A stunning 33-point fourth-quarter blitz propelled Falcons A (5-5) to a 78-68 win over Bombers A (9-2) in the men's A grade competition on Saturday.
The Bombers led for almost the entire second and third quarters and held a 52-45 lead with a quarter to play.
While the table-topping Bombers injected Nuggets player-coach Mark Dickel into the game in the final quarter, Falcons had an answer in the form of Chris Hood (23 points) and Tony Tolovae (26).
After a rugged first three quarters in which Hood was visibly frustrated with the way proceedings were unfolding, he took the game by the scruff of its neck with 16 fourth-quarter points.
Tolovae opened the quarter with a layup, before a pumped-up Hood scored six straight points to give the Falcons a 53-52 lead with seven minutes remaining.
Cody Gillies quickly put the Bombers back in front with a three-pointer, before Hood tied it up with a smooth jumper.
Tim Heller then gave the Falcons the lead with a layup and Hood connected from beyond the arc to give his side a five-point lead.
The Bombers drew even at 60-60 with a Jason Frost three-pointer and a Gillies layup, but the Falcons scored seven straight points through Hood and Tyler Lapham to lead 67-60 with just under three minutes left. It was time for some Tolovae fireworks.
With the Bombers pressing for quick points, a sloppy pass resulted in a Falcons fast break and a booming slam dunk by the Nuggets guard. Moments later, after another of the Bombers' 25 turnovers, Tolovae delighted the crowd with a thunderous alley-oop dunk on the fast break.
The Bombers promptly called a time-out as the deficit ballooned to 11 points, but it was too little, too late as the Falcons iced the game from the charity stripe. Gillies top-scored for the Bombers with 18 points but it was obvious the boys in green missed the injured Steve Robinson and Richie Rodger.
The unavailability of Max Jablonksi, Jack Stirling and Chris Hepburn also meant the Bombers had to call a number of B grade players into the squad. Earlier, the first quarter began with a flurry of turnovers from both sides.
The teams combined for 17 turnovers in the first half, including 11 in the first four minutes. The Falcons held a 16-13 lead after the first quarter, before Mike Dawson and Tom Gallaher dominated the second quarter to lift the Bombers to a 33-27 halftime lead.
Despite losing consecutive games after a nine-game winning streak to open the season, the Bombers still lead the competition. Sam Timmins scored 16 points in his first game after recovering from a stress fracture in his back as Otago Boys' High School (5-3) toppled Magic A (3-8) 73-58.
Earlier, Damon Cleverley poured in 31 points as the St Kilda Saints (7-2) routed Varsity A (1-9) 100-70.
By Robert van Royen.
