36ers survive as Cotton fouls out in overtime

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Adelaide survived. There is no other way to describe it.

It was a tough, physical battle full of no calls on top of a combined 61 fouls between the league's top two ball clubs.

Box Score: Adelaide 36ers 114, Melbourne United 105 (OT)

Isaac Humphries, playing his 100th game for the 36ers, fouled out, Nick Rakocevic was ejected on a disqualifying foul, Bryce Cotton fouled out for the first time in his NBL career, United's NBL Next Star Dash Daniels fouled out, Shea Ili fouled out on a blocking foul and a technical foul, Zylan Cheatham fouled out with 11 seconds left in OT.

United were without Tyson Walker but were gritty all game long, even taking the lead after a 21-5 run to start the fourth quarter ... a complete reversal of what Adelaide did to Perth last Sunday! Adelaide led 81-65 at three quarter time but simply couldn't make a bucket or stop United from scoring.

"Like we were just saying before the game, it was one versus two on the ladder tonight," 36ers head coach Mike Wells said.

"There’s a whole bunch of different emotions. But I think it’s part of our story and part of our journey. We found a way to win the game, and that’s what we’ve been doing all season long.

"I might sound crazy, but when you have a lead like that against a really good team, I don’t think anybody expected we were going to beat United by 20 points. That was never going to happen.

"You’d like not to lose the whole lead, but not only did we lose it, they went ahead, and then we got our feet under us.

"For this group to take all those punches from a quality championship team, to maybe get staggered, regain our balance, and then come back, take the lead back, go into overtime, and play like three minutes without Bryce Cotton — I think he fouled out for the first time in his career. I’m just going to let that sink in for a minute. First time in his career.

"For the group to be able to figure out how to win without a big — I didn’t have any bigs. Everybody fouled out, everybody was gone. I had to play five smalls, and Flynn (Cameron) played the four. I could have played Flynn as a five.

"When I recruited him, I talked about point guard and two guard. Now it’s four and five. It’s amazing. I just love coaching this group. They’ve been extremely coachable. They try to take everything we’re doing conceptually. They never wavered in the belief that we could win, even at the beginning of overtime.

"There was a collective resolve. Even when Bryce fouled out for the first time in his career, that group never wavered. I couldn’t be more proud of them as a coach.

"It’s part of our story. We’re learning how to win in real time. We have to learn how to win a whole bunch of different ways. I can play big, I can play small, I can use different lineups. I’m just super proud of the group.

"Obviously, Bryce went out of the game with three minutes to go. You don’t want that to happen. Did you see something in those three minutes tonight about the next-step mentality of this Adelaide team, and was it pivotal for your plans for the rest of the season?

"We’ve had two really interesting games back to back, and they played out in different ways — being down 20 or being up 20 — really interesting circumstances. Yet we’ve figured out how to win them.

"I’ve said all along that I love our 11-man roster. I’ve talked about how Keanu and Michael Harris are outstanding people, and I know they’ll be ready to play whenever their number’s called. I also know I’ve got nine in the rotation right now, and they’re ready to go.

"I never felt like there was a waiver. We took a timeout when it happened so I could get them organised in that moment. We practice with different lineups all the time. We get big, we get small, whatever. The group’s been outstanding. I’m just super proud that we were able to regain our balance and start punching again.

Wells was muted on the 36ers winning streak, which has propelled them to the top of the ladder.

"I was thinking exactly the same thing. I think our intensity was set by this guy right here," Wells added.

"I thought Flynn led us early with his physicality, his aggressiveness, and his downhill play. He was the one guy who could get north-south early and really set the pace.

"United did a really good job, which is why they put us in foul trouble, but Flynn’s aggressive style, guarding the other team’s best scorers, really got us going. That’s what it started with.

"I couldn’t be happier for Flynn. I know he wanted to play better the first time we played them. He started strong, he continued strong, and he was basically playing the five at the end of the game. That’s what really good players do. He never wavers. He just looks at me and says, 'Alright, I got it'."

Cotton stunningly fouled out in the overtime on a charge with 3:10 left in the overtime. He'd scored all seven points for the 36ers in the overtime to then.

With the score locked at 95-95, Cotton, extraordinarily turned the ball over on an iso against Shea Ili to win it as the clock wound down.

Cotton lost the handle on a spin at the free throw line. United's Milton Doyle missed a long fall away at the buzzer to win it.

