Barking Owls soar back into finals race

Barking Owls have leapt back into the top four after a dominant performance against the Raiders under-18 development squad secured their fourth victory of the Albany Basketball Association A-grade competition on Tuesday.

Barking Owls led by 19 points at half-time in round 12 before they added a further 40-points in the second half to put the game to bed.

Raiders were right in the contest with only five minutes to play in the first half trailing by just six points, but the Owls scored 15 of the last 17 points in the half to assert their authority.

Justin Benson led the way in the second half adding 13 points to his half-time tally of seven as his team quickly pushed the margin above 20 points midway through the second half.

With five minutes to play Raiders got the margin back to 19 points but the Owls again skipped clear to win comfortably, 78-50.

Benson had 20 points while youngster Xavier Brenton-Reed added 15 and hardworking forward Sam Finigan chipped in with 14.

Raiders scored 31 points in the second half but lapses throughout the game let them down, as Ben Brown top-scored with 13 and Louis Stratico finished with 12.

Blazers recorded their second win of the season defeating top-four contenders Tigers by 12 points.

Blazers led by 13 points at the main break and maintained their double-figure buffer in the second half as they went on to record a 55-43 win.

Blazers centre Jeff Fitzpatrick hit three long bombs on his way to 18 points while Zac Pearson added 10.

Railways Tigers climbed to the top of the A-grade standings after a convincing 23-point win over Ambassadors.

Kyle Smith (19 points) and Kane Shephard (15) top scored for Railways while Caleb Carman was the shining light for Ambassadors with 13.