Breakers hold out Kings in Canberra thriller

Carlin Davison and Sam Mennenga combined for 47 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists with the New Zealand Breakers holding out a late Torrey Craig-inspired charge to beat the Sydney Kings 102-101 to continue their Ignite Cup dominance.

The Breakers are still without import pair Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Josiah-Jordan James but that didn’t deter them as they arrived in Canberra for the Ignite Cup by 7-Eleven match up with the defending champion Kings on a mission.

New Zealand were leading 31-29 after one but Sydney worked on top with 32 points to 20 on 12/18 shooting to go into half-time leading 61-51.

But the Breakers dominated the third quarter with 24 points to 12 and led by as much as 13 before Craig hit four three-pointers late to give the Kings a shot at snatching it.

Mennenga then went 2/4 at the foul line to keep the door ajar with Tyler Robertson scoring on an offensive rebound with 2.2 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Mennenga missed both free throws including the second intentionally but there wasn’t enough time for the Kings to get off a good look. New Zealand held on for the against the odds win to improve to 4-3.

Davison once again took over the point guard duties for the Breakers and did a dazzling job with 20 points, 14 assists, four steals and four rebounds with 6/9 shooting, 3/5 from downtown and 5/5 at the foul line.

Mennenga then delivered another 27 points and 13 rebounds on 9/12 shooting.

Mojave King chimed in with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists, DJ Vasiljevic 13 points and two assists, and Kouat Noi 10 points in his first game against his former team.

Craig caught fire late for Sydney and finished with 28 points on 7/15 three-point shooting.

Makuach Maluach started in the absence of Matthew Dellavedova ight and had 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Kendric Davis added 17 points and 11 assists, Xavier Cooks 18 points, six boards, three assists, three blocks and two steals, and Andrew Carr 15 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.

The Kings did manage to open up an eight-point lead in the first quarter only for the Breakers to respond and that saw New Zealand assume the 31-29 advantage by the end of one.

Kendric Davis was already up to 10 points on 4/5 shooting for Sydney after a tough outing on Sunday but Sam Mennenga had another 12 points already for New Zealand with Carlin Davison enjoying his point guard role with six points and six assists already.

Sydney took over in the second quarter piling on 32 points with 12/18 shooting from the field and 4/7 from the outside to take control of the contest and be leading 61-51 by half-time.

The Kings were shooting 64 per cent going into the break with Makuach Maluach delivering 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while Davis was up to 15 points and six assists with Torrey Craig and Xavier Cooks adding 12 points each.

Sydney's lead did get out to as much as 12 but New Zealand locked in defensively in the third quarter and then put up 24 themselves to turn the game on its head to lead 75-73 by three quarter-time.

Mennenga added another five points and nine rebounds for the quarter while they held the Kings to those 12 points on just 4/20 shooting including 1/9 from the outside.

The Breakers pushed that advantage out to six early in the fourth frame too before it became nine with just under six minutes to play thanks to back-to-back three balls from Reuben Te Rangi and Mojave King.

Then just as the Kings made a mini-run, Davison responded with a tough and-one play and King scored once more, and despite a late scare from Craig with four three balls in the last two minutes, New Zealand held on for the one-point win.

The Kings return home to Sydney to play host to the Perth Wildcats on Saturday night while the Breakers remain on the road to play the league-leading Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday.

SYDNEY KINGS 101 – NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 102

Sydney Kings
Torrey Craig – 28 points, 6 rebounds, 7/15 3PT
Makuach Maluach – 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Xavier Cooks – 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists
Kendric Davis – 17 points, 11 assists
Andrew Carr – 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals

NZ Breakers
Sam Mennenga – 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals
Carlin Davison – 20 points, 14 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals
Mojave King – 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
DJ Vasiljevic – 13 points, 2 assists
Kouat Noi – 10 points, 3 rebounds