Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Round 12, Game 2 v South East Melbourne Phoenix

Melbourne United have gone down in a hotly contested Throwdown XXVII matchup.

Inserted back into the starting lineup, Ian Clark went to work right away, knocking down a triple in transition for the game’s opening score.

These made up three of his 10 points in the first period, which led all scorers.

United’s offence was humming for much of the term as the ball moved with pace to find open shooters and teammates at the hoop.

The highlight of the quarter, and perhaps the season however involved only one man: Rob Loe.

In game 200, Loe rocketed down the lane and threw down a thunderous poster slam, sending the Melbourne fans inside John Cain Arena into raptures.

Feeding off that energy and some hot shooting (71% field goal percentage), United took a 36-24 advantage into the first break.

After a back and forth start to the second which saw Tanner Krebs continue five quick points following a three-pointer and a dunk, the Phoenix went on a run, closing the gap to just three points.

An acrobatic layup from Shea Ili and four-point play from Flynn Cameron put a stop to that momentum, pushing Melbourne back up by seven points.

The pair were far from done however, with Ili adding four more points to bring his total up to 10, while Cameron was able to poke the ball loose from South East Melbourne’s Matt Hurt and lay it in to beat the halftime buzzer with United up 59-51.

Coming out of the major break Melbourne looked strong, holding off the Phoenix every time they looked to make a run.

This unfortunately wasn’t able to last the remainder of the term, as SEM got hot from the field, sinking a number of three-pointers and finishing around the rim to take a four-point lead into three-quarter time.

While the Phoenix were able to extend this advantage to eight points, some great play from the likes of Matthew Dellavedova, Jack White and Loe turned the tables, before Flynn Cameron sliced to the hoop to give United back the lead.

This however only lasted briefly, as South East Melbourne were able to execute well down the stretch to pull away for a 109-97 victory.

Melbourne United will have eight days to regroup ahead of The Open Air Game, which is set for 7:30pm on Monday 23 December.

If you’re looking for tickets, keep your eyes locked on United’s socials.