Crocs humiliate Sixers

A bizarre last-quarter brain explosion from Sixer import Nick Horvath has helped Townsville inflict a humiliating 116-95 defeat on Adelaide at the Distinctive Homes Dome tonight.

With the Sixers down by just two points deep into the final period, Horvath was called for a strange post-basket double technical foul that sent the big American to the change rooms for an early shower. Amid the furore, a frustrated Adelaide bench also drew the referee’s wrath, sending Croc sharpshooter John Rillie to the free-throw line for an amazing six shots.

The former Sixer championship player successfully nailed five, and from the following possession, teammate Larry Abney sank another pair from the charity stripe to turn a slender 91-89 lead into a match-defining 98-89 advantage in a matter of seconds.

From there, the home side disintegrated with a gaggle of turnovers and missed jumpers, as the smooth Townsville offence completed a remarkable turnaround to record their first road victory in five attempts and move to a respectable 6-8 win-loss record.

Rillie was the Crocs’ chief instigator, scoring 32 points (6/11 3pt) and adding 12 rebounds and eight assists in a brilliant all-round performance. He was the main reason Townsville worked their way back from a 20-point second-quarter deficit to trail by just one at the last change.

In final 12 minutes, the Crocs’ versatile forward Larry Abney (30 points, six rebounds) took over, tallying 17 points to shut the door on the Sixer challenge- with a little help from a foolish Horvath.

While the 210cm centre contributed 17 points and seven boards, foul trouble only allowed him to play 22 minutes and severely restricted the Sixers’ early domination of the keyway.

Willie Farley led the Sixers with 24 points and a couple of signature spectacular plays, and along with Brett Maher (16 points, 11 assists), enabled the home side to streak to a comfortable position midway through the second quarter.

However, the Crocs lifted their defensive intensity and with Rillie, Abney and Brad Newley (17 points, nine rebounds) constant threats, they had too much offensively for an impotent Adelaide, who could only manage 39 second-half points.

To complete a nightmarish evening for the 4-8 Sixers, promising young guard Brad Hill was taken to hospital with a badly broken arm, accidentally inflicted by the physical Abney on a hard foul.

With Maher back running the show, the Sixers burst to an early 13-6 lead after just four minutes and already the Crocs were struggling to contain Horvath down low.

He had eight first-quarter points and together with David Cooper, was active on the boards, altering shots and providing Adelaide with numerous second chance opportunities.

Townsville’s upcourt pressure defence was holding no fears for the Sixers, but when Horvath picked up his third foul, the Crocs were able to work their way back into the game through Abney and Daniel Egan.

It took some Farley magic late in the period, including an audacious breakaway dunk and an alley oop tip-in, to push the margin back out to a healthy 33-22 at quarter-time.

A sickening clash between Hill and Abney opened the following period, however, the incident didn’t stop the Sixers’ momentum as they powered to a 19-point advantage after just five second-quarter minutes.

Farley in particular was putting on a show, getting ahead on the fast break to net 14 first-half points, while the Crocs were totally out of sync on offence with import guard Jelani Gardner unable to make an impact.

But with rookie coach Trevor Gleeson imploring his troops to raise their intensity on defence, Townsville slowly started to cause Adelaide’s backcourt problems.

Darren Ng couldn’t control Newley, who began to attack the basket hard with a selection of clever inside moves, while Rillie found his stroke from the outside.

They outhustled the Sixers to the tune of 19-7 in the run to half-time and on the siren brought the margin back under double figures (56-48).

Townsville’s field goal percentage was a sickly 36 percent at the long break but with Rillie inspired, the visitors came out red hot from long range and reduced the deficit to just the solitary point.

A see-sawing contest ensued for the rest of the period, with the Sixers extending their lead through Farley, only to have Townsville return fire and set up a thrilling final quarter showdown.

And so it developed, with the Crocs turning the 79-80 discrepancy into an 87-82 lead as Abney’s awkward-looking jumper started to fall from 15 feet. Horvath returned from the bench to bring Adelaide within striking distance with five minutes remaining, but he imploded to single-handedly ruin any chances the Sixers had of securing victory.

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!