WWAG Match Recap: NBL23 Round 11, Game 1 v SEM Phoenix

Written by Melbourne United Media 

Melbourne United have picked up their second win over the SEM Phoenix in NBL23, taking home a 16-point victory in Throwdown XX, delivered by DoorDash.

In his 100th game for United, Shea Ili kicked off the game in style, nailing a soft floater for his side’s first points.

SEM hit back quickly, with Alan Williams adding six quick points to give the Phoenix a strong start.

Needing an answer, Rayjon Tucker attacked the paint relentlessly, drawing fouls and knocking down shots on a way to an 11-point first term.

This, combined with some nice play off the bench from the likes of Marcus Lee and Brad Newley allowed Melbourne to pull ahead to close the quarter, leading 21-14 after 10 minutes.

United kept up this momentum immediately, as Shea Ili took away the Phoenix’s inbound pass and slammed home a dunk in less than 5 seconds.

In front of a raucous crowd, Melbourne continued to roll, going on a 7-0 run full of highlight plays at both ends of the court.

Mason Peatling got in on the action, swatting Mitch Creek twice and hustling all over the court to create opportunities for his teammates.

Much like the first term, it was Tucker doing the majority of United’s damage on the scoreboard, going off for 25 points before half-time.

Perhaps his most exhilarating two points came in the dying seconds of the half, when Tucker rose up high to throw down an alley-oop slam off a sweet pass from Xavier Rathan-Mayes, giving United a 47-36 advantage going into the major break.

While the Phoenix got out to a good start, Chris Goulding steadied the tide for Melbourne, cashing in on a three to keep United’s buffer intact.

After coming up with big plays on the defensive end in the first half, Peatling got in on the scoring action, sinking a pair of jumpers from the wing to help extend United’s lead to as many as 13 points.

Two more triples from Tucker and David Okwera kept the Phoenix at bay and gave United a 14-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

Needing to hold on, Melbourne got off to a less than ideal start, committing three fouls in the opening minute.

Despite this, United rallied, getting to the hoop and working together to push the pace until the final whistle.

Huge threes from CG43 and David Barlow buoyed the side, while a monstrous alley-oop slam from Marcus Lee got the crowd on their feet.

With the victory locked up, Rayjon Tucker put the icing on the cake, connecting on an and-1 finish to give him 33 points, an NBL career-high and the most points ever scored by a player in a Throwdown.

United will play their next game at home on Sunday when they face the Illawarra Hawks in Game 3 of the LifeChanger Cup from 4pm.

MU will have cause to celebrate going into the game, as Chris Goulding and Brad Newley play their 400th and 300th games respectively.

Tickets are still available here.