They are deepest and most consistent team in the NBL1 West Men’s Division so far in 2021 and that was again on show from the Perry Lakes Hawks in an important Friday night win over the Willetton Tigers.
The two teams have traded top spot in recent weeks in the NBL1 West Men’s Division but the Tigers arrived at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night minus perhaps their three best and most important players Michael Vigor, Connor Mincherton and Damien Scott.
Never would that be felt more than against a team that runs as deep with so many options at every position as Perry Lakes and that’s how the game panned out with the Hawks going on to record the 105-88 victory, but the Tigers did make them earn it.
It was an important result in the context of the season too with the Hawks having now won a couple of games straight after a loss to Lakeside last Friday to retain top spot at 14-3 while the Tigers are slipping from top two contention having now lost three straight at 11-4.
Both teams back up on Saturday night with equally pivotal match ups with the Hawks away to the Joondalup Wolves while the Tigers host the Cockburn Cougars who are on fire with five straight wins after Friday’s overtime triumph over the Warwick Senators.
They are deepest and most consistent team in the NBL1 West Men’s Division so far in 2021 and that was again on show from the Perry Lakes Hawks in an important Friday night win over the Willetton Tigers.
The two teams have traded top spot in recent weeks in the NBL1 West Men’s Division but the Tigers arrived at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night minus perhaps their three best and most important players Michael Vigor, Connor Mincherton and Damien Scott.
Never would that be felt more than against a team that runs as deep with so many options at every position as Perry Lakes and that’s how the game panned out with the Hawks going on to record the 105-88 victory, but the Tigers did make them earn it.
It was an important result in the context of the season too with the Hawks having now won a couple of games straight after a loss to Lakeside last Friday to retain top spot at 14-3 while the Tigers are slipping from top two contention having now lost three straight at 11-4.
Both teams back up on Saturday night with equally pivotal match ups with the Hawks away to the Joondalup Wolves while the Tigers host the Cockburn Cougars who are on fire with five straight wins after Friday’s overtime triumph over the Warwick Senators.
It shaped as a potentially season-defining battle between Perry Lakes and Willetton coming into the Friday night clash at Bendat Basketball Centre as they battle over positions inside the top two.
While the Hawks came in at full strength with the deepest squad across the league, the Tigers were without star big Michael Vigor, superstar scorer Damien Scott and the hugely talented young gun Connor Mincherton.
That meant the job was ahead of the Tigers but they showed good fight from the outset and even though the Hawks got rolling offensively with 30 points in the first quarter, Willetton stuck with them well with 24 of their own.
Perry Lakes did blow the game open in the second period with another 31 points while holding the Tigers to just 18 to head into the half-time break in control leading 61-42.
Willetton came out strong to start the second half, though, and quickly closed the deficit to 13 points but Ben Purser then took over the Hawks and he put his team out to a 21-point lead midway through the third quarter.
The Tigers kept coming and again got back within 12, but the Hawks lead was back out to 17 by three quarter-time thanks to a couple of buckets to Bailey Cole.
Andrew Black shot Willetton back within 12 with seven minutes left, but Perry Lakes continued to answer each challenge and went on to score the 105-88 victory.
Without Mincherton and Scott there as ball handlers for Willetton, Perry Lakes forced them into 21 turnovers and especially in the first half they made bringing the ball up the floor hell for the Tigers young guards.
The depth of the Hawks was once again on full show with Mitch Clarke top-scoring for 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Lewis Thomas added 15 points and seven rebounds, Andrew Ferguson 12 points and nine boards, Ben Purser 12 points and seven assists, Rob Cassir 12 points, five steals, four assists and four rebounds, Ryan Smith 11 points and three assists, and Matt Leary 11 points.
Considering they were without three such key players, Willetton would have taken plenty from it with Hunter Clarke delivering 22 points and eight assists and Andrew Black 20 points and four rebounds on shooting 5/10 from beyond the arc.
Travis Fee added 10 points and six rebounds for the Tigers, Tom Gerovich 10 points and five boards, Brent Hank nine points and five rebounds, and Michael Garbellini eight points and two assists.
The victory keeps Perry Lakes in top spot and strengthens their prospects of finishing in a top two position which is one of the goals for two-time championship winning coach Matt Parsons who was delighted with the Hawks’ performance.
“Top two is certainly the goal and I think that puts you in a really good position to attack these finals. If you can put yourselves in a situation where you continue to play on your home floor you are doing yourself a favour so winning these games becomes really important,” Parsons said.
“This was a danger game and it was a really good, well coached Willetton team and they are fearless. That’s a really strong contingent of players who have been together for a long time and their effort was never going to be in question.
“But for us it was just about trying to match that effort and hope the class and depth stood out in the finish. That’s probably the difference in the end and I’m really happy with that performance and we can take a lot of positives into tomorrow night.”
