Newcastle Falcons used stifling, swarming defence to overwhelm Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 77-41 and open their NBL1 East men's account in a lopsided "Battle of the Birds" at Newcastle Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
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Earlier, in her first appearance of the season, Nicole Munger (21 points, 19 rebounds, four assists) inspired the Falcons women to a 64-55 victory over Manly to register their second straight win.
Big men Myles Cherry (15 points, eight rebounds) and Tom Dawson (12 points, nine rebounds) and American recruit Anthony Gaines (13 points, five rebounds, two assists) led the way in the men's game as the Falcons held the Sea Eagles to just six points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth.
Newcastle had the better of a back-and-forth first two periods to lead 40-27 at half-time but frustrated the Sea Eagles into forced shots and turnovers after the break to blow the game open.
The Falcons out-rebounded the Sea Eagles 50-33 and contained them to just two of 20 from three-point range and 19 of 64 (29.69 per cent) shooting overall.
"Tom Dawson was a stand-out. He did an exceptional job, and he was huge on the defensive end for us," Falcons coach Peter Astley said.
"What Tom does for us doesn't always show up in the stats or get noticed by everyone, but the coaches notice and his teammates notice.
"As a group, that's the toughest we've been defensively for as long as I can remember. When you hold a team to 41, it shows you've done a really good job.
"We put them in an uncomfortable area and they found it hard to score. We'll play other teams this year that might shoot the ball better, but defensively that's the standard for us."
Astley brought Gaines off the bench for his NBL1 debut, and the New Yorker made the most of his 23 minutes on the floor, thrilling the crowd with a three-pointer from his first shot attempt, and a one-handed slam from a Jaidyn Goodwin dish in the third quarter.
"We were very happy with Anthony, for his first game with us," Astley said.
"He was really unselfish and though we only played him for around 20 minutes, he fit in really well and he showed good composure so he should only get better the more time he's with us."
Though it did not make up for Manly ending their 2022 campaign with a 78-75 victory in an elimination play-off last August, Newcastle did strike an early psychological blow against a team Falcons coach Martin McLean rates among the title contenders.
Newcastle led 16-13 at quarter-time and 25-23 at the half but took control with a 19-12 third term to lead 44-35 heading into the final period.
Though Munger was her dominant self, "bigs" Abi Curtin (17 points, eight rebounds) and Rachael McGinniskin (six points, three rebounds, two assists and a block) controlled the paint, and all of Kate Kingham's 15 points came from three-pointers, nailing five from nine from outside the arc.
"I suppose you'd say that was winning ugly," McLean said.
"We were a bit disorganised for most of the game, which was to be expected given that we're still coming together as a team.
"But to get that win against a team I expect to be right in the mix at the end of the season is very positive for us, and once we get a bit more cohesive, I think we can expect even more from us.
"Nicole did Nicole things as usual, but I thought Kate and Abi made some big plays for us in the first half, and Rachael really carried us in the first half with some tough play in the post."
Newcastle are back at home next Saturday against Canberra Nationals in the women's game at 5pm, and Canberra Gunners at 7.15pm in the men's game.
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