ABA 2025-26: Cox is on fire as Raiders clinch first win of the season with five-point victory over Sonics Grey

A dynamic haul of 17 points from Marley Cox helped Raiders to their first win of a tough Albany Basketball Association season as they clinched the men’s A-grade points against Sonics Grey on Tuesday night. They triumphed 55-50 for their first win in seven attempts, taking control midway through the second half to break their campaign duck. The opening exchanges went Grey’s way as they edged to an 11-3 lead, but Raiders pegged them back midway through the half and it was end-to-end from then. Six points at the end of the first half, Cox and Harrison Sedgwick each bagging a triple, gave Raiders a one-point lead at half-time but the sides were level at 33-apiece with the game in the balance as the half wore on. However, instead of falling away as they had in previous rounds when well-placed, Raiders upped the ante and, with Cox on fire, went ahead. With 10 minutes left Raiders were up 44-36 and although Thomas Phillips did his best to drag Grey back into the frame, the under-18 side held on. Sedgwick and Sam O’Toole-Gardner each contributed 11 points for Raiders, which was enough for the win despite that mammoth effort from Phillips who bagged an impressive 18 points for Grey. Callum van Garderen grabbed 10 points in a losing cause. Sonics Blue maintained their grip on the ladder, keeping up their unbeaten run with a 54-44 win over Railways Tigers. Calum Dixon’s 21-point effort for Tigers proved in vain as Mark Elentorio and Mason Tion chipped in 12 points each to help Blue home. Anton Ausburn’s 11 points helped Blue along as they motored to maximum points after a tight first half. In the other men’s match, Barking Owls got the better of Denmark Magpies 61-50 despite trailing 28-20 at the half-time break. An eight-point blitz from Jackson Shaw, Lennox McHenry and Kye Griffiths was only interrupted by Owls’ Gabriel Ang’s three-pointer as Magpies went 28-17 up and they looked set to upset the pecking order. The Owls, however, had other ideas and with Evan Delbene firing on all cylinders for 16 points, backed up by Justin Benson’s 14, claimed victory with plenty to spare. In the women’s A-grade, Barking Owls met Denmark Magpies for the third time and edged their head-to-head rivalry 2-1 with a 56-42 win. Dakota Bremmer (17 points) and Keely Berry (15) were too hot to handle with Rebecca Benson’s 11 points also proving useful for the Owls. Ashlee Kerr, with 12 points, and Danielle Carne, with 10, were backed up by Ali Judd (9) for the Magpies. The other women’s game went the way of Sonics who overcame Railways Tigers 30-25. Kaylee Arthur (9) top-scored for Sonics while Brodie Dixon’s eight points was the best for Tigers in a hard-fought contest where baskets were hard to come by. Tigers were right in the mix until late in the second half when two baskets from Shianne Arthur and one from Kaylee Arthur took Sonics from three points down to 28-25 in front. Owls now top the ladder, two points clear of Magpies with Sonics’ three victories putting them ahead of winless Tigers.