Griffins outlast Railways to notch first win of season in ABA men’s A-grade round six thriller

Griffins clinched their first win of the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade competition with a thrilling two-point triumph over Railways Tigers in round six on Tuesday night. In a tightly contested game that featured multiple second-half lead changes, the Griffins were made to stave off a fast-finishing Tigers outfit before sealing the result in the last 10 seconds of play. After a back-and-forth opening, Griffins asserted themselves late in the first half, scoring the final eight points of the period to push out to a 19-13 lead. However, in a blitzing start to the second half for the Tigers, Evander Bennell hit a three in the opening moments and nailed another lay-up on a fast break to snatch momentum back. Griffins’ David Stone hit a basket in the paint but Tigers’ Cleve Humphries was fouled hard on a lay-up attempt in transition. Humphries sunk one of his two attempts before Griffins’ Sam Holmes exploited an open lane at the other end to wrestle the lead back once more. With Griffins leading 23-19 at the 11-minute mark of the half, a bruising contest was beginning to play out. Holmes buried two triples in the space of two minutes but it failed to stop the Tigers’ endeavour with Lachlan Cale sinking a lay-up and James Penson popping up for a three of his own shortly after. After a flurry of baskets both ways, Griffins had a narrow 37-32 lead with under four minutes remaining in the game. In a crucial passage of play, Humphries rattled in a stunning three-pointer and was fouled in the process but he failed to convert the potential four-point play. The pendulum was well and truly swung in the Tigers’ favour with Griffins’ Zac Beeck being penalised for a backcourt violation after tenacious pressure from Tigers defenders at the half-court line. The ball was swiftly inbounded with Cale receiving it at the top of the arc and the guard made no mistake from deep, sinking a clutch three to go up by one point. Griffins’ Stone was hacked at the other end and the big man hit one from two free-throw attempts to level scores. Humphries had an opportunity to take the lead for the Tigers with under 30 seconds to play but narrowly missed a floater before being called for a foul in an attempt to regain possession. With the clock running down, Griffins had the final possession of the game as Holmes charged towards the basket at pace. Holmes beat his defender high up the court before dribbling into the paint and flicking a deft pass to the grateful hands of Stone, who buried the game-winning basket in the final five seconds of the game. Holmes finished with 16 points and played a crucial role at both ends of the floor. Stone provided terrific support as a rim protector down low while chipping in with nine points on offence. Cale (10), Humphries (7) and Bennell (8) toiled hard in the 38-40 defeat. Meanwhile, Infernos edged past Denmark 48-40 as Kye Griffiths (15) and Jordan Pansoy (14) stood out. The competition had its first draw in the Barking Owls and Sonics clash with both sides settling for shared points in the 54-54 result. The towering Lucas Ravenhill (16) and agile Evan Delbene (11) led the way for Owls while Sonics’ David Arthur was prolific, finishing with 19 points, including three triples.