Mark Worthington’s South West Slammers won their first game of the NBL West Men’s Division in remarkable fashion on Saturday night while the Lakeside Lightning and Warwick Senators were among the other clubs to continue flexing their muscles.
Round 6 in the NBL1 West Men’s Division got underway on Friday night with the two matches which saw the Perth Redbacks defeated the East Perth Eagles 98-65 and the Rockingham Flames claim a thriller 77-74 against the Perry Lakes Hawks.
That all led into a monster night of Saturday evening action with the seven matches taking place meaning that all 14 teams of the competition were hitting the floor all at once.
The Lakeside Lightning continued their imposing form in Geraldton to start proceedings on Saturday night handing the Buccaneers the 82-60 defeat.
Corey Shervill was brilliant for the Lightning with 29 points after hitting two threes the night before for the Perth Wildcats against the Cairns Taipans. Dylan Myers top-scored for Geraldton with 16 points.
The thriller of the night took place at Eaton Recreation Centre between two teams in the South West Slammers and East Perth Eagles desperate for a win.
The game ended up going into two overtime periods and was decided in the finish with a clutch jumper off an offensive rebound from young Leigh Rickwood-Pitt for the Slammers as time expired.
He broke the hearts of the Eagles to give the Slammers their first win of 2021 83-82 under the tutelage of Australian basketball icon Mark Worthington.
Mitch Keller had a huge night for South West with 19 points and 13 rebounds with Rhys Barrett adding 19 points and former captain Clive Weeden marked his return with a win. Kieran Berry and Jarrad Anastasio had 22 points each for East Perth.
The Warwick Senators continue to be the benchmark setters early in the 2021 season following a 98-78 win in Mandurah over the Magic on Saturday night.
The win keeps the Senators’ winning run going and was on the back of 29 points from Justin King and 23 from Cody Ellis. Jerami Grace put up 25 points for Mandurah up against the man his father Ricky had such a bond with, Warwick coach Mike Ellis.
The Goldfields Giants got back home to Kalgoorlie and produced an impressive performance to beat the Joondalup Wolves 87-70.
Julian Pesava had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Goldfields with Jonathan Wade top-scoring for the Wolfpack with 14 points.
The Willetton Tigers produced a solid performance away from home too on Saturday night to beat the Cockburn Cougars 96-88 at Wally Hagan Stadium.
Damien Scott had 26 points for Willetton, Michael Vigor 23 to go with 14 rebounds and six assists, and Connor Mincherton 21. Gavin Field did all he could to lift the Cougars with a massive 38 points including 9/16 from three-point range.
The Rockingham Flames celebrated the 200th game in the league of Greg Hire in style on Saturday night making it a double win weekend beating the Perth Redbacks 89-75 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.
Hire had 12 points and six rebounds in his milestone game while captain Ryan Godfrey delivered 23 points on 5/6 shooting from beyond the arc. Louis Timms was outstanding for the Redbacks with 33 points and 10 rebounds.
The Perry Lakes Hawks made up for their Friday night loss at home to hammer the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 112-69 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.
Mitch Clarke had 17 points for the Hawks, Ben Purser 17, Rob Cassir 12, Ryan Smith 12 and Lewis Thomas 11. Andrew Ferguson was a significant presence too with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Brendan Dinardo had 14 points for the Suns, Chuatwech Reath 12 and Corey Easley 12.
NBL1 WEST – 2021 MEN’S SEASON
ROUND 6 – SATURDAY NIGHT
GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 60 lost to LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 82
The Lakeside Lightning continued their dominant form away in Geraldton on Saturday handing the hometown Buccaneers the 22-point defeat.
The Buccs returned to their home floor at Active West Stadium last Saturday night and beat the Rockingham Flames on the buzzer with a spectacular yet controversial three-quarter court prayer from legendary captain Mat Wundenberg.
Lakeside, though, has been building ominous form with a stacked roster including Perth Wildcats development player Corey Shervill dropping back to play and they continued that momentum on the road in Geraldton on Saturday night.
The game was still up for grabs by half-time with the Lightning only leading the Buccs 35-33, but that soon changed in the third quarter with Lakeside extending its advantage to 58-51 heading into the fourth.
And in that fourth quarter, it was all the Lightning who put up 24 points while restricting the Buccaneers to just the nine to come away with the 82-60 victory to improve to 3-1 on the season while the Buccs slip to 1-2.
