BIO: Mathew Low was born in Sydney (NSW). Won the under 16 national titles with NSW state team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Mathew Low made his NBL debut with the Newcastle Falcons at 21 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Spent 1992-1994 with the Sydney Kings as a training player but never saw minutes in a NBL game.

In 1996, Low signed with Newcastle and finally made his NBL debut. He saw limited playing opportunities as the Falcons finished with an 11–15 record.

1997
After finishing ninth with an 11-15 record and missing the playoffs in 1996, Newcastle entered 1997 amid serious financial problems. David Van Dyke (to Perth), Scott Ninnis (to Adelaide), Matthew Reece (to North Melbourne), Lachlan Armfield (to Illawarra) and Matthew Moore (to South East Melbourne) departed, while Butch Hays, Scott McGregor, Ben Melmeth, Ben Pepper and Martin McLean returned. Tom Wisman left for a coaching job in Japan, resulting in assistant Shawn Dennis being promoted to his first NBL head coaching role. “Like most young coaches you think you are ready until you get into that hot seat and you go, ‘oh my gosh, this is crazy’,” Dennis later said. Tonny Jensen (via North Melbourne), Dave Simmons (via Melbourne), Greg Blake and Damien Robertson were added to the roster.

Newcastle opened the season at Beaton Park on April 12, where Low (0 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block) provided 16 minutes from the bench as Simmons (22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Jensen (20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block), McGregor (17 points and 7 rebounds), Melmeth (16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Hays (16 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal) led the Falcons to a 112-96 win over Wollongong, while Clayton Ritter (25 points and 7 rebounds) led the Hawks.

Low (1 point across 20 games) returned for his second season with Newcastle and remained in a reserve frontcourt role, averaging 7.3 minutes per game while shooting 41 percent from the field. He appeared in 20 of Newcastle’s 30 games, with no injury reported during the season to account for the ten games he did not play.

Low’s season-high was 4 points, while his best all-round performance came against Wollongong at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on May 18, where Low (2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) made one of two shots. Jensen (27 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and McGregor (22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) led Newcastle, but Ritter (27 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks), Glen Saville (23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Matt Zauner (20 points and 10 rebounds) helped Wollongong defeat the Falcons 126-95.

Newcastle suffered its heaviest defeat of the season in Adelaide on June 22, where Low (2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block) made his only field-goal attempt, while McGregor (20 points and 5 assists), Simmons (17 points), Melmeth (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Jensen (16 points and 6 assists) led the Falcons. Brett Wheeler (30 points and 8 rebounds) and Brett Maher (19 points and 8 assists) powered Adelaide to a 141-99 victory.

Jensen (22.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals across 30 games) led Newcastle in scoring, while Hays (17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.4 steals across 30 games) remained the Falcons’ main playmaker. McGregor (15.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists across 30 games), Melmeth (12.3 points and 8 rebounds across 27 games) and Simmons (12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds across 30 games) provided the other major contributions. Pepper (10 points and 5.9 rebounds across 30 games) produced a breakout season, was selected by the Boston Celtics with pick 55 in the 1997 NBA Draft and finished the year as the NBL’s Most Improved Player and Best Sixth Man.

Newcastle closed the season on September 28 with a 108-99 loss to minor premiers South East Melbourne at Dandenong Basketball Stadium, leaving the Falcons ninth with a 12-18 record and outside the playoffs.

1998
Coming off a 12-18 season and another year outside the playoffs, Newcastle coach Shawn Dennis made significant changes around the Falcons’ returning core. Scott McGregor (to Sydney), Ben Pepper (to North Melbourne), Dave Simmons, Butch Hays and Martin McLean departed, while Mathew Low returned alongside Ben Melmeth, Tonny Jensen, Greg Blake and Damien Robertson. Isaac Burton (via Sydney), Terry Johnson (via Illawarra), Marc Brandon (via Illawarra), Nathan Hawkes and former Atlanta and Boston NBA centre Todd Mundt were added. Johnson arrived wanting to prove he could shift from shooting guard to point guard after being told at Illawarra that he was not a “point guard’s bootlace”, with Newcastle willing to give him the opportunity to run the offence.

Low went scoreless in three minutes when Newcastle began the season against South East Melbourne at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on January 30. Burton (21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) and Jensen (18 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) led the Falcons, while Clinton McDaniel (19 points, 3 assists, and 5 steals) helped the Magic win 93-73.

Low (2.3 points across 28 games) continued in a reserve frontcourt role but received considerably more opportunity than the previous season. After averaging 7.3 minutes and shooting 41 percent from the field in 1997, he increased his playing time to 11.1 minutes per game and converted 49 percent of his field-goal attempts in 1998. He played 28 of Newcastle’s 30 games after making only 20 appearances the year before.

