IPSWICH Force’s NBL1 North championship dream has ended in heartbreak, with a courageous response to their Game One defeat falling just four points short as the Gold Coast Rollers claimed the men’s title in two games.
Facing a must-win Game Two after being comprehensively beaten 118-85 on Friday night, the Force produced the fight expected of a championship contender less than 24 hours later, pushing Gold Coast until the final moments before going down 120-116 at The Southport School on Saturday night.
The defeat completed a 2-0 championship series victory for the Rollers, but the final score told a vastly different story to the opening game.
After struggling to contain Gold Coast’s offensive firepower on Friday, Ipswich responded with 116 points of its own in an extraordinary Game Two shootout, led by a monster 40-point performance from Lamar Patterson.
Merrick Small was immense with 29 points and 12 rebounds, Lachlan Anderson added 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Kane Bishop exploded from the bench with 18 points in just over 15 minutes.
It was the response Ipswich needed after being handed a harsh lesson in Game One.
Patterson still managed a game-high 32 points, including five three-pointers, while adding four rebounds and four assists in the series first game.
Anderson was Ipswich’s next-best offensive contributor with 17 points but endured a difficult shooting night following his spectacular 43-point performance in the semi-final victory over Cairns.
Gold Coast’s Preston Le Gassick orchestrated the Game One demolition with 29 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, while James Whitt and Brodie Mcgregor scored 17 points each and Jensen Bradtke contributed 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Ipswich emerged for Game Two looking like a completely different side, and although Gold Coast again started strongly to lead after the opening quarter, there would be no repeat of Friday night’s blowout.
With an entire season resting on the final 10 minutes, Ipswich kept coming as Patterson delivered one of his finest performances of the season, shooting 16-of-25 from the field and 6-of-12 from three-point range on his way to 40 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Ipswich won the final quarter but could not completely erase Gold Coast’s advantage, as the Rollers held on by four points to end the series.
For Ipswich, it brought an end to a season which saw the Force fight its way through the NBL1 North finals and into the championship series, including road victories over Sunshine Coast Phoenix and a undefeated Cairns outfit.
