Cavaliers staged a roaring comeback in a stunning single-point victory over Cannons Elite in the latest round of the 2025/26 basketball season at the NSC on Thursday evening.

The opening quarter saw Cannons cause chaos in the Cavaliers defence as Rowan Coulter and Oliver Hamilton drove to the basket with ease.

A strong 2-3 zone defence also helped Cannons limit Cavaliers on the opposite end of the floor, Jack Wilkinson and Evan O’Dea working in tandem to deny Dave Minay on the inside while Coulter and Hamilton pressured the perimeter.

Minay managed some solid post moves on occasion but with limited success, while the rest of the Cavaliers offence was well contained.

Wilkinson then opened up for Cannons in the final minutes of the quarter, two swish three-pointers and a solid inside drive pushing them into a solid 25-8 lead at the buzzer.

With such a solid showing in the first it felt like Cannons were set for a runaway victory, but the veteran Cavaliers side found a renewed form at the start of the second.

Stronger post entry passes and second chance putbacks saw Minay break through to power the Cavs through double digits, while better movement round the outside provided lanes for Dave Boyle and Andy Cregeen.

Cannons’ offence misfired at the same time, with slower pace and failing momentum as the gap gradually narrowed. Inside lanes became clogged, though Raf Turla and Dylan Evans managed to pick-up some nice mid-range shots that kept Cannons ticking over.

A duo of outside threes from Wilkinson and Hamilton again had Cannons on a 17-point lead but inside play from Minay and a pull up from Boyle cut that to 11 points by half-time, 39-28 to Cannons.

A quick play from Boyle at the start of the third was a marker of things to come as Cavs took offensive control of the quarter.

Strong defence shut down the lanes for Cannons and, despite some nice ball movement and well-timed cuts, drives and mid-range shots were few and far between.

Unable to crack the defence, Cannons reverted to shooting over the top as Samson Shimmin joined Hamilton outside the arc to rack up the only points of the quarter for Cannons.

Cavaliers continued to chip away at the lead, Minay again playing the low block position and moving strong to the hoop, while Daniel Dunajewski joined the fray with a mid-range pull up.

The Cannons defence did well to contain Cavaliers though, Wilkinson continuing to play solid inside defence despite a distinct size mismatch.

The strong showing on the defensive end of the floor helped to keep Cannons ahead but the drought on offence meant their lead dropped to only six points, 48-42, going into the fourth quarter.

Gabe Thatcher opened the final quarter well for Cannons with a quick drive to the basket that drew the foul and free-throw, extending the lead to nine. Defence is where the game started to breakdown for Cannons though as Cavaliers adopted a new strategy that opened up the game.

Each offence saw James Capelan setup at the top of the key, splitting the middle of the Cannons zone defence in an attempt to draw up Wilkinson and ease the pressure on Minay in the low post.

While they continued to cover Minay, the Cannons defence failed to adjust to Capelan’s presence leaving him free at the key on multiple offences. It was a situation he took full advantage of with a string of mid-range buckets and a foul free-throw that ended in the final minute with a tied game, 57-57.

Hamilton was quick on the return though and powered down the court and through the lane to again pull Cannons ahead by two points, 59-57, to the cheers of the growing crowd.

With a little over 30 seconds left on the clock, Cavaliers returned to the offensive end of the floor and hunted the inside shot to level the game.

Cannons’ defence managed to lockdown well though, denying the post-entry and sealing up lanes for quick drives.

The decisive shot came from the outside though, as the ball found its way to the hands of Dave Boyle at the perimeter and he swished the three-pointer to push Cavs ahead by one point, 59-60.

Again, Cannons were quick with the inbound, this time Wilkinson powering down the floor, but Cavs were switched on and an early foul by Minay denied the fast break winner.

With 2.8 seconds remaining, Cannons stepped up for the sideline, successfully getting the ball into play but unable to create a solid game winning opportunity as Cavaliers completed the turnaround from 17 points down to a single-point victory, 59-60.

The other games of the evening saw victories for Cheldan Property Pirates and DGU Jets.

Pirates faced a tough competition from Hoops, Danielle Murphy and Daniella Kravela sinking mid-range and inside shots to keep the game within two points, 25-23, at half-time.

It remained close in the third, 47-41, but the fourth saw a breakthrough for Pirates led by Owen Chestnut who had an 11-point run as Pirates sailed to victory 68-53 at the final whistle.

Meanwhile, DGU Jets continued their unbeaten run this season with an 80-45 victory over a depleted Wolves.

Jake Glover had an outstanding game on both ends of the floor as solid defensive efforts coupled with quick break buckets as Jets took off.

Outside shooting from Viktor Capkanovski and Kyle Mills gave Wolves some solace in the second quarter, but they struggled to maintain form in a punishing third that sealed the victory for Jets.

Action returns to the Senior League a week on Thursday (April 16) with the penultimate week of the round robin competition ahead of this year’s Championship play-offs.

With only a single court available, the league schedule is slightly different, with Hoops facing Southern Phoenix at 6pm then at 7.20pm Wolves will play Cavaliers and at 8.40pm the evening concludes with DGU Jets vs Cheldan Property Pirates.

All games are played in the NSC main hall with courtside seating available for spectators.

MARTIN DUNNE