The UniSC Rip City men fell to a high powered Ipswich Force on Saturday night 111-102. Nathan Sobey came out hot, scoring 17 first quarter points that paced the Force. Sobey would finish with 30 points on the evening.

Deng Deng produced 26 points and 10 rebounds while Jaylin Galloway finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists.

 Kouat Noi was his usual dominant self, scoring 39 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

Brandon Wood also scored 33 points while Matt Kenyon finished with another stat stuffing night of 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.

The common theme for the men is their inability to generate defensive stops and string them together consistently, an identity they held in years past.

With the Spartans coming to town this Saturday, it will be imperative to get back on the defensive track as Spartans are winners of their last four games to ensure the men get back into the win column.

Koen Sapwell is the lead man for the Spartans at this point in the season and coming off a 40 point performance.

Sapwell averages 23.8 points per game, followed by Alex Murdonja’s 18.8 points per game.

AK Gak is the man in the middle, averaging 16.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Fab Krslovic was a late signing for the Spartans and since his arrival has helped bring better balance and turn things around, producing 13 points pre night.

Spartans are a physical group that play with high intensity. It will start on the defensive end for the Rip men, as they need to control the glass early and often.

Look for the men to continue pounding the ball inside to Kouat Noi, as the men look to snap their 3 game losing streak in an extremely important game at this point in the season.

Come down and support the UniSC Rip City men at 7:30 this Saturday or watch the game on the NBL1 livestream!