ABA 2023-24: Reigning premiers coast to first win of the season, Barking Owls and Ambassadors claim thrillers

Reigning men’s A-grade premiers Denmark notched their first victory of 2023-24, easily taking care of Railways Tigers in round three on Tuesday night. The triple threat of Kye Griffiths, Reagan Hutchinson and Jackson Shaw proved too much for the Tigers to handle, as Denmark emerged comfortable 19-point winners. Seven unanswered points early in the first half helped Denmark establish a nine-point advantage and they never looked back. The margin got out to double figures before Ashton Henrickson broke the scoring drought for Tigers and then teammate James Penson dropped a three pointer to keep them within touch. Griffiths however had other ideas as he began to cause real headaches for the Tigers defence, helping himself to nine points in the opening half and a free throw from Shaw pushed Denmark’s lead to 13 points at half-time. The Tigers started the second half much better as they won a couple of turnovers and hit the first five points, but Denmark kept responding. The margin hovered around 11 points as the Tigers quickly got into foul trouble as Denmark’s presence in the key was beginning to tell. Despite Penson having a night out from long range with three triples, the Tigers could not get the deficit back to a couple of possessions. Hutchinson added six points in the last half, including a late basket from deep, as his side cruised to a 51-32 triumph. It was Denmark’s first win of their title defence after a round one loss and then a draw with Ambassadors last week. Hutchinson top scored with 16 points and he had plenty of support from Griffiths (13 points) and Shaw (15). Shaw was particularly busy in the second period with 10 points while Hutchinson had 10 in a dominant first 20 minutes. The Tigers struggled with foul trouble for much of the contest and only Penson really got going with nine points while Cleve Humphries chipped in with eight as they slumped to a third straight defeat. Barking Owls came up big in the dying stages to snatch a one-point win over the North Albany Kangaroos. Kangaroos star Callum Dixon hit four threes on his way to a game-high 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to hand the Owls their first loss of the season. Evan Delbene (17) and James Watters (11) combined well for Owls to keep their unbeaten status intact with a 41-40 result. There was another one-point game in round three, this time Ambassadors just getting over the line against the Raiders under-18 development squad. Jesse Carmen scored 16 points, including three from long range for Ambassadors, while Caleb Carmen also made a strong contribution with 10. In the 41-42 loss Raiders were well served by Delbene (9) and Aiden Polette (15). Sonics sit at the top of the men’s ladder after their 34-point thumping of Griffins Crusaders. It was a shooting masterclass from Sonics, led by classy guard David Arthur who nailed 34 points. His haul included 12 points from the free-throw line and four outside the arc. Mark Elentorio and Liam Murdock both chipped with 10 points in the emphatic 69-35 win. Luke Harvey and Blake Panizza were the only Crusaders in double figures with 12 each but their side never recovered from a poor first half.