United defeat the Breakers, move to top of the table

Melbourne United made it six wins in a row on Saturday night at John Cain Arena, taking care of business against the New Zealand Breakers and claiming top spot on the ladder in the process.

Chris Goulding got scoring underway for United with a nifty layup, while Scotty Hopson scored four early points to have Melbourne leading by four points, 10-6, halfway through the term.

For the Breakers, it was Finn Delany who kept the scoreboard ticking over and when he converted an and-1 play with just under four minutes to play in the term, New Zealand hit the lead, 11-10.

Yudai Baba and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. added some energy to the game late in the quarter and at the first break, United held a one-point advantage, 17-16.

Delany continued his blistering form in the second term and when he sunk a triple after four minutes of play, New Zealand had skipped out to a five-point lead, 25-20, leading Dean Vickerman to call a time-out.

The time-out clearly worked as Melbourne ran a play which resulted in a Baba three and when Hopson hit a fadeaway jump shot with 4:30 left in the half, Melbourne had levelled the scores at 27.

A Chris Goulding triple and Lual-Acuil Jr. layup late in the quarter lifted Melbourne to a half-time lead, 39-37.

Hopson (8 points) and Jock Landale (6 points and 6 rebounds) were pacing United, while Delany (20 points) was lighting it up for the Breakers.

The third quarter belonged to United and it had a lot to do with the play of Mason Peatling and Baba. Both injected so much energy into the game on both ends of the court.

Goulding, Landale and Hopson scored early, while a massive 14-2 run to end the quarter – which included a Sam McDaniel and-1 and a pair of Peatling buckets – saw Melbourne head into the final frame with a game-high 11-point lead, 61-50.

After putting some distance between themselves and the Breakers in the third term, United was unable to keep that going early in the fourth as New Zealand cut it to a five-point game, 61-56, after three and a half minutes of play.

Landale answered on the other end though and back-to-back buckets from the big man forced the Breakers to call a time-out with four minutes left, trailing by eight points.

Goulding connected on his second triple of the evening with 2:29 on the clock to give United a 13-point lead. The Breakers wouldn’t go away late as they stayed in the contest, but clutch free throws and buckets from Hopson sealed the win for United, 84-78.

Landale (15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks) overcome frustration early to be a huge contributor in the win, while Hopson (19 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists), Goulding (14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists) and Lual-Acuil Jr. (10 points and 4 rebounds) all scored in double figures.

Delany (33 points and 5 rebounds) was a man possessed for the Breakers in a tremendous performance, while Colton Iverson (10 points and 9 rebounds) featured prominently.

The win sees United improve to 16-5 on the season and take top spot on the ladder. Next up for United is a Monday night match up against the Bullets at John Cain Arena. Tip off is at 7:30 pm.

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