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Casey Mihovilovich and Joel Murray were standouts in Friday night Mandurah Magic wins in the NBL1 West while the Eastern Suns made it a double over the East Perth Eagles, and the South West Slammers and Willetton Tigers split their match ups.
The three matches in the NBL1 West on Friday night saw the Kalamunda Eastern Suns beat the East Perth Eagles 96-68, the Mandurah Magic defeat the Lakeside Lightning 84-73, and the Willetton Tigers down the South West Slammers 91-50.
Then in the men's fixtures, the Eastern Suns beat the Eagles 101-80, the Magic defeated the Lightning 110-97, and the Slammers won 105-98 against the Tigers.
RECAP NBL1 WEST | ROUND 13 SATURDAY
LUBCKE HOPES CONCUSSION JOURNEY CREATES AWARENESS
WOMEN
East Perth Eagles (68) lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns (96)
The Kalamunda Eastern Suns continued their best run of form for the season with a dominant 96-68 victory on the road to the East Perth Eagles.
The Eagles were back home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre looking to respond to last week's loss to the Lakeside Lightning and to stay in touch of the top eight.
The Eastern Suns might be just that bit too far back from the playoffs but did arrive having won their last two matches and were looking to keep their roll going under first year head coach Marcus Bardill.
Both teams went on their own big scoring runs in the first quarter but by the end of the opening term it was the Eastern Suns leading 23-20.
Kalamunda then took over further in the second frame with 27 points to 15 to go into the half-time interval leading 50-35.
The Eagles were the team with the most at stake but it was the Eastern Suns who remained in control through the second half with the lead getting out to 24 points in the third period, and 30 in the fourth.
The Suns would end up winning by 28 points with coach Bardill now having his team firing with three straight victories having only won two all season long up to that point.
Tiahna Sears produced another 23 points and eight rebounds on 6/11 shooting in the win for the Eastern suns with Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant delivering 22 points, eight boards and three assists.
Ella Fotu also had 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks, Olivia Berry 12 points and six assists, and Ashleigh Cole nine points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
East Perth missed a chance to close in on a top eight spot having slipped to a 5-11 record with Mary Baskerville finishing with 18 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals on 8/15 shooting.
Bri Bailey added 15 points on 3/7 three-point shooting with Laci Hawthorne contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds, Mary Goulding seven points and two boards, and Sam Lubcke six points and eight rebounds.
The Eastern Suns look to back up the win at home to the Mandurah Magic on Saturday with the Eagles not playing again until next Saturday away to the Perry Lakes Hawks.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 68 (Baskerville 18, Bailey 15, Hawthorne 14)
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 96 (Sears 23, McGhee-Pleasant 22, Fotu 19)
Mandurah Magic (84) defeated Lakeside Lightning (73)
The NBL1 West games record holder Casey Mihovilovich delivered a masterful performance to keep the Mandurah Magic in the playoff hunt with the 84-73 victory at home to the Lakeside Lightning.
The Magic were back home at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre needing to snap a three-game losing run to stay in the playoff mix with the Lightning still trying to break into the top four as well.
That set the stage for a fascinating match up between two teams with a nice rivalry built up over the years including playing in the 2018 Grand Final where current Magic centre Sam Roscoe was playing at the Lightning.
That was all a long time ago but there was plenty at stake for both teams on Friday night and after Lakeside opened up an early eight-point lead, Mandurah went on an 11-0 scoring streak to be up three by quarter-time.
That turned into a 15-0 run to start the second period and the Magic opened up an eventual 13-point lead in the second quarter to go into half-time leading 44-33.
Mandurah managed to maintain a double-figure lead throughout the second half and ended up winning by 11 points to improve to a 6-11 record on the season to remain a chance of breaking into the playoffs.
It was a brilliant all-round performance by the league's games record holder Casey Mihovilovich who finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists on a stunning 7/10 shooting from beyond the arc.
Donica Cosby added 17 points, four assists and three rebounds, Emma Klasztorny 11 points, nine boards, two assists and two steals, and Christina Boag seven points, 14 rebounds, six blocked shots and two assists.
