Tigers dig deep for a hard-fought win in a thrilling contest over Railways Tigers to boost finals chances

Tigers’ hopes of playing finals have been given a major boost, banking three points against Railways Tigers, who sit above them on the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade standings. Heading into the round-12 clash, Tigers sat three points adrift of the fourth-placed Railways but bridged the gap to one and closed within two points of third spot. Tigers dug deep for a hard-fought 38-35 victory in a thrilling contest on Tuesday night. After leading by 11 points at half-time, the Tigers handed up the lead in the second half but got their noses back in front at the final whistle, despite Railways outscoring them by eight points in the last 25 minutes. Railways went on a 15-0 run midway through the second period as they took an eight-point lead after sinking 22 out of the first 25 points in the second half. However, the Tigers responded to level the scores with seven minutes left to play. With three minutes remaining, Railways were up by two again before Dean Gliosca hit back-to-back baskets, and when Corey Hill scored, the Tigers led by five points. Despite two late free throws from Railways’ Matt Palfrey, Tigers hung on to record a tense three-point win. Gliosca was important in the win with four from long range in his 14-point haul while Danial Abbott added nine points. Palfrey did everything he could for Railways to get them back in the game, sinking 12 second-half points on his way to 16 for the game while Kyle Smith chipped in with eight. Sonics moved into second spot after winning 41-32 over the top-of-the-table Ambassadors. Ben Brown scored 14 points in the win while David Arthur added 10. Caleb Carman top scored for Ambassadors with 11 points. Barking Owls recorded an important result over Infernos to improve their finals chances, jumping back into the top four. Owls were in fifth spot before the match but downed Infernos, 66-62. Justin Benson knocked down 15 points in the win and Luke McGuire added 13 while Keanu Weeden dropped 28 for Infernos. Raiders under-18s, led by Jordi O’Neill, notched their first win of the season in thrilling fashion, defeating The Sharks by one point. O’Neill was superb in the victory with 26 points while Matthew Jerrard added 14 in the 60-59 result. Red Rogers hit 24 points for The Sharks and Jack Adams supported well with 18.