IN a difficult NBL1 East double-header on the road in which the Newcastle Falcons men lost captain Myles Cherry to an ankle injury, there was one upside - Alex Clinton.
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The Falcons suffered a 97-68 loss to a red hot Illawarra Hawks on Saturday night and then went down 112-82 to Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Canberra on Sunday.
Cherry, who averages 18.2 points and 11.2 rebounds, rolled his ankle midway through the first quarter against the Hawks.
Without the skipper, the Falcons were out-hustled and out-rebounded by the home side.
A poor shooting night - the Falcons converted at 36 per cent and landed five of 26 from beyond the arch - compounded the situation.
However, Clinton was a bright light.
In his first season back after a career-threatening knee injury, Clinton dropped 16 points, including four of five from long range, in 16 minutes.
"He is coming back from a really bad knee injury," Falcons coach Pete Astley said. "He had two operations and was told that he would not run again. His contribution was certainly the upside for us. With Myles out injured, he got an opportunity to play more minutes and shot the ball really well. It will be good for his confidence."
Import Anthony Gaines stepped up in Cherry's absence. The an 193cm combo-guard dropped 19 points to go with seven rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Ryan Beisty didn't have his best shooting night but posted a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
However, the visitors had no answer to athleticism of Will Hickey, who scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.
Against the CoE, Clinton, who suffered the knee issue playing for St Martin's University in the USA, had three points.
Gaines and Reed Nottage were the Falcons' best with 18 points each.The two losses dropped the Falcons to an 8-6 win-loss record ahead of a bye weekend.
It was a far more productive road trip for the Falcons women.
Abi Curtin (15 points, 13 rebounds) posted a double-double to lead the Falcons to a 70-49 triumph over Illawarra.
On Sunday, Nicole Munger starred in a thrilling 82-76 triumph over the CoE in over-time.
Against the CoE, the visitors trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter but rallied and Abi Curtin hit a three to tie at 69-each at the end of regulation time.
Munger took over and finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and three assists. The win improved the Falcons win-loos record to 12-2 and moved them up to second spot.
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