The Lightning remain solid in a playoff spot but fall further from the top four at 9-6 with Marnelle Garraud putting up 25 points and eight rebounds while Teige Morrell contributed 21 points, 12 boards and three assists, and Caitie Jones returned with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Magic are in action again on Saturday on the road to the Eastern Suns with the Lightning to play host to the reigning champion Cockburn Cougars next Friday.
MANDURAH MAGIC 84 (Mihovilovich 26, Cosby 17, Klasztorny 11)
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 73 (Garraud 25, Morrell 21, Jones 20)
South West Slammers (50) lost to Willetton Tigers (91)
The Willetton Tigers took control early and ended up cruising to a 91-50 road victory on Friday night against the South West Slammers.
It was always going to be a significant test for a Slammers team having won just once in their past 89 games even at home at Eaton Recreation Centre to come up against a Willetton team who has played in the previous three Grand Finals.
The Tigers had won their past two matches as well to be solid inside the top eight but they did need to keep winning to maintain hold of a playoff position.
Willetton went on an 18-0 scoring run during the first quarter to end up leading 31-12 by quarter-time.
That lead continued to grow throughout the rest of the evening in the favour of the Tigers with the advantage out to 30 points in the second period, 34 in the third and 41 in the fourth.
Willetton ended up winning by that 41-point margin to make it three straight wins to improve to an 8-7 record on the season with Amy Jacobs producing 21 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Claire Jacobs added 15 points and four rebounds, Kiara Waite 15 points and nine boards, Jillian Archer 13 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two steals, and Melisa Brcaninovic 12 points, six boards and four assists.
South West slips to a 16th loss of the season and a 48th straight overall dating back to May 2022 with Zaya Black scoring 11 points to go with six assists and five rebounds.
Courtney Bayliss was playing her 223rd game in the league and added 11 points and two assists with Nyidier Riak contributing eight points and two rebounds, and Javene Fitch six points and six boards.
The Slammers back up on the road on Saturday against the Perry Lakes Hawks while the Tigers are at home to the Goldfields Giants on Sunday.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 50 (Black 11, Bayliss 11, Riak 8)
WILLETTON TIGERS 91 (A Jacobs 21, Waite 15, C Jacobs 15)
MEN
East Perth Eagles (80) lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns (101)
The East Perth Eagles missed a golden opportunity to consolidate their top four spot with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on top from start to finish with Marek Nelson starring in the 101-80 road win.
The Eagles were back home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre sitting in fourth position and in a hot run of form winning four straight, and nine of their last 11 matches.
The Eastern Suns arrived out of the playoff hunt and having lost their past couple of games, but it was a Kalamunda team on a mission from the outset and their athleticism led by Nelson was able to prove too nimble for the sizeable East Perth line-up.
With Sunday Dech and Jerami Grace no longer with the Eagles, they have gone big with their starting five with point guard Taylor Young joined by near seven-footers David Okwera, Lukas Milner, Lee Roberts and Sebit Reath.
The Eastern Suns were able to take advantage of their quickness advantage and the Eagles found it tough to contain them with the visitors putting up 33 points in the first quarter including scoring 10 in-a-row to end up leading by as much as 15 points.
Kalamunda would end up in control the rest of the night too and it was an impressive performance from Aaron Trahair's men if they were out of the playoff hunt coming into the last month of the regular season.
East Perth had so much to play for in one of its final five games of the season, but the Suns continued to have all the answers to end up leading by 24 points in the second quarter, and 26 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 21-point victory.
The win improves the Eastern Suns to a 6-12 record on the season with Marek Nelson producing a starring performance with 32 points, four assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks on 11/18 shooting from the field and 8/9 at the foul line.
Raphell Thomas-Edwards added 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals while the old guard of Reece Maxwell, Seb Salinas and Rob Huntington played crucial roles too.
With 1157 games in the league between them, the trio showed their value with Maxwell finishing with 15 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals, Huntington eight points, two boards, two assists and two blocks, and games record holder Salinas six points and three rebounds on 2/3 three-point shooting.