The Falcons followed their opening loss with defeats against Wollongong, Sydney and Brisbane to begin 0-4. Low scored 1 point in five minutes when Newcastle finally broke through against Townsville on February 21, with Johnson (28 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal) and Melmeth (25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) leading a 110-96 victory at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

Low went scoreless in seven minutes against NSW rival Sydney on March 3, but Newcastle produced one of its strongest performances of the year with a 112-85 win. Jensen erupted for 32 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals and former King Burton added 27 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Shane Heal (21 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists) led Sydney.

Another major result came at Adelaide Arena on April 9, where Low went scoreless in eight minutes as Newcastle stunned the eventual champions 111-85. Jensen (27 points, 3 rebounds, and 11 assists) directed an offence which shot 59 percent from the field and Melmeth added 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Darnell Mee (21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) was Adelaide’s best.

After Newcastle later slipped into another four-game losing streak, Low contributed 4 points and 1 rebound in nine minutes against Perth on May 9. Jensen scored 29 points with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals and Melmeth produced 16 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals, but Ricky Grace (29 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led the Wildcats to a 97-90 victory in Newcastle.

Low received an increased role when the Falcons travelled to Sydney six days later, finishing with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist in 22 minutes as Newcastle defeated the Kings 109-96. Burton torched his former club for a season-high 38 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block and Melmeth supplied 24 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Heal (23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led Sydney.

His best and highest-scoring game came at Beaton Park on May 24. Low made 6-of-10 shots and produced a career-high 14 points with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals in 24 minutes, although Wollongong defeated Newcastle 99-88. The loss completed another three-game slide for the Falcons.

Most of Newcastle’s production remained concentrated among its starters. Melmeth (21.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across 30 games) made the biggest leap, improving from 12.3 points and 8 rebounds the previous season before being named NBL Most Improved Player and selected to the All-NBL First Team. Burton (19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.2 steals across 29 games) became another major scoring option, with Jensen (18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals across 30 games), Mundt (13.6 points and 6 rebounds across 28 games) and Johnson (10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.8 steals across 29 games) completing the main group. Johnson’s work in his new position also earned him an invitation to a Boomers selection camp. Newcastle’s reserves combined for only around 12 points per game, with Brandon (3.1 points across 28 games) the leading scorer off the bench, leaving the Falcons vulnerable whenever Dennis rested his starters.

Low finished the season at Melbourne Park on June 7 with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 13 minutes. Melmeth delivered a season-high 36 points with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks and Jensen added 23 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal, while Andrew Gaze (28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal) led Melbourne to a 102-100 victory. Newcastle finished 11th with a 9-21 record after North Melbourne won the head-to-head tiebreaker between the clubs, leaving the Falcons outside the playoffs.

1998/99
Entering the 1998/99 season, the Falcons were in dire financial trouble, but on the brink of the season starting, they secured funds from a group of investors from Albury. As a result, the Falcons were able to retain local talent Ben Melmeth, Terry Johnson and import Todd Mundt but were forced to build the rest of the team on a shoestring budget. Somewhat luckily, Newcastle benefitted from the merger of South East Melbourne and North Melbourne, which saw Pat Reidy and import Butch Hays both former Giants players, without a team. With few NBL team’s having any space on their rosters at this stage, the Falcons were able to sign both at budget prices. Dean Brogan (via Adelaide), Rod Johnson (via Canberra) and legendary shot blocker Willie Simmons was lured out of retirement to play another season.

While obvious favourites to finish on the bottom of the ladder, the Falcons surprised everyone by winning five of their first six games.

Shortly after, reports of players not being paid their salaries surfaced, and the focus, motivation and production among the players began to wane. Mundt exited the team as a result of not getting paid on time and was replaced with Simmons (14.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals) who after a season playing with Sydney was sitting at home after being unable to find another new deal.

The remainder of the season then saw Newcastle record three wins from their next nineteen games before finally beating Perth (113–111) in their final game of the year.

Pat Reidy (17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals) led the team in scoring, Ben Melmeth (17.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals) led the team in rebounds while Terry Johnson (14.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals) delivered his best season at the point guard position and his brother Rod Johnson (11.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) rounded out the team’s leading scorers. Low would also contribute 1.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists across 24 games.

After narrowly surviving the season before, this would prove to be the death knell for Newcastle, with the league stepping in to address their financial situation and its result being the removal of their NBL licence and the Falcons being forced out of the league.

Mathew Low played four seasons with the Newcastle Falcons. He averaged 1.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 94 NBL games.