Despite another battle down low between two of the all-time great warriors Mat Wundenberg and Jarrad Prue, it was Prue’s Lightning who dominated on the glass with 55 rebounds to 30, and 19 offensive boards to just six.
Remarkably the Lightning went 9/16 at the foul line while the Buccs only got there three times the entire night going 1/3.
Just 24 hours after knocking down a pair of threes for the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena against the Cairns Taipans, Corey Shervill joined Lakeside in Geraldton and delivered 29 points and four rebounds.
Jack Isenbarger added 14 points and five rebounds, Kyle Armour 12 points and five assists, Josh Davey seven points, Nick Palleschi six points and six rebounds, and Jarrad Prue a trademark dominant six points and 23 rebounds.
Dylan Myers top-scored for Geraldton with 16 points and five rebounds while Titgyeth Kwajakwan contributed 14 points and three assists, and Aaron Ralph 10 points and four boards.
Mat Wundenberg finished with six points, seven rebounds and five assists, but Mathiang Muo battling foul trouble and being limited to 18 minutes and ultimately just the four points on 2/7 shooting hurt the Buccs’ hopes of sticking with the Lightning.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 83 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 82
The South West Slammers came into the game just hoping for a more competitive effort after a rough start to the season but what turned out on Saturday night was a remarkable double overtime cracker between them and the East Perth Eagles.
With the Slammers coming into the game at Eaton Recreation Centre having lost all five games so far this season and then the Eagles entering on their four-game losing streak, there weren’t high expectations of what was to come going into the clash.
But what resulted was the most dramatic game in the NBL1 West Men’s Division so far in 2021 with the game needing two overtime periods to be decided.
East Perth was on top most of the way including being up 20-15 by quarter-time and 40-32 by half-time, but the Slammers worked their way back into the game starting with 19 points to 16 in the third period.
The Eagles were still in control, though, up 60-51 after a three-point play from big man Jarrad Anastasio with just over six minutes to play. The Slammers had come to fight, however, and got back within six through a triple from Rhys Barrett.
Mitch Keller then converted a three-point play to make it a three-point game before baskets to Cody Hill and Keller completed a 10-0 run for the home team and they took the 61-60 lead.
A pair of free throws from Andrej Donlagic put East Perth back in front by a point before once again Keller regained a lead for the Slammers. The seesaw ride continued with two at the stripe from Donlagic with just over 30 seconds on the clock.
It was Leigh Rickwood-Pitt who earned a trip to the line and made one for the Slammers to end up forcing the first overtime at 64-64.
Keller scored first for South West in the opening overtime before Anastasio and then Kieran Berry replied for East Perth to put the visitors up two. A Rickwood-Pitt triple had the Slammers regain the lead before in the end it was Anastasio’s basket late in the period that tied scores up at 73-73.
That’s where they would stay after the Slammers missed the chance at the win with Keller missing a pair of free throws.
Overtime No. 2 saw the Slammers open proceedings with a basket to Cody Hill before he also stretched their lead to four points at the foul line soon after. East Perth fired back this time firstly thanks to Chris Bonnar and then with a triple from Kieran Berry.
Berry then scored again to put the Eagles back in front before Hill responded for the Slammers to make it 81-80 with timeout called and East Perth having one last crack with the shot clock off.
Andrej Donlagic missed a three but Anastasio scored after an offensive board, but there was still time for the Slammers following the timeout from Mark Worthington.
The Slammers had one look miss from Barrett, but Rickwood-Pitt got the offensive rebound and then knocked down the jumper for the stunning 83-82 win for the Slammers to open their account for 2021.
Leigh Rickwood-Pitt ended up with eight points and eight rebounds for the Slammers while Mitch Keller put up 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Rhys Barrett 19 points and six boards.
Cody Hill also had 14 points and four rebounds, and Caleb Van De Griend 10 points and seven boards.
Jarrad Anastasio continued his emergence for the Eagles with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Kieran Berry added 22 points, five boards, four steals and three assists, and Andrej Donlagic 13 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
MANDURAH MAGIC 78 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 98
The Warwick Senators continue to be the team to beat this NBL1 West Men’s Division season so far remaining undefeated with a solid performance on the road to the Mandurah Magic on Saturday night.
On the back of winning the West Coast Classic in some style last year, the Senators have backed that up with virtually the same playing group this season so far coming into Saturday night’s trip to the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre having won their opening four matches.
