MONDAY night in the National Basketball League (NBL) saw back-to-back clashes take place in the sixteenth round of the season, with Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers both claiming wins in their respective clashes.

Kicking things off was a clash between United and the New Zealand Breakers at TSB Stadium early in the evening. United were looking to move closer towards locking in a top-two spot while the Breakers were playing for pride having slid down the ladder in dramatic fashion of late, and playing without star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

Despite the disparity in form between the two sides, the game ended up going down to the wire, with a magnificent Chris Goulding performance proving the difference as Melbourne ended up emerging two-point winners in dramatic fashion.

Goulding capped off a starring showing (42 points, 10 three-pointers) with the game winning triple with less than a second on the clock. After Matt Mooney nailed a triple to give the Breakers a one-point lead, United snatched back the lead on the back of a tough Goulding three-ball that ultimately won the match for the visiting side.

Inbounding the ball down one point, it looked as if Melbourne was going to repeat the play that won the game against the Sydney Kings just a few days earlier, where an off-ball screen allowed a cutting Jack White to get an open layup at the hoop. However, White instead caught the ball outside the arc, passed to Goulding as a wrapped around and with Jonah Bolden slightly sagging off, the veteran shooter made no mistake, winning the match for Melbourne with a long-range dagger sealing a two-point triumph.

It was Goulding’s 10th three-pointer for the match, putting him in the history books alongside Dejan Vasiljevic, Bryce Cotton and Jermaine Beal as equal-most triples in an NBL match. His 42 points continues a remarkable season from the United skipper, who keeps defying his age with a tremendous campaign.

Mooney tried valiantly to drag the Breakers over the line, posting 19 points and eight assists in a near match-winning performance, while Next Star Karim Lopez was also impressive with 19 points of his own in a mature outing.

The action continued with a hefty upset from the 36ers, who knocked off the ladder-leading Illawarra Hawks in a statement three-point win at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Monday night.

It was an excellent showing from the Sixers in the first half, jumping out to a lead as big as 25 with Montrezl Harrell producing 18 points, while Dejan Vasiljevic accounted for 16 points himself prior to the main break.

However, the Hawks made a charge in the second half, restricting the Sixers to just 28 points in the final two quarters. A career-night from Sam Froling ensured the Hawks got the lead down to just three points in the final stages of the match, but Tyler Harvey‘s game-tying triple did not find the bottom of the net as Adelaide kept its season alive with a third win over the Hawks this season.

Harrell finished the game with 26 points and nine rebounds, while fellow import Kendric Davis added another impressive performance to his MVP-calibre season with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Froling was clearly Illawarra’s best, showing his potential with a massive double-double of 35 points and 13 rebounds to almost inspire a remarkable comeback from the Hawks.