Parsons and the Hawks were expecting a full strength Willetton on Friday night, or at least that’s what they prepared for, but one of the challenges of any good team is being able to make adjustments on the fly.
“It’s certainly an adjustment and you try to prepare for the best team possible and see what happens on game night, but they obviously made the decision that they weren’t ready to go,” Parsons said.
“For us the message is just that it’s a next man up mentality and we have to expect the players stepping up will make really strong contributions for them, and that ended up happening. I thought Mike Garbellini was pretty good, young Gerovich was fantastic so they found some players and depth, and that’s what these opportunities are for.
“Our guys just need to be ready to go against anybody and I think the intensity and intent behind getting our game plan going tonight was good. It became a bit of a scrappy fest there at times but we were able to push away in the end.”
While the Hawks can’t do much about who is or isn’t out there from their opponents, Parsons continues to be impressed with just how committed his whole playing group is to their cause.
“Sustained success is built on making sure you have certain players in there every week and we have a committed group,” Parsons said.
“These guys push each other at training every session and apart from the odd occasion that someone might miss if they are sick, but we have an amazing attendance rate and the boys are fully committed.
“They are so invested in this whole process and they play for each, and I think the style we play suits our playing list but more importantly the player list have bought in and they own it. The results are because of their commitment and they take our structure and go to a whole new level with it.”
Parsons knows all about building championship squads having tasted the ultimate with Cockburn in 2016 and Perry Lakes in 2018, and this Hawks team certainly has all bases covered in terms of depth, youth and experience.
Having added frontcourt pair Andrew Ferguson and Lewis Thomas, the Hawks are now strong up front while being admirably led by Rob Cassir and Ben Purser still with Mitch Clarke getting better all the time as point guard.
With sharpshooters Ryan Smith and Matt Leary also part of the line-up and then the versatility provided from the likes of Cooper Hamilton, Bailey Cole and Austin Kisselev, and rightfully Parsons is happy with what he has to work with in 2021.
“Having coverage for all positions is so important and we talk about that next man up philosophy, and making sure we have guys ready to go in those positions is the key,” Parsons said.
“We looked at the West Coast Classic last year and identified that potentially we needed some help in the big department after running Bailey Cole as a bit of an iso five man. He’s a lot more versatile than that and can give us a lot more in other positions.
“So we had a targeted effort to go and get some bigs to help with that load and we took COVID into account so we wanted to stay local and make the moves that suited us. At the moment it’s really paying off and both those guys have been fantastic.
“They have integrated into the squad phenomenally and there’s no ego there, they just work hard and I think they are enjoying their basketball just like the rest of our team is including the older guys. Ben Purser continues to do what he always does but Robbie Cassir is playing at a whole new level.
“He has this youthful exuberance about him at the moment and he’s a wrecking ball when he’s out there, and he’s such a joy to coach.
“They are all realising that everyone is here to contribute to greater success and that’s our goal, and we’ll put it out there that we are aiming to win a championship but there are also a lot of tough teams in this league.”
Perry Lakes now backs up on Saturday night against a Joondalup Wolves team who they faced in the Grand Final of 2018, and who have now lost five straight matches so will be throwing everything at the Hawks at HBF Arena.
“There’s no love lost between Perry Lakes and Joondalup, it’s been a huge rivalry over a number of years now and that’s not going to change,” Parsons said.
“Summerville has come in and has assembled the squad really well and they might not have had the results necessarily late, but we know there’s a lot of experience and big game players in there. No doubt they’ll be ready for us and it’s on their home floor so they’ll be putting their time into us to try and get the win.
“Every team is dangerous with their backs against the wall and they will step up and want to beat us. There’s also a bit more pride on your home deck when you’re trying to protect that home floor. It will be a fiery affair I have no doubt and there’ll be some experienced bodies flying around, and we look forward to that contest.”
NBL1 WEST MEN’S DIVISION 2021
ROUND 15
THURSDAY
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 90 lost to Lakeside Lightning 105
FRIDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks 105 defeated Willetton Tigers 88
Lakeside Lightning106 defeated Joondalup Wolves 79
Rockingham Flames 103 defeated South West Slammers 67
Cockburn Cougars 104 defeated Warwick Senators 102
SATURDAY
Geraldton Buccaneers v Perth Redbacks – Active West Stadium 7pm
Joondalup Wolves v Perry Lakes Hawks – HBF Arena 7pm
Warwick Senators v East Perth Eagles – Warwick Stadium 7pm
Willetton Tigers v Cockburn Cougars – Willetton Basketball Stadium 7pm
South West Slammers v Goldfields Giants – Eaton Recreation Centre 7.30pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Mandurah Magic – Ray Owen Sports Centre 8.30pm
SUNDAY
Mandurah Magic v Goldfields Giants – Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 12pm