However, the Magic had also shown they were greatly improved this year under the coaching of Aaron Trahair and it shaped as being a good test for the Senators down in Mandurah.
The Senators made their mark early in the game, though, and all of a sudden by quarter-time they had opened up a 24-9 advantage.
The Magic were able to stem the tide from there and both teams caught fire in the second term with 58 points between them and scoring 29 apiece with Warwick still heading into half-time in control at 53-38.
Mandurah did well to keep fighting and got back within 11 by three quarter-time, but the Senators weren’t going to be denied as they went on to win 98-78 to improve to 5-0 while the Magic are 2-3.
The key to the Senators continues to be just how many players capable of stepping up to make significant contributions any given night.
On Saturday, it was Justin King who put up 29 points and nine rebounds while shooting 12/17 from the field but Cody Ellis also delivered 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists while knocking down 5/9 from three-point territory.
Corban Wroe also had 15 points and eight assists for Warwick, Ash Litterick 10 points and seven rebounds, Caleb Davis 10 points, eight boards and six assists, and Ethan Elliott seven points and three assists.
Jerami Grace had an impressive performance for the Magic with 25 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists while Riley Parker had 12 points and six assists, Ben Smith 12 points and five boards, and Fred Williams 12 points and three rebounds.
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 87 defeated JOONDALUP WOLVES 70
The Goldfields Giants were back home to Kalgoorlie and put in their most impressive performance of the season to date to beat the Joondalup Wolves and spoil the 200-game celebrations of Trian Iliadis.
The Giants were back at home at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium after splitting their road trip last weekend with a win over the East Perth Eagles and then a loss to the Cockburn Cougars while the Wolfpack had started the season well at 3-1 with the lone loss against the Warwick Senators.
Goldfields made an outstanding start to the game on their home floor especially defensively holding the deep and dangerous Wolves to just the eight points in the opening quarter while scoring 19 themselves.
The Wolves were able to get going a little more in the second quarter but still the Giants headed into the half-time interval leading 34-26.
The Giants then really got rolling in exciting fashion during the third quarter unleashing their offensive firepower by putting up 33 points to put the result beyond doubt before eventually recording the 87-70 victory.
The combination of Goldfields pulling in 50 rebounds to just 33 from Joondalup, and their 15/34 shooting from three-point range at 44 per cent was pivotal in the eventual victory for the home team.
Former Cockburn championship winner Julian Pesava continues to prove a tremendous recruit for the Giants with another 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists while hitting 4/8 from three-point territory.
Tom Atkinson also delivered 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for Goldfields with Damon Ballantyne contributing 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Deng Kuany 12 points and three boards, and Hamish Cummings 11 points on 3/4 shooting from downtown.
Jonathan Wade top-scored for the Wolves with 14 points and four rebounds with Reece Maxwell delivering 13 points, five boards and three assists, and Sioeli Vaiangina 12 points and three rebounds.
Grand Final MVP from 2015 Trian Iliadis didn’t quite have the night he hoped but he has been a brilliant performer for the Wolfpack as he reached his 200-game milestone on Saturday night.
COCKBURN COUGARS 88 lost to WILLETTON TIGERS 96
The Willetton Tigers continued their strong start to the NBL1 West Men’s Division with a hard earned win over the Cockburn Cougars on Saturday night.
Both teams came into the game at Wally Hagan Stadium in good form with the Cougars having won their last two matches while the Tigers had won three of their four matches so far this season under new coach Adam Nener.
This would be Nener’s first time coaching Willetton up against a Cockburn team he was at the helm of up until the end of 2019, but it was the Cougars who started the better putting up 28 points in the opening term to be up four at quarter-time.
The Tigers closed the deficit to just two by half-time before Willetton took over in the third quarter with 26 points to 15. That ended up being what decided the game with the Tigers going on to win 96-88 to improve to a 4-1 record while Cockburn is 2-3.
Former Cougars championship winner Damien Scott showed he remains one of the most lethal scorers in the league by delivering 26 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Tigers.
Michael Vigor is a new arrival at Willetton in 2021 and the Redbacks championship winner from 2017 was a dominant presence with 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists on 9/15 shooting.
Connor Mincherton is a young gun on the rise for the Tigers with 21 points and six rebounds on the back of hitting 4/8 from three-point territory. Dylan Hampson also had 10 points and Hunter Clarke eight points and five rebounds.
