BOXSCORE

The Townsville Crocodiles turned around a slow start to defeat the Adelaide 36ers 89-71 at The Swamp on Sunday.

The Crocs trailed by five at half-time, but capitalised on four 36er turnovers to go on an 11-2 third-quarter run and break the game open.

Centre Luke Schenscher was dominant for Townsville with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field along with seven rebounds and two blocks.

Australian junior international Mitch Creek had the best game of his professional career with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The home side sank 46 points after the main break on the back of imports Eddie Gill (16) and Elvin Mims (11), while the visitors could only manage 23 points for the half as stars Daniel Johnson and Stephen Weigh were kept quiet.

Adelaide had shot Townsville to pieces in the first quarter with six three-pointers - including 3-of-3 from Weigh - taking a 10-point lead before closing the period in front 27-21.

Schenscher battled hard in the paint while Mims added a quick seven points off the bench.

Creek snuck under the defensive radar to sink 10 points in the second stanza as the visitors went into half-time holding a 48-43 advantage.

The 36ers lost their way after the break, commiting careless turnovers and missing multiple three-point attempts, as the Crocs surged ahead 67-58 after three periods.

Michael Cedar then sank back-to-back three-pointers to continue the momentum and kill off any thoughts of a fight back.

Creek was Adelaide’s only threat as the clock ticked down but lacked support, the hosts recording a comfortable victory to hold on to third place.

Townsville Crocodiles 89 (Schenscher 22, Gill 16, Mims 11)
Adelaide 36ers 71 (Creek 19, Weigh 13, Simpson 10)  

Crowd: 3322 at Townsville Entertainment Centre