Lakeside Lightning came back from 11 points down to beat fellow top four contender Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks in a fiery clash on Friday.

The Lightning outscored the Hawks 49-30 in the second half to remain on top of the men's State Basketball League ladder, while Perry Lakes dropped out of the top four with its second straight loss.

Lakeside took the momentum midway through the third quarter, turning their 11-point deficit with 8:30 left in the period into a lead just four minutes later after a 13-1 run.

And the impetus shifted further later in the quarter when consecutive technical fouls were called on the Perry Lakes bench, which saw coach Dion Dagostino ejected and Lakeside shoot six straight free-throws.

The Lightning again fell behind by four early in the fourth but recovered through a 10-2 run and cruised home from there as the Hawks struggled with ill-discipline.

Guard Joe-Alan Tupaea was ejected after appearing to punch an opponent with three minutes left, shortly after he was called for a technical foul, while Anthony Lee fouled out late in the game.

Lakeside's comeback masked a poor shooting night, where they shot just 27 per cent from the field.

Ben Beran, who made just two of his first 13 field goal attempts, led the Lightning with 25 points. Luke Payne (22 points) and Chris Sofoulis (20) also provided valuable contributions, while US Collegiate player Kyle Armour was held scoreless in his first game for the club.

Hawks import Lee was held to an uncharacteristically low 16 points but still top-scored for his side, while Tupaea added 15.

Lakeside coach Andy Stewart said it was a relief to win when his side produced a sub-par offensive performance.

"I don't remember us shooting as bad as that for a long time, so to scratch out a win was very good," he said.

"Their pressure defence is pretty good and we've got to go back and work out how to put a few wrinkles in there to get a few shooters open."

Earlier, Perry Lakes' women secured their third straight win, an 82-71 triumph against the Lightning.

The second-placed Hawks had a staggering 32 turnovers, 18 more than Lakeside, and took 37 fewer field goal attempts, but were still able to win because of their vastly superior shooting percentage.

Perry Lakes was shooting at 60 per cent at half-time, while Lakeside made just 28 per cent of their first half attempts, and those numbers barely improved in the second half.

Tegan Walker (21 points) led the Hawks, who cruised home after taking a 14-point lead before quarter-time, while Lakeside's finals hopes are all but over despite Heidi McNeill scoring 16 points.

Article by Jacob Kagi at Lakeside Recreation Centre
Photos by Grant Lauterbach & Mick Cronin

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