Gavin Field has been a remarkable warrior for more than 250 games now for the Cougars and he is showing no signs of slowing down on the back of a stunning game on Saturday night made up of 38 points, four assists, three steals, three blocks and two rebounds.
He shot 14/23 from the field and 9/16 from three-point territory.
Nic Pozoglou added 15 points and eight rebounds for Cockburn, Seva Chan nine points and four boards, Daniel Rogers eight points and nine rebounds, and Nathan Pond eight points and two boards.
ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 89 defeated PERTH REDBACKS 75
The Rockingham Flames made it a double win weekend as they proved too have too much firepower for the Perth Redbacks at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday night.
Both teams played away on Friday night to open Round 6 of the NBL1 West Men’s Division with the Flames taking out a thriller over the Perry Lakes Hawks while the Perth Redbacks proved too good for the East Perth Eagles.
So that set up a fascinating contest with the Anthony Exeter Cup on the line named in honour of the champion former league MVP who represented both clubs with such distinction.
On the back of their wins the previous evening, both teams came out playing well in the opening quarter with the Flames boosted by the inclusion of Greg Hire in his 200th game split across the Joondalup Wolves and now Rockingham.
The teams combined for 57 points across the first quarter with Rockingham leading 30-27 by quarter-time, but by half-time the Redbacks had closed that deficit to the one solitary point and the game was right up for grabs.
Rockingham turned up its defensive intensity after half-time holding the Redbacks to just the 12 points in the third quarter to turn into three quarter-time having taken control to lead 64-57.
The Redbacks were still close enough if good enough but the Flames continued to have all the answers down the stretch and would end up claiming the 89-75 win.
The two-win weekend helps the Flames move on from the frustration of losing last week in Geraldton how they did and improves them to a 4-2 record.
The Redbacks end up splitting the road weekend and now sit on a 2-3 record following the opening five matches of the NBL1 West season.
Captain Ryan Godfrey delivered 23 points, three assists and two rebounds for Rockingham while knocking down 5/6 from three-point land.
Cirkook Makuac Riak continued to impress with another 17 points and three rebounds with Justin Beard adding 13 points, seven boards, four assists and four steals, Travis Durnin 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Greg Hire 12 points, six boards and three assists in his 200th game in the league.
Despite the end result, there continues to be plenty of encouraging signs at the Redbacks with Louis Timms now fitting in nicely at his new home putting up 33 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday night on the back of shooting 14/27 from the floor.
Tevin Jackson delivered 17 points and three rebounds as well for the Redbacks with Zac Gattorna contributing eight points and three rebounds, Joel Wagner seven point, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Kyden Edman six points and two boards.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 69 lost to PERRY LAKES HAWKS 112
The Perry Lakes Hawks bounced back strongly from their narrow loss on Friday to keep the Kalamunda Eastern Suns as the only team in the competition without a win after six rounds.
The Hawks hosted the Rockingham Flames on Friday night and lost by just the three points at Bendat Basketball Centre as they tasted defeat for the first time in 2021 on the back of reaching the Grand Final last year in the West Coast Classic.
The Suns were still hunting their first win in the NBL1 West Men’s Division, but Saturday night wasn’t going to be the time for them to breakthrough even at home at Ray Owen Sports Centre.
The depth of Perry Lakes proved too strong as the game went on with the Hawks starting strongly putting up 27 points to 18 in the opening period.
Perry Lakes pulled away further with 22 points to 11 in the second term to go into half-time leading 49-29.
It was more of the same throughout the second half with the Hawks adding 30 points to 19 in the third quarter, and 33 to 21 in the fourth to end up prevailing 112-69.
The size difference proved a big factor in the result with the Hawks giant front court of Andrew Ferguson and Lewis Thomas helping them end up pulling in 60 rebounds to 34 from the Suns. The Hawks also shot a phenomenal 56.8 per cent from the field while Kalamunda went just at 30.9.
Point guard Mitch Clarke delivered 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals for Perry Lakes with Ben Purser adding 17 points and five assists, Rob Cassir 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Ryan Smith 12 points and four boards on 3/6 from three-point land.
Big men Thomas (11 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Ferguson (13 points, 13 rebounds) had good nights for the Hawks too.
Brendan Dinardo top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 14 points and four rebounds while shooting 4/8 from downtown.
Chuatwech Reath also had 12 points and four rebounds for Kalamunda, Corey Easley 12 points and two boards, and Ryan Blanchett eight points and five rebounds.