United fall in overtime thriller to the Phoenix

It was a game of attrition at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night as Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix battled it out in Throwdown VI.

With the teams even after 40 minutes of play, it all came down to overtime and eventually South East Melbourne – led by Mitch Creek – came away with the win in what was a thrilling contest.

Mitch McCarron got the scoring underway with a jump shot on the first possession, but South East Melbourne – led by Cam Gliddon and Kyle Adnam – made sure the Phoenix got out of the blocks best.

United big men Mason Peatling and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. came in and gave valuable minutes with key buckets and energy. At the first break, South East Melbourne held a five-point lead, 29-24.

After falling behind in the first quarter, United got off to a better start in the second quarter and when Jock Landale scored after two and a half minutes of play, United trailed by just one-point, 31-30.

The Phoenix responded to United’s run and pushed the pace to regain momentum. It all began with Adnam for South East Melbourne, with his infectious energy and playmaking creating so many opportunities for his team.

While Adnam was making his mark, Landale continued to go to work in the paint and when he finished off a pass from Sam Short with one minute remaining in the first half, Melbourne completed an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to just four points, 46-42.

At the main break, South East Melbourne held an eight-point lead, 50-42, with Adnam (15 points and 5 assists) leading the way. Landale (11 points and 4 rebounds) and Lual-Acuil Jr. (8 points and 6 rebounds) were keeping Melbourne within reach.

The second half started well for United, with Sam McDaniel and Yudai Baba scoring, but the Phoenix kept Melbourne at bay with Creek and Ben Moore getting busy.

The intensity rose in the third quarter and Creek came to play. With four minutes left in the term, Creek drained a triple to give his team an eight-point lead, 63-55.

While Creek was doing it all for South East Melbourne, Landale was doing his best for Melbourne and had a huge impact in the third quarter. Chris Goulding and Shea Ili scored key buckets in the final minute of the term and at the final break, South East Melbourne led by seven points, 70-63.

Goulding and Ili continued their strong finish to the third quarter with big buckets early in the fourth. When Ili drained a triple after three a half minutes of play, United was back to within two points, 75-73.

With the intensity rising as the clock ticked down, both teams gave it their all. Creek was inspiring his team, but Goulding and Landale were immense for United. That trio traded buckets down the stretch and when Goulding hit a three with four minutes left on the clock, Melbourne had its first lead since the opening minute of the game.

Landale’s defensive exploits were on full display with back-to-back blocks in the final minutes. Goulding drained a pair of free throws with two minutes on the clock and gave United a five-point lead, 84-79, but the Phoenix wouldn’t go away.

Creek scored again and then Adnam connected from long range to even the scores at 84 with 47 seconds to play.

The final play of regulation saw Creek go for the win, but Lual-Acuil Jr. was there every step of the way to claim a massive block and send the game to overtime.

Landale and McCarron added points in the opening minute of overtime to give Melbourne a four-point lead, but Creek and Reuben Te Rangi got South East Melbourne back into the game with a 7-0 run to re-take the lead, 91-88, halfway through the overtime period.

Te Rangi scored again with 90 seconds left on the clock, before Landale and Goulding responded to have Melbourne within one-point, 93-92, with 37 seconds remaining.

The man that had already risen to the occasion in overtime – Te Rangi – stepped up to the plate once more and scored a lay-up to have the Phoenix leading by three points, 95-92, with 17 seconds on the clock.

A corner triple from Landale – which would’ve evened the scores with just a couple of seconds remaining – missed the mark and ultimately, South East Melbourne claimed a five-point win, 97-92.

Despite missing the game-tying three, Landale was involved in everything, finishing with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Goulding (22 points), McCarron (12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks) stood tall for Melbourne.

Creek (31 points and 10 rebounds) was the man for South East Melbourne in what was a gutsy performance, while Adnam (18 points and 7 assists) and Te Rangi (12 points and 9 rebounds) were also impressive.

The loss sees Melbourne drop to 10-3 on the season, but remain on top of the overall NBL ladder, while after winning two quarters tonight they rise to second on the NBL Cup ladder with 27 points – 2.5 points behind Perth.

Next up for Melbourne is a Saturday night match-up against the Illawarra Hawks in the squad’s final game of NBL Cup action. With so much on the line, it promises to be a night not to be missed for the Untied faithful. Tip off is at 8pm at John Cain Arena.

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