WWAG Match Recap: Round 18 v Adelaide 36ers

Written by Melbourne United Media 

Melbourne United have come away with a huge victory in front of a sold-out crowd at John Cain Arena.

Looking to come out aggressive, United started perfectly, scoring the first five points of the game through Rayjon Tucker and Chris Goulding, before Marcus Lee opened his account with a huge alley-oop slam.

More long-range looks for MU kept the scoreboard ticking along before Adelaide answered in kind, finding their shooters and capitalising on their opportunities.

Perhaps the highlight of the term came in the form of a skyscraping block from Rayjon Tucker, who soared through the air to deny Sunday Dech at the hoop.

It was too close to call in the end, as the teams headed into quarter-time with the score locked at 27-27.

The second period mirrored the first in many ways, with the ball flying up and down the court like a tennis match.

United’s bench got involved, with Brad Newley, Lachie Barker and Isaac Humphries all providing good minutes.

As the Sixers continued to find the bottom of the net, big plays from the likes of Tucker and Xavier Rathan-Mayes kept Melbourne within reach.

The home side looked to take the lead in the final seconds of the term, after a spectacular half-court shot from CG43, however it was deemed to come just too late, meaning United headed into the major break trailing by one point.

Looking for a boost coming out of half-time, Isaac Humphries made his presence felt, scoring five quick points in the paint.

It was highlights aplenty following this, as United splashed triples and threw down monster dunks to push back in front by as many as eight points.

While the Sixers were able to close the gap quickly, a huge Humphries putback to beat the buzzer and give Melbourne a seven-point advantage leading into the final 10 minutes of action.

Not ones to give up, Adelaide fired back to start the period, going on a 13-4 run to take back the lead.

Searching for an answer, Brad Newley provided instant energy in his minutes. The veteran leader put in a layup off an offensive rebound before slicing through for one of his patented scoop layups to keep the home side in the contest.

With the game in the balance with only a few minutes remaining, United’s stars shined bright, starting with a Rayjon Tucker steal and three pointer.

CG43 followed this up with his fifth triple for the game, a shot which lifted him into equal 10th all time in three-pointers made.

Still needing more, United kept the scoreboard ticking over before XRM finished a tough and-1 bucket with less than a minute remaining to put Melbourne in a terrific position.

Following this and some free throws, Rayjon Tucker came up with a huge play to seal the victory, sinking a three to finish the game and give MU a 116-107 win.

The result leaves Melbourne in a tenuous position, needing Perth to either lose, or win by less than 11 points to progress to the play-in.