Four points were all that separated the teams that played on Friday night to open the finals of the NBL West Men’s Division with the Mandurah Magic making history and the Lakeside Lightning moving to within a game of a Grand Final.
You couldn’t have possibly asked for a more dramatic, eventful, intense and nail-biting opening to the first ever NBL1 West finals series than the two games that took place on Friday night that were both decided on the buzzer.
By the end of the evening, the Mandurah Magic had advanced out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in club history while ending the season of the brave Cougars as the Lightning and Tigers continued their budding rivalry with a preliminary final spot on the line.
Lakeside and Willetton were doing battle for the second time in six days with the Lightning having won the final game of the regular season over them by two points last Saturday afternoon to earn home court advantage this Friday night.
They were back at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the game went right down to the wire and Hunter Clarke had a good look at three on the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
He had gone 0/5 before that and it rimmed out and Lakeside won 95-92 to advance to a preliminary final on the back of Rowan Mackenzie’s 25 points along with 20 from Kyle Armour and 18 from Jay Bowie.
Michael Vigor had a huge night for the Tigers with 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and went 4/7 impressively from downtown.
It was then a remarkable contest albeit a low-scoring affair at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre with the Magic and Cougars attempting to keep their season alive.
There was great excitement around Mandurah during the season following the signings of NBL pair Scott Machado and Luke Travers, but neither were there on Friday night as they tackled a Cougars team who roared into the finals and had the league MVP.
In the end, Nic Pozoglou gave the Cougars a chance with one drive and basket to make it a one-point game and he attempted the same on the final possession. But it wouldn’t fall and Mandurah held on to win 63-62 and advance beyond the first round for the first time ever.
Now the opening week of the finals continues on Saturday evening with a qualifying final between the Perry Lakes Hawks and Rockingham Flames at Bendat Basketball Centre while the Warwick Senators fight for their lives against the Perth Redbacks at Warwick Stadium.
NBL1 WEST – 2021 MEN’S SEASON
FINALS WEEK 1 – FRIDAY NIGHT
ELIMINATION FINAL – MANDURAH MAGIC 63 defeated COCKBURN COUGARS 62
The Mandurah Magic and Cockburn Cougars opened up the NBL1 West finals on Friday night with a thrilling, nail-biting grind and in the end it was the home team celebrating a history-making achievement.
Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre was the venue for the Magic to play host to the Cougars in a game where it was difficult to know what to expect going into it.
The Magic have long been the underachievers of the SBL competition and in fact had never advanced past the first round of the playoffs, but they made plenty of headlines and a big splash this NBL1 West season.
Under the coaching of 422-game NBL veteran Aaron Trahair and his assistant the legendary Ricky Grace, the Magic signed Cairns Taipans NBL superstar Scott Machado and rising Perth Wildcats star Luke Travers.
Combine them with two-time SBL championship winning import Brian Carlwell, talented import Fred Williams, emerging son-of-a-gun Jerami Grace and some good role players, and there was plenty of reasons to be excited about what they could do in 2021.
However, things didn’t quite go to plan with Travers never being cleared by the Wildcats medical staff to play and then Machado having to depart and return to Cairns to start pre-season training this week and not able to return for the finals for the risk of the border keeping him here.
That left them in an intriguing position preparing for a Cougars team on Friday night who looked anything but a finals team losing nine of the first 11 games, but they finished the regular season on fire to storm into the finals.
That was largely on the back of MVP Nic Pozoglou, the great Gavin Field and veterans Seva Chan and Jaarod Holmes, and the emerging Josh Hunt and company so the stage was set for a cracking battle.
As the evening unfolded, you couldn’t be accused of witnessing two teams at their offensive best but what it was ended up being a tight, intense and nerve-racking grind with both clubs desperate to keep their season alive.
The Magic managed to lead 24-19 by quarter-time but the Cougars held them to just nine points in the second quarter and scored another 19 themselves to go into half-time on top 38-33.
It was Mandurah’s turn to restrict Cockburn to seven points in the third quarter while putting up 12 and that saw the home team level things up at 45-45 by three quarter-time.
A three-pointer from Scott Machado’s replacement as starting point guard Riley Parker and then another bucket from the youngster saw the Magic lead 63-57 with under two minutes to go, but the drama wasn’t done.
Josh Hunt knocked down a three to keep the Cougars in the contest and then MVP Nic Pozoglou made a good move to the basket and got around Brian Carlwell to score and make it a one-point game with under a minute remaining.
It ended up coming down to the last possession with the Cougars having a chance to snatch it. They trusted with Pozoglou to try and make the play and he got a decent look in the paint, but the presence of Carlwell put him off just enough.
That saw the Magic hold on and win 63-62 to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first ever time and now prepare to take on the loser of the qualifying final between the Perry Lakes Hawks and Rockingham Flames.
The Magic had to find a way to get it done without the presence of Scott Machado with Jerami Grace stepping up with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Akau Deng battled hard with 12 points and nine rebounds while Brian Carlwell contributed 12 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, and Riley Parker nine points, three assists and two boards.
The Cougars deserve great credit for their fight just to get into the playoffs and their performance to give Friday night everything.
Nic Pozoglou produced another 18 points and seven rebounds with Josh Hunt adding 15 points and three steals, Seva Chan 13 points, four boards, three assists and two steals, and Gavin Field seven points, four rebounds and two assists.
QUALIFYING FINAL – LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 95 defeated WILLETTON TIGERS 92
If last week was the entrée, then the Lakeside Lightning and Willetton Tigers delivered a brilliant main event on Friday night with a spot in the preliminary final on the line.
The two teams locked horns last Saturday afternoon to close the regular season with Lakeside beating Willetton narrowly 97-95 in what was a playoff contest in every way bar the name.
That meant the Lightning earned homecourt advantage for this Friday’s clash with the Tigers to open the NBL1 West finals between the second and third placed teams.
Lakeside might not have regained legendary rebounder Jarrad Prue despite him suiting up with Perth Wildcats sharpshooter Corey Shervill still sidelined with a foot injury but the Lightning did get Jay Bowie and Ben Lee back for the qualifying final.
The Tigers were missing Lachlan Evans who hurt a shoulder last Saturday but really the stage was set for a cracking contest between two remarkably evenly matched teams.
The whole evening was a high standard affair with both these teams showing they deserve to be considered genuine championship threats coming into the finals series.
Lakeside managed to open up a 28-22 lead by quarter-time but Willetton responded well to put up 35 points in the second term with Michael Vigor making the most of the Lightning being without Jarrad Prue to help the Tigers to the 57-55 half-time lead.
The Lightning ended up taking a narrow one-point lead into the fourth quarter and the stage was set for a big finish.
Vigor was threatening to be the match-winner for Willetton when he knocked down two huge threes to open the fourth quarter, and when Roosevelt Williams also hit from deep, the Tigers were up six with six minutes on the clock.
The Tigers still led by five with just over three minutes left but then Rowan Mackenzie hit five points for Lakeside in the space of 30 seconds to bring the home team back within a solitary point.
Vigor hit two free-throws to steady Willetton but then a huge offensive foul call helped Mackenzie score the next four points for the Lightning to give them a 93-92 lead with the clock clicking under a minute.
Damien Scott then uncharacteristically missed two free-throws for Willetton and Jay Bowie hit two up the other end, but the Tigers still had a chance on the last possession.
Hunter Clarke got a good look at the triple on the buzzer but it rimmed out and Lakeside held on to win 95-92 to move into next Saturday’s preliminary final also on their home floor against either the Mandurah Magic, Perry Lakes Hawks or Rockingham Flames.
Willetton gets another chance by hosting Friday’s semi-final against the winner of Saturday night’s elimination final between the Warwick Senators and Perth Redbacks.
Rowan Mackenzie continued his breakout season for the Lightning with another 25 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals on shooting 11/17 from the field.
Kyle Armour also contributed 20 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds with Tom Parkinson adding 13 points and 13 rebounds, the returning Jay Bowie 18 points and six boards, and Jack Isenbarger nine points and three steals.
Michael Vigor was a dominant figure for Willetton against the Lakeside team he spent last season with, finishing the night with 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists including hitting 4/7 from the three-point line.
Connor Mincherton added 16 points and six assists for the Tigers, Damien Scott 13 points and five assists, Roosevelt Williams 12 points and three rebounds, Hunter Clarke 10 points and four boards, and Tom Gerovich 10 points and three rebounds.