Kings Upset Defending Champs at NBL Blitz

By Matt McQuade

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 80 Melbourne United 75

Stats That Matter: Rebound count Kings 52 United 47; Kings 11 offensive rebounds; Kings 10 three pointers; United 14 turnovers

Kings MVP: Xavier Cooks had a double-double and was seemingly everywhere at both ends of the court.

Turning Point: Sydney’s 10-0 run late in the third quarter changed the momentum of the game.

The game was over when: Biwali Bayles scored with 30 seconds left to give the Kings enough of a buffer in the end.

Trending in the right direction: With every game the Kings play in the preseason, it’s becoming more evident that the squad’s depth will be a strength in NBL22.

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings put forth another gutsy effort on Monday night at the Loggins-Bruton Cup, outlasting defending NBL champions Melbourne United 80-75 at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.

Despite dressing just nine players thanks to the team’s ongoing injury toll, Sydney never trailed in a performance that should provide a boost of confidence, just as it also underlines how deep this squad will be this season.

The Kings played with extreme pace offensively and were active and disruptive at the defensive end in earning Chase Buford his first victory as Head Coach.

The tone was set by a brilliant first quarter performance from Angus Glover (18 points, seven rebounds). Sydney’s relentless guard had nine points and three rebounds in the opening frame as the Kings raced to a 25-15 lead after one.

‘Gus’ had another seven points in the second quarter as the purple and gold pushed their advantage to as much as 16 points before United upped their defensive intensity, forced several Sydney turnovers, and forced their way back in the ballgame with a 12-0 run midway through the period.

Melbourne’s pressure unsettled Chase Buford’s young group and United clawed back the deficit to trail just 39-37 at the main break.

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But Jarell Martin (16 points, five rebounds) steadied the ship to start the third period with five straight points, and when the outstanding Xavier Cooks (14 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals, two blocked shots) began to exert his will on the contest late in the quarter, Sydney closed with a 10-0 run and led 61-49 with ten minutes remaining.

Both teams were rotating heavily in what was a typical preseason game, and Melbourne’s sheer weight of numbers by comparison to Sydney should have given them an advantage.

But after triples from Shae Ili and Callum Dalton to start the final period, the ever-reliable Shaun Bruce had five points as part of a 7-0 run and the Kings continued to find a way to defy the odds.

Naturally, Melbourne came back strongly and threes from Jo Lual-Acuil and Caleb Agada sliced the margin to just three points with less than four minutes remaining.

Jaylin Galloway then went to work, scything down the lane for a monster two hand slam and then converting a key three-point play as the purple and gold led by 10 with just over a minute left.

Melbourne kept coming, and had an opportunity to tie the game late, but as they did for most of the night, the Kings held their nerve, got stops when they needed them, and came away with a well-deserved victory that gave them five points in the NBL Blitz scoring system.

Cooks, Glover and Martin were all excellent for Sydney, but so too was dynamic guard Biwali Bayles (11 points, four rebounds, four assists), whose energy and constant activity at both ends gave United headaches all night.

The Kings shot the ball at 41% from the field, were 10 of 33 from three-point range and made 14 of 22 from the free throw line in their win. Impressively, the team was even able to outrebound a bigger United squad 52-47 and they forced 14 Melbourne turnovers.

Sydney’s third game in the Loggins-Bruton Cup is against the New Zealand Breakers this Thursday night at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30pm and the game will be available on Kayo Freebies HERE.

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BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 80 (Glover 18, Martin 16, Cooks 14)
MELBOURNE UNITED 75 (Lual-Acuil 13, Agada 11, Peatling 11, Ili 11) at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.

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