East Perth slips out of the top four with Mandurah's win also on Friday with the Eagles now 11-7 on the season with four matches to go with Lukas Milner ending up with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks on 2/3 three-point shooting.
Lee Roberts added 14 points and three rebounds, Taylor Young 14 points and six assists, Sebit Reath 10 points and four boards, and local product and Perth Wildcats young gun David Okwera seven points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
The Eastern Suns look to back up the win at home to the Mandurah Magic on Saturday with the Eagles not playing again until next Saturday away to the Perry Lakes Hawks.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 80 (Milner 17, Roberts 14, Young 14)
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 101 (Nelson 32, Thomas-Edwards 20, Maxwell 15)
Mandurah Magic (110) defeated Lakeside Lightning (97)
MVP favourite Joel Murray produced another spectacular performance with 52 points to make up for the absence of Michael Durr to lead the Mandurah Magic to the 110-97 victory over the Lakeside Lightning.
The Magic were back home at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre trying to break back into the top four with Lakeside arriving all but out of the playoff hunt with just five wins so far in 2024.
Mandurah did come into the contest missing import centre Michael Durr along with sharpshooter Jarrod Molnar and it was the Lightning who got the better of the start to be leading 24-21 by quarter-time.
The Magic turned the game on its head in the second quarter by piling on 42 points to 21 to end up leading by as much as 18 points, and still being on top 63-45 by the half-time interval.
The lead for Mandurah got out to as much as 21 points in the second half before the home team went on to score the 13-point victory despite the absence of two of their starting group.
The win sees the Magic move back into fourth position with an 11-7 record with Joel Murray simply incredible with what he did while playing all 40 minutes of the game.
He finished with 52 points, eight assists, five steals and two rebounds on the back of shooting 15/30 from the floor, 4/10 from three-point territory and 18/21 at the free-throw line.
Julian Pesava added 20 points, three rebounds and two assists, Lachlan Bertram 19 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, and Dion Collins seven points and four rebounds.
The Lightning fall further out of playoff calculations with a 5-11 record with Marshawn Blackmon top-scoring with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Mike Adewunmi also had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, Dom Jackson 13 points and three boards, and Josh Davey 10 points and 18 rebounds.
The Magic are in action again on Saturday on the road to the Eastern Suns with the Lightning to play host to the reigning champion Cockburn Cougars next Friday.
MANDURAH MAGIC 110 (Murray 52, Pesava 20, Bertram 19)
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 97 (Blackmon 31, Adewunmi 21, Jackson 13)
South West Slammers (105) defeated Willetton Tigers (98)
The South West Slammers scored one of the upsets of the season and did so in impressive fashion beating the second placed Willetton Tigers 105-98.
Coming into the match up at Eaton Recreation Centre and it was the second last placed Slammers up against the second ranked Tigers.
Willetton was on a six-game winning streak as well but needing to keep winning to stay in that second spot while South West had lost five straight, but the game certainly didn’t go to script.
However, it was going to expectations in the first half with the Tigers leading by five points in the first quarter and extending that advantage to as much as 12 points in the second frame.
The Slammers turned the tide on their home floor in the third quarter by scoring 10 consecutive points to end up leading by seven points.
South West then would go on to lead by as much as 10 points in the last quarter and then turned that into the seven-point win with the sealer coming when Devan Craig set up Buay Tuach for a statement dunk with a minute left to play.
The victory improves the Slammers to a 4-14 record on the season with Tuach finishing with 24 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Perhaps even more exciting from a South West perspective was the locals who had such a big impact with Pharell Keats finishing with 21 points, seven assists and three steals on 4/6 three-point shooting.
Devan Craig also had 18 points on 8/10 shooting while import centre Alex Holcombe added 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Mathiang Muo added 12 points and five rebounds, and Manyiel Wugol nine points, seven boards and three assists.
Willetton remains in second spot but only just at 14-3 with the six-game winning run coming to an end despite the 26 points and three rebounds from Michael Dupree.
Marshall Nelson contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Michael Vigor adding 14 points, seven boards and four assists, Roosevelt Williams 13 points