Strong challenge from Griffins not enough to upset Infernos in tight finish of round 15 men’s A-grade contest

Infernos held off a persistent Griffins outfit in the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade competition, emerging with a one-point win on Tuesday night. Griffins’ chances of playing finals have already ended, sitting on a 1.27-point average behind the fourth-placed Barking Owls (2.07) and third-placed Infernos (2.33), but they played with great determination in round 15. Scores were tied with less than five minutes left but Infernos showed their resolve late, nailing crucial baskets to notch their 10th win of the season. In a relatively low-scoring affair, both sides did most of their scoring in the second half with Griffins jumping out to a 19-17 lead at the eight-minute mark. Crafty guard Jordan Pansoy was fouled on a lay-up attempt and converted a tough three-point play to take back control. However, Griffins refused to go down without a fight, with David Stone and Sam Holmes hitting lay-ups in transition. Infernos went tit-for-tat with their opposition before Griffins’ Luke Harvey was called for a travel at the three-point line. Pansoy again showed his ability to score in traffic, bobbing up with another three-point play to push the margin out to five for Infernos. Griffins’ Zac Beeck was fouled at the other end and rattled in the second of his free throws before Jack Gleeson intercepted an Infernos inbound pass and buried a lay-up, getting fouled in the process. Gleeson couldn’t hit his free throw attempt but Beeck was awarded two shots of his own from the line shortly afterwards, nailing both to level scores. With momentum firmly in the Griffins’ favour and with the clock running down in the final stages, Infernos’ Yero Elliott drove towards the baseline and flicked a deft pass to Tamuka Bangi. Bangi made no mistake under the rim, unfazed by a hard foul on his shot attempt to score and then converted the clutch three-point play to seal the game. Griffins hit back with a field-goal and had possession with 5.3 seconds on the clock, inbounding a pass to Gleeson, who narrowly missed a long-range effort as Infernos held on for a 34-33 victory. In the top-of-the-table clash between Denmark Magpies and Sonics, the Magpies closed the gap on their title rivals and they are now level on 2.53 points average with one round left to play. Magpies’ Flynn Wauters (10 points), Jackson Shaw (8) and Luke Wilson (8) provided most of the scoring drive, with all their baskets coming from field goals inside the arc, to emerge 45-37 winners. Barking Owls had to grind for their 49-47 victory over bottom side Railways Tigers. Billy McRae (13) and Harry Watters (12) top-scored for the Owls, while Cleve Humphries (23) was outstanding in a losing affair.