Basketball: Breakers start with win

The Breakers' Carlos Powell gets airborne in the side's opening win last night. Picture / Paul Estcourt

A storm named Carlos Powell helped sweep the Breakers to a morale-boosting win over the South Dragons last night in their opening showdown of the Australian NBL.

Signed as the replacement for last season's stand-out Rich Melzer, Powell ensured the Breakers would make a bright start to their fourth campaign with a dynamic effort close to the hoop, ending with a game-high 34 points.

Having won only a solitary outing during the pre-season, the New Zealand franchise gained in confidence throughout the game, but was unable to claim complete control until about the final 30 seconds.

Powell was a colossus from start to finish, turning the Dragons' defenders inside out with his quickness and deception, and finding outstanding support from fellow forwards Brian Wethers, Ben Pepper and Mika Vukona.

The mop-topped power-forward hit 14 from 19 field goals and drained another six from the free-throw line, while also pulling in three offensive and eight defensive boards, making a brace of steals and dishing three assists.

Wethers wasn't far behind on the MVP list after ending with 31 points - nine from 18 field-goals, three three-pointers, and 10 free-throws, to go beside his four board and three assists, and Pepper chimed in with an invaluable 17 points.

The Dragons were hoping to make history on their league debut but, while managing to take the lead for a brief time in the second quarter, had some difficult match-up issues inside the keyhole and couldn't maintain momentum.

The Breakers opted for height from the tip-off, leaving Aaron Olson on the bench and starting Wethers as shooting guard, a strategy that allowed Oscar Forman to line-up alongside Pepper, Powell and Paul Henare.

It was a match-up that continued through most of the game; the Breakers working tirelessly in the paint in an attempt to exploit their height advantage, and the Dragons flying their colours on the back of a squadron of outside shooters.

Powell showed strength and power near the hoop, Wethers, Vukona and Pepper had their moments and between them, the Breakers generated enough opportunities to steal a march on their opponents.

But the opposite happened. The Dragons not only continued to shoot the lights out from the perimeter, they also started pulling some nifty moves closer to the basket, so much so that the Breakers' initial impetus began to wane.

Having trailed by one (27-26) at the first-quarter break, the Dragons grabbed their first lead midway through the second thanks mainly to a purple patch from teenager Joe Ingles, who sniped from the outside in an extraordinary shooting performance.

By the time halftime had rolled around, Ingles - who turned down the Breakers in the off-season - had sunk four threes, a couple of field-goals and a free-throw to lead all scorers with 17 points, and the Dragons had swept out to a convincing 55-47 lead.

A mitigating factor for the Breakers might have been the second-quarter loss of Olson with a mouth injury following a collision with Kavossy Franklin, although it's debatable whether he would have made much difference, given Ingles' shooting form.

For all that, the Breakers were back in the lead after five minutes of the third quarter, riding a storm created by the triumvirate of Powell, Wethers and Pepper.