Wieskamp saves the day for Phoenix

Joe Wieskamp has been building and his block and game winning layup were his biggest moments as the South East Melbourne Phoenix overcame a remarkable Adelaide 36ers fightback to win 105-99.

The 36ers looked devoid of any system, effort or energy for the first 22 minutes, but once they fired up led by Montrezl Harrell with most of his 25 points and 11 rebounds coming in the second half, they looked unstoppable.

The game still had a tense and dramatic finish and in the end it was a block up one end from Wieskamp on a driving Lat Mayen. Then his finish under the basket up the other with 11 seconds to go saw the Phoenix secure the six-point win.

Both teams were coming off disappointing losses on Friday with South East Melbourne going down in Perth and Adelaide dropping one at home to the severely shorthanded Brisbane.

The Phoenix returned to John Cain Arena for the first time since beating the Sixers by 20 back on December 21, and dominated the first half and opening minutes of the second.

They were 23 points up with the first five points of third quarter and Adelaide didn’t have a single offensive rebound in the first half, Kendric Davis had 14 points but no one else was involved offensively.

The Phoenix had 20 free-throw attempts, 11 second chance points and had all the momentum with their home fans.

Then the game underwent a spectacular turnaround with Adelaide completing a 19-0 run in the third quarter.

The Sixers had five offensive rebounds in the term for seven second chance points, and that included a putback from Montrezl Harrell on three quarter-time to make it a two-point ball game.

Adelaide outscored South East Melbourne 45-17 up to the point of leading by five early in the fourth, but the Phoenix then dug deep and ultimately it was Wieskamp and Owen Foxwell who had the biggest say.

The Phoenix are now 16-12 to replace Sydney in fourth with Foxwell finishing with 22 points and two assists in 25 minutes, and Wieskamp seven points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 32.

Nathan Sobey top-scored with 26 points with eight assists while Matt Hurt had 18 points and 10 boards, and Jordan Hunter 12 points, seven boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks despite battling foul trouble.

"We made it way too difficult to ourselves. I thought for the most part we dominated the game," Phoenix coach Josh King said.

"It was too close for comfort and probably shouldn't have been that close.

"Hopefully we can not let this happen again. Hopefully tonight we learned our lesson.

"I'm proud of the team for finding a way to win the game."

The 36ers now officially can't finish higher than sixth at 13-15 but they did have eight offensive rebounds in the second half with five from Harrell, and showed what they are capable of.

Kendric Davis also had 23 points and seven assists, Jason Cadee 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Sunday Dech 11 points, and DJ Vasiljevic 11 despite going 4/14 from the field.

"It was a really tough ending for me and our group, but I think there's a ton of positives and teaching moments there," Adelaide coach Mike Wells said.

"I thought we took some real strides forward on both sides of the ball."

South East Melbourne scored the first eight points by attacking the basket and when Owen Foxwell also dropped a three-pointer they were leading 11-2 after the first two minutes.

Kendric Davis did try to get Adelaide back into the contest with eight points but he also had three turnovers. The Phoenix had 15 free throws to one by quarter-time to be leading 30-23 with Nathan Sobey scoring the last six points.

It was still just a 10-point game late in the first half but then South East Melbourne blew it wide open with the last eight points including a triple on the buzzer from Ben Ayre.

That saw the Phoenix in control 61-43 and 20 foul shots to five, and 13 offensive rebounds to zero said it all about the dominance the home team was having.

That continued to start the second half too with Foxwell and Joe Wieskamp pushing the Phoenix's lead out to 23 points, but the 36ers all of a sudden fired back in spectacular fashion.

For the rest of the quarter they put up 34 points to 13 including 19 in-a-row at one stage and Harrell delivered 12 points and seven rebounds in that period to bring the Sixers all the way back within two points.

DJ Vasiljevic hit his first three of the game to start the fourth before Harrell put them in front for the first time all game but that only set up a dramatic finish with big plays either way down the stretch.

In the end, after Harrell put Adelaide up 99-98, Foxwell made three at the line for South East Melbourne, Wieskamp had his block and layup, and Sobey closed the deal for the six-point win.

Both teams now have one game to go in the regular season before potentially facing one another in a Play-In Game. The Phoenix finish with a Throwdown with Melbourne United on Saturday night before that, the 36ers take on the third placed Wildcats in Perth.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 105 (Sobey 26, Foxwell 22, Hurt 18)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 99 (Harrell 25, Davis 23, Cadee 15)

BOX SCORE