Even more extraordinary was Ili, coming back from injury, didn't start the overtime because he is on a minutes restriction.

Nick Rakocevic was ejected with seven minutes to go for an elbow on United Finn Delany, which put Adelaide in deeper jeopardy with Zylan Cheatham on four fouls and Isaac Humphries also on four. It was a turning point for the 36ers.

NBL Next Star Dash Daniels, who started the ball game, fouled out shortly after on his fifth foul, sending Cotton to the free throw line.

Humphries fouled out with 2:25 on a bang-bang charge driving to the bucket but head coach Mike Wells didn't have a challenge after blowing it earlier on a foul by Cheatham. It would have more than likely overturned as Delany shifted on the play.

Delany came up with a massive and-1 with 25.5 seconds left, a reaching foul called on Cotton, his fourth.

Cotton was the difference, delivering a superb all-around performance with 33 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds in 39 minutes. Humphries was highly efficient inside (17 points on 8-of-10 shooting), while Zylan Cheatham added 13 points and 9 rebounds and Flynn Cameron chipped in 18 points.

Melbourne led for just 1:47 all night but fought their way back into the contest through balance and perimeter shooting. Captain Chris Goulding scored 24 points with three threes, Finn Delany posted 20 points and 9 rebounds, and Shea Ili contributed 13 points and 3 assists off the bench.

After Melbourne won the fourth quarter 28–14 to force overtime, Adelaide controlled the extra frame with physicality, free throws (30-of-35 for the game), and Cotton’s late execution, finishing with a deserved home victory after leading for more than 40 minutes.

The 36ers are now 14-3 at clear top while Melbourne dropped to 13-4 but still a clear second.

"The first positive is we got stops and gave ourselves a chance to win the game in regular time," United head coach Dean Vickerman said.

"We were down 11 at the half, and it felt like it slipped away a little bit in the third, but Dash made a big three to keep it alive and keep it at fourteen.

"I loved the way we played basketball in the fourth quarter. To hold them to 14 points, they probably only really shot free throws, which it seemed like they shot a lot of tonight. In overtime, they were a little bit better than us.

"What do I take as positives? Our commitment to get second shots tonight. The way we crashed the offensive boards, the way we dove on the floor, and the general winning plays we made with effort. It was so much better than the last two games, particularly in that final term."

Vickerman said the scout on Cotton with Walker in the line-up was multiple different defenders going at him.

"Not fouling him was the biggest challenge," Vickerman added.

"We tried to throw multiple bodies at him. We started with Dash, then Tom Koppens, then Shea Ili. Shea was still limited in how much he could play, so you’d love to see him on Bryce a little bit more as we go through the season.

"Bryce is playing at a really high level. When the game’s on the line and you’ve got someone who can create their own shot, once he breaks the three-point line, his floater was okay tonight, but his ability to get contact and get to the foul line is the toughest part to defend."

Scoring by Quarter
36ers: 27 | 32 | 22 | 14 | 19
United: 22 | 26 | 19 | 28 | 10

Top Performers

Adelaide 36ers

• Bryce Cotton – 33 pts │ 13 ast │ 7 reb │ 11–12 FT
• Isaac Humphries – 17 pts │ 6 reb │ 8–10 FG
• Zylan Cheatham – 13 pts │ 9 reb │ 3 ast
• Flynn Cameron – 18 pts │ 8 reb

Melbourne United

• Chris Goulding – 24 pts │ 3 ast │ 3 threes
• Finn Delany – 20 pts │ 9 reb
• Milton Doyle – 17 pts │ 3 ast
• Shea Ili – 13 pts │ 3 ast │ 2 stl

Team Stats

• FG%: Adelaide 47.4% │ Melbourne 42.0%
• 3PT: Adelaide 10–28 (35.7%) │ Melbourne 9–30 (30.0%)
• FT: Adelaide 30–35 (85.7%) │ Melbourne 22–28 (78.6%)
• Rebounds: Adelaide 51 │ Melbourne 46
• Assists: Adelaide 20 │ Melbourne 17
• Turnovers: Adelaide 12 │ Melbourne 12

Game Notes

• Adelaide led for 40:35 of game time
• 11 lead changes
• Melbourne forced overtime with a 28–14 fourth quarter, but Adelaide won OT 19–10
• Biggest lead: Adelaide 18 points