A CAREER-BEST performance from young gun Tristan Devers was the spark that ignited the Nunawading Spectres to a four-point win over the Waverley Falcons in the NBL1 South Men’s over the weekend.

The Spectres were coming off a disappointing loss at the hands of the Knox Raiders the night before, but had the chance to bounce back against the Falcons, who also lost on Saturday night when they played the Eltham Wildcats.

The Falcons were the better side in the first half, jumping out to an early lead to hold an eight-point buffer at the main change, and silence the crowd at Nunawading Basketball Centre on Sunday afternoon. However, the home side bounced back in the second half, looking much more potent on the offensive end and storming home to claim a four-point triumph and finish Round 13 in style.

Devers was far and away the biggest factor in the match, putting the Spectres on his back and putting together the most potent offensive showing of his short career.

Nunawading Spectres (96) def. Waverley Falcons (92)

Tristan Devers – 43 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals

By far the most impactful player on the court, Devers produced a dominant display that was a true indication of his scoring potential if he gets off the chain, and showed the Spectres just how much responsibility he is capable of holding on the offensive end.

It was not the ideal start to his match however, turning the ball over in the first quarter as the Falcons gained their ascendancy on the scoreboard. However, he bounced back to find Cameron Cranston on the perimeter with a nice dime, before hitting the scoreboard himself with a tough and-one inside the paint. He made it back to back buckets with a smooth triple, before nailing a nice floater later in the term to get off to a hot start.

After starting the second quarter on the bench, he was injected back into the game a few minutes into the fold, and made an immediate impact with a nice drive into the paint. Unfortunately, he left some points at the charity stripe by missing a pair of free throws shortly after, but he recovered to record seven points in 90 seconds to close out the half and keep the Spectres in the fight.

Although he struggled with turnovers and inaccuracy at times throughout the period, Devers’ third quarter was immense in getting Nunawading back into the game. He popped up for a trio of crucial baskets, with none more important than his buzzer-beating floater on the eve of three-quarter time to cut the margin back to three points.

The young gun continued to be the focal point for Nunawading on the offensive end, looking to penetrate the paint in the first few minutes of the fourth term, and single-handedly keeping the Spectres within striking distance after the Falcons looked to put the game to bed. Back to back triples midway through the frame cut the margin to just one point, before chiming in for the sealing basket in the dying seconds of the match to lead his team to victory.

He finished the contest with a remarkable 43 points to go with his six rebounds and two assists, shooting 18/30 from the field and 6/14 from behind the arc, putting the rest of the competition on notice with his scoring ceiling.