It was a big night of action in the NBL1 West Men’s Division with wins for the Goldfields Giants, Perth Redbacks, Perry Lakes Hawks, Willetton Tigers, Lakeside Lightning and the Joondalup Wolves.
The Hawks were able to make it a double win weekend while the Lightning responded to their Friday night loss, the Flames split their weekend, the Eagles lost again and the Giants won on the road while the Wolfpack were too good on the road.
Round 9 got underway on Friday night with three matches which saw the Perry Lakes Hawks beat the Lakeside Lightning 97-81, the Rockingham Flames defeat the East Perth Eagles 105-53 and the Mandurah Magic down the Cockburn Cougars 91-78.
That all led into the Saturday night action with 12 of the league’s 14 teams taking part starting at Geraldton’s Active West Stadium with the Goldfields Giants defeating the Geraldton Buccaneers 70-62.
Tom Atkinson scored 18 points for Goldfields, Hamish Cummings 17 and Deng Kuany 16. Aaron Ralph put up 18 points for Geraldton and Mat Wundenberg 15 points and 16 rebounds.
The Perth Redbacks returned home to Belmont Oasis for the first time in a month and came away with an impressive 83-69 victory against the Warwick Senators.
Louis Timms stood out again for the Redbacks with 24 points and 10 rebounds with Tevin Jackson adding 13 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Caleb Davis had 16 points for the Senators, Cody Ellis 15 and Ethan Elliott 14.
The Perry Lakes Hawks made it a double win weekend defeating the South West Slammers 91-64 at Eaton Recreation Centre.
Andrew Ferguson had 19 points and eight rebounds for Perry Lakes, Matthew Leary 16 points, Mitch Clarke 15 points and Ryan Smith 14 points. Mitch Keller delivered 15 points and six rebounds for the Slammers.
The Willetton Tigers came away with a solid win at home as well defeating the East Perth Eagles 90-64 at Willetton Basketball Stadium.
Damien Scott finished with 18 points for Willetton, Hunter Clarke 14 and Michael Vigor 12 while Jarrad Anastasio put up 18 points and eight rebounds for East Perth.
Then at Lakeside Recreation Centre it was a battle between two teams who lost on Friday night and it was the Lakeside Lightning who bounced back defeating the Rockingham Flames 101-84.
Jack Isenbarger had a big night for the Lightning with 28 points while Rowan Mackenzie added 26 points and Jay Bowie 20. Cirkook Makuac Riak had 22 points for the Flames.
The final game of the evening saw the Joondalup Wolves defeat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 103-75 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.
Lochlan Cummings put up 20 points for the Wolfpack, Sioeli Vaiangina 19 and Jonathan Wade 17. Chuatwech Reath top-scored for Kalamunda with 13 points.
Round 9 in the NBL1 West Men’s Division concludes with two more match ups on Sunday with the Mandurah Magic at home to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and the Warwick Senators hosting the Goldfields Giants at Warwick Stadium.
NBL1 WEST – 2021 MEN’S SEASON
ROUND 9 – SATURDAY NIGHT
GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 62 lost to GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 70
The regional powers Geraldton and Goldfields locked horns on Saturday night in Round 9 of the NBL1 West Men’s Division in what turned out to be a fascinating contest.
It’s already the second meeting of the season between the two clubs after they did battle back in Round 4 in Kalgoorlie with the Giants winning big on that occasion over the Buccaneers 103-69.
It has been a mixed bag of form for both teams since leading into Saturday’s battle at Active West Stadium.
It was the home team who started the better with the Buccs leading 15-12 by quarter-time but the Giants were able to turn things around in the second period with 24 points to 12 and that saw the visitors head into half-time leading 36-27.
Geraldton was sticking around, though, and managed to close the deficit to just six points by three quarter-time ahead an entertaining final quarter.
Triples to start the final term to Hamish Cummings and Tom Atkinson stretched the lead for Goldfields back out to 10 before it blew out to 12 with an Atkinson flush.
The Buccs still wouldn’t go away and they went on a 7-0 run in immediate response to that, and soon after when Aaron Ralph connected on a three ball it was a two-point ball game.
Then in response to a Giants bucket to Deng Kuany, Ralph completed a four-point play and scores were level with two and-a-half minutes left.
A free-throw from Ralph then gave the Buccs the lead and the Geraldton crowd was rocking, but the Giants had the last say with big three balls from Cummings and Atkinson to secure the 70-62 win in the absence of Julian Pesava.
Tom Atkinson top-scored for Goldfields with 18 points and 11 rebounds including going a perfect 3/3 from three-point territory.
Hamish Cummings continued his emergence upon moving to Kalgoorlie with 17 points on 5/11 shooting from deep with Deng Kuany contributing 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The old warriors were the main contributors for the Buccaneers on the night with Aaron Ralph going for 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists while shooting 4/17 from three-point land. Mat Wundenberg also delivered 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Mathiang Muo finished with 10 points and three assists and Dylan Myers 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
PERTH REDBACKS 83 defeated WARWICK SENATORS 69
The Perth Redbacks men enjoyed their homecoming to Belmont Oasis on Saturday producing an impressive upset victory against the Warwick Senators to celebrating a record setting night for their captain.
The Redbacks hadn’t played at home in more than a month since a 14-point win against the East Perth Eagles but it was always going to be a significant challenge hosting the Senators at Belmont Oasis on Saturday night.
Since that last home win, the Redbacks defeated the Eagles away from home before losses to the Flames and Magic but they bounced back impressively last Saturday night to beat the Cockburn Cougars to bring some momentum back home with them.
The Senators, meanwhile, bounced back from their first loss of the season two weeks ago against Lakeside to beat the Hawks last week setting the stage for what shaped as a terrific contest on Saturday night.
It was a tight start to the game as well with the Redbacks leading the Senators 22-20 by quarter-time.
The Senators pulled away in the second period, though, with 23 points and holding the Redbacks to 14 and given how good they have been over the past 12 months, it’s no surprise to see the visitors lead 43-36 by the half-time break.
Whatever CJ Jackson said to his team at half-time and perhaps inspired by captain Joel Wagner becoming the all-time games record holder at the Redbacks surpassing Matthew Earp, the home team delivered their best second half of the NBL1 West season.
Perth came out and put up 25 points in the third quarter while limiting the dangerous and loaded Senators to just the 13 points. It was a similar story in the fourth term with another 22 points to the Redbacks and 13 from the Senators.
That led to the 83-69 victory for the Redabcks on Wagner’s record setting night to go with him already being a championship captain and the league’s all-time assists leader.
The victory improves the Redbacks to a 4-4 record on the season while the Senators remain up near the top at 6-2.
There was a lot to like about the performance from the Redbacks in the win with Louis Timms continuing his standout form with 24 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Zac Gattorna is playing some good basketball too with 19 points and 10 rebounds with Lachlan Bertram delivering the best performance of his young career with 19 points, two rebounds and two assists while hitting 2/3 from downtown.
Tevin Jackson delivered an all-round performance made up of 13 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four steals with Joel Wagner leading the way with another five points and five assists.
It was just the second loss of the season for the Senators with Caleb Davis putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds. Cody Ellis added 15 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds, Ethan Elliott 14 points and three boards, and Jay Thwaites seven points, six rebounds and three assists.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 64 lost to PERRY LAKES HAWKS 91
The Perry Lakes Hawks capped off an impressive weekend going down to Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday to beat the South West Slammers.
The Hawks opened Round 9 of the NBL1 West Men’s Division with a win on Friday night at home to the Lakeside Lightning but the trip down south to face the Slammers and it’s not a gimme given the couple of wins Mark Worthington has been able to orchestrate this season.
Perry Lakes did suffer a hiccup last week against the Warwick Senators but that was on a night they were missing Ben Purser, Ryan Smith and Rob Cassir. That trio was back on Friday to beat the Lightning but Purser was absent for the trip to take on the Slammers.
The Hawks came out and started strongly on the road with 25 points to 15 in the first quarter.
It was more of the same in the second term with Perry Lakes scoring 28 points and holding South West to 15 and that saw the Hawks in control leading 53-30 by half-time.
The Slammers were better able to stick with the Hawks throughout the second half but the damage had been done and Perry Lakes cruised to the 91-64 victory.
The win keeps the Hawks on top of the standings with an 8-2 record while the Slammers are down near the foot of the table at 2-7.
It’s no surprise given they had Andrew Ferguson and Lewis Thomas in their line-up, but Perry Lakes dominated the glass with 50 rebounds to 32 while also forcing the Slammers into 26 turnovers even though they did have 21 themselves.
There were plenty of strong contributors again for the Hawks with Ferguson putting up 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Matthew Leary 16 points, four boards and two assists, and Mitch Clarke 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Ryan Smith put up 14 points and five rebounds despite hitting 2/10 from deep with Lewis Thomas finishing with eight points and five boards.
Mitch Keller was the impressive workhorse again for the Slammers with 15 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists on shooting 6/7 from the floor.
Ngor Nai added 10 points and three rebounds for the Slammers, Cody Hill nine points and five boards, and Devan Craig eight points and three assists.
WILLETTON TIGERS 90 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 64
The Willetton Tigers were back at home on Saturday night putting their four-game winning streak on the line, and they produced a strong showing to prove too good for the East Perth Eagles.
Willetton came into the game on the back of wins against Kalamunda, Cockburn, Goldfields and Kalamunda since a loss to Perry Lakes meaning it was a big task for East Perth to try and take it up to them with the Eagles coming off a loss on Friday to the Rockingham Flames by 52 points.
It was close opening to the game with the Tigers only managing to lead by the two points at quarter-time, but Willetton pulled away in the second period having put up 23 points and holding the Eagles to just the 11 points.
That saw Willetton take a 46-32 lead into the half-time break and it was more of the same in the third quarter with the Tigers putting the game out of reach of the Eagles with 26 more points to 14.
Willetton went on to record the 90-64 win to see the Tigers improve to a 7-1 record on the season while the Eagles slip to 2-9.
East Perth battled hard and won the rebound 51 to 43 including dominating the offensive boards with 18 to six.
That meant the Eagles also won the possession count to take more shots, but ultimately going at 36 per cent from the field and hitting 3/20 at 15 per cent from downtown hurt them.
They even struggled at the foul line hitting 7/17 at 41 per cent which cost them a chance of seriously challenging the Tigers.
Damien Scott top-scored for Willetton with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists with Hunter Clarke delivering 14 points, six boards and five assists, and Michael Vigor 12 points and eight rebounds.
Tom Gerovich put up nine points and three rebounds, Connor Mincherton eight points, Michael Collins eight points and four boards, and Lachlan Evans eight points and four assists.
Jarrad Anastasio finished with 18 points and nine rebounds with East Perth while Junior Tshikele added 13 points, three boards and two steals, Logan Thwaites seven points, Mateo Campbell six points and four rebounds, Isaac Offereins five points and four boards, and Andrej Donlagic five points and four boards.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 101 defeated ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 84
Lakeside and Rockingham had mixed results on Friday night to open Round 9 but the Lightning got the response they were after with a strong win over the Flames.
It wasn’t the start to the NBL1 West Men’s Division that Lakeside was after with a loss to the Perry Lakes Hawks while Rockingham were impressive at home handing the East Perth Eagles a 52-point hammering.
Both the Lightning and Flames have shown enough so far in 2021 to suggest they are genuine contenders this NBL1 West season so Saturday’s clash would always be a fascinating one at Lakeside Recreation Centre.
Motivated from their loss the previous night, the Lightning put up 30 points in the opening quarter. The only problem was the Flames started well too with 28 of their own points in the first term.
Lakeside kept the pace going in the second quarter with another 30 points and this time Rockingham couldn’t quite keep the pace and that saw the Lightning head into half-time leading 60-51 on their home floor.
The Lightning were able to pull away further in the last quarter too to claim the 101-84 victory to improve to 7-2 on the season while the Flames are now 7-3.
Jack Isenbarger was massive for the Lightning with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists including shooting 6/10 from three-point territory.
He got plenty of support too with Rowan Mackenzie delivering 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals while Jay Bowie added 20 points, seven boards and three steals.
Cirkook Makuac Riak top-scored for Rockingham with 22 points and five rebounds on 4/7 from downtown with Ryan Godfrey adding 14 points and four assists, Atem Bior 12 points and five rebounds, and Greg Hire 12 points, 10 boards and six assists.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 75 lost to JOONDALUP WOLVES 103
The final game of the evening took place at Ray Owen Sports Centre with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns playing host to the Joondalup Wolves.
The Wolves have enjoyed quite the dominance over the Eastern Suns over the journey, and it was going to be a biggest for Kalamunda to take it up to Joondalup once again on their home floor on Saturday night.
The Eastern Suns had won just once so far this season while the Wolves came into Saturday night having done well to respond to a disappointing loss to Perry Lakes two weeks ago with a win at home over the Goldfields Giants last Sunday.
Kalamunda started impressively, though, and led 22-19 by quarter-time but the Wolves responded in the second quarter with 27 points themselves and holding the Eastern Suns to just the nine to head into half-time leading 46-30.
The Wolfpack then put the game further out of reach of the Eastern suns with a massive third quarter made up of 32 points. They also held Kalamunda to just the 14 points and that meant it was a sizeable 34-point advantage by three quarter-time.
The Suns did outscore the Wolves in the fourth quarter but ultimately Joondalup cruised to the 103-75 victory to improve to 6-3 on the season while Kalamunda slipped to 1-8.
Lochlan Cummings top-scored for the Wolves with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists with Sioeli Vaiangina contributing 19 points and seven boards, Jonathan Wade 17 points and 10 rebounds, Reece Maxwell 13 points and five assists, and Rob Huntington eight points and four rebounds.
Chuatwech Reath finished with 13 points, two assists and two steals for the Eastern Suns while Cooper Lowe added 10 points, Chris Johnson 10 points and seven rebounds, Brendan Dinardo nine points and three boards, and Corey Easley nine points and three rebounds.