BOXSCORE


The Gold Coast Blaze survived a second-half scare to crush the Melbourne Tigers 92-78 on the tourist strip on Saturday night.

It was Gold Coast veteran Stephen Hoare's 450th NBL game and the Blaze made sure it was a night to celebrate, the win coming against the club he called home for eight seasons.

The Blaze surrendered a dominant 20-point lead early in the third quarter, the Tigers grafting their way back to within six points.

Fittingly, it was Hoare who sealed the win when he sliced his way through heavy traffic to push the lead back to double digits with less than four minutes left.

The leadership of point guard Adam Gibson (23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) was superb, while Mark Worthington (19) and Anthony Petrie (12) also made strong contributions for the Blaze.

New Melbourne import Myron Allen had barely stepped off the plane before taking to the court, but after a slow start showed some promise with 13 points and eight assists.

Ron Dorsey (24 points, 8-of-11 shooting) was a constant threat for the Tigers, although he found little help in the first half.

The Blaze put their foot on the Tigers' throats early, peeling off eight unanswered points to open the game and set up an 11-point quarter-time lead.

Melbourne stumbled in the first term with NBL point-scoring leader Cam Tragardh going a dismal 0-of-4 from the field and Lucas Walker collecting three quick fouls.

Dorsey played a lone hand, his 12 points and a triple from Benny Lewis were Melbourne's only scores as the Blaze shared their scoring over seven players.

The demolition job continued in the second quarter with the Blaze notching up the half century before half-time.

Allen found his rhythm in the third term, and centre Matt Burston chimed in with 11 points as the Tigers threatened a boilover.

But the resurgence was killed off in the dying stages as Gibson led the Blaze on a 9-2 run to close out the game.

Gold Coast Blaze 92 (Gibson 23, Worthington 19, Petrie 12, Deleon 11)
Melbourne Tigers 78 (Dorsey 24, Allen 13, Burston 11, Dillon 11)

Crowd: TBC at Gold Coast Convention Centre