam Gliddon exchanged buckets early, while Jock Landale got into a groove as well through the middle stages of the quarter.

Sam McDaniel drove hard and scored a bucket in the closing stages of the quarter, but it was Ryan Broekhoff who had the last say of the first term with a huge buzzer-beater triple to give his team the lead at the first break, 21-18.

After looking dangerous and scoring five points in the first quarter, Goulding turned the afterburners on in the second term and took over. He scored on a tough contested layup in the opening minute, before grabbing a steal on defence and taking it to the other end of the floor for a three-pointer.

While Goulding was heating up, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. was also in a zone. Lual-Acuil Jr. came in and quickly drained four buckets to help United hold a four-point lead, 31-27, after four minutes in the second quarter.

In the final three minutes of the half, Goulding connected on a pair of threes and a pair of free throws to take his tally to 18 points in the first half. It was a simply dominant display from Goulding and he was the key to Melbourne’s four-point, 41-37, half time lead.

After a close first half, United turned up the heat on defence and it changed the game. Melbourne made everything difficult for South East Melbourne and with Mitch McCarron and Ili keeping the scoreboard ticking over, United jumped ahead. When Ili drained a triple halfway through the third term, Melbourne’s lead had ballooned out to 10 points, 53-43.

McCarron continued his big third term, while Jack White – in his first game back in over a month – got heavily involved. A last second Ili jump shot saw Melbourne’s three-quarter time advantage stand at 15 points, 65-50.

After holding the Phoenix to just 13 points in the third quarter, United continued to make defensive plays in the fourth quarter and force South East Melbourne into tough shots.

McCarron set up Landale for a glorious alley-oop play and when Goulding scored five points in 30 seconds courtesy of a triple and a beautiful spinning jump shot, Melbourne held an 18-point lead, 74-56, halfway through the term.

Party time continued in the final stages of the game as White threw down a monster dunk and in keeping South East Melbourne to just 10 points in the final quarter and 23 in the second half, Melbourne completed a big 20-point win, 80-60.

The 20-point win is the largest winning margin in a Throwdown, while Melbourne held South East Melbourne to the lowest score in the league this season (60 points).

It was a win powered by the shooting class of Goulding. In a performance that once again highlighted his ability to change the course of a game, he was incredibly entertaining and led Melbourne to the win, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 70% shooting.

McCarron was sublime once again in all facets of the game, finishing with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while Lual-Acuil Jr. (14 points) and Mason Peatling (12 rebounds) were also impressive.

South East Melbourne was led by Gliddon (13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) and Ben Moore (12 points and 7 rebounds).

The win – United’s third on the trot – sees them move to 13-5 on the season. Melbourne now looks ahead to three consecutive games against Cairns, with the first of those coming on Good Friday at John Cain Arena. Tip off is at 5:30pm.

Box Score: http://bit.ly/ThrowdownVII