By Toby Marks
The Thunder aimed to secure their second win against the North Gold Coast Seahawks away from home on Friday night, following their loss to the Darwin Salties last week.
The Thunder’s defense forced numerous turnovers early, prompting a Seahawks timeout as they surged to a nice lead.
Another promising sign in the first quarter for the Thunder was the evolving connection between Bruce and Dalton, linking up several times. The Thunder ended the first quarter with a commanding 31-17 lead.
Dalton found himself ready to pounce in the second quarter, with an emphatic putback slam over the Seahawks’ defenders off Triplett’s miss.
However, a change in momentum occurred after some Thunder turnovers and sloppy plays, allowing the Seahawks to claw their way back into the game with a 10-0 run.
Seahawks star Kenyon Martin became a problem for the Thunder’s defense, particularly as they resorted to double and triple-teaming Dalton. At halftime, the score stood at 47-40 in favor of the Thunder.
The third quarter was a fierce battle with both teams exchanging buckets and getting to the free-throw line. However, the Seahawks capitalized on the Thunder’s poor free-throw shooting, leading to a close score of 60-59 at the end of the quarter.
With under 9 minutes left on the clock, the game was tied.
Elijah Puna’s baseline drive after a slick pass from Dalton ended in a strong jam, but it didn’t faze the Seahawks as they came down the court and hit a three to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Triplett then went to work, earning another and-one, while Bruce hit a massive three to give the Thunder a 6-point buffer with under 3 minutes to go.
With less than a minute remaining, Bruce hit the dagger with a tough and-one, securing the Thunder’s victory with a final score of 84-75 in this gritty contest on the Gold Coast.
Overall the Thunder came away with the 2 points, but I can’t imagine Coach Luke Cann will go easy on them this week. Shooting just 7 from 20 free throws, and an inefficient 21% from 3, the Thunder will want to improve these numbers before Saturday’s clash against Northside Wizards.
