Round Eleven Previews Game previews courtesy of Basketball Queensland
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MACKAY METEORS VS USC RIP CITY
The Mackay Meteors face the USC Rip City in a top of the table clash on Friday night . Mackay put in a dominant performance last Sunday at home belting the Cairns Marlins by 18 points . Star guard Shaun Bruce led the way with 34 points , 7 rebounds and 6 assists and Lukass Blicavs impressed off the bench scoring 4 three-pointers . The USC Rip continue to shock the QBL in 2017 and they had another big weekend in Round 10 securing wins against the Spartans in Brisbane and at home to Toowoomba . The Rip edged out the Spartans after a topsy-turvy affair on Friday night . Lance Hurdle led the team with 27 points , whilst Louis Ilton and Josh Tueta were strong off the board registering 14 and 10 rebounds respectively . The winner of this game should get home court advantage throughout the playoffs . Mackay at home in a close one .
GOLD COAST ROLLERS VS LOGAN THUNDER
Gold Coast ’ s tough season continued last Sunday with a loss to the Rockhampton Rockets at home . The Rollers who were missing Bullets star Torrey Craig for the game were no match for the Rockets going down by 23 points in the end . Devon Sullivan collected 16 points and 16 rebounds in the loss but it was Gold Coast ’ s shooting in the end that let them down posting just 26-72 from the field . The Logan Thunder fared much better against the Rockets in their encounter last Friday night at home . The points were spread across the board with Keanu Post top-scoring with 17 . Seven players managed to hit double-digits for Logan and captain Michael Cedar was instrumental setting up the offense with 11 assists . The Rollers season has slipped away from them , look for Logan to win big and ensure a place in the eight after Round 11 .
TOOWOOMBA MOUNTAINEERS VS GLADSTONE PORT CITY POWER
The Mountaineers sit at the bottom of the ladder and suffered back to back losses in Round 10 away to the USC Rip and the Sunshine Coast Phoenix . Toowoomba suffered a heart-breaking loss to the Rip on Saturday night coming from behind to almost secure a great win but were ultimately denied in the final minutes . Jalil Abdul-Bassit put in a massive effort scoring a whopping 43 points shooting at 69 % from the field . Jason Washington also put in a strong game registering 24 points in a close loss . Gladstone had the bye in Round 10 in preparation for a triple-header at Toowoomba , Ipswich and the Spartans in Brisbane this week . It will be interesting to see if the Power rest any players on Friday night before their big weekend , and if they do Toowoomba could catch them napping at home in a tight one .
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS VS USC RIP CITY
USC proved too strong for a spirited Toowoomba outfit last Saturday night . Zane Meehl top scored with 27 points and was supported well by his captain Isaih Tueta who pitched in with 23 . This is the toughest weekend of the season so far for the Rip and it will be interesting to see if they can cement a top 2 place on the ladder with important games in Mackay and Rockhampton . Despite losing their first game of a triple-header to Logan on Friday night , the Rockets bounced back with wins against
the South West Metro Pirates and Gold Coast Rollers to keep their finals hopes alive . The win against the Pirates was particularly impressive considering the Rockets used just 6 players and came from behind in the final quarter to win by 3 . Christopher Fowler and Rashad Hassan averaged 29.3 and 24.7 points respectively over the weekend in dominant performances . The Rockets have a tough assignment against the second-placed USC Rip City however , back at home they should produce their best basketball .
BRISBANE CAPITALS VS TOWNSVILLE HEAT
The Brisbane Capitals remain in the hunt for a top 2 finish after defeating the Ipswich Force at home last Friday night . Princeton Onwas continued his good season scoring 31 points , whilst fellow American Aaron Anderson and captain Zac Carter both scored 22 on the night . Anderson led the team with 8 assists and veteran Dusty Rychart collected 15 rebounds . The Townsville Heat head into a Brisbane double-header full of confidence after beating rivals the Cairns Marlins by 14 points at home . Justin Baker led the team in points and rebounds with 25 and 13 respectively . Townsville star Josh Wilcher scored 24 points and the Capitals will need to keep him and Baker quiet in order to come away with the win . Capitals at home .
SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES VS SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX
The South West Metro Pirates have a 5-5 record heading into their home double-header in Round 11 . The Pirates let a fourth quarter lead slip against the Rockets last Saturday night despite a massive performance from Tanner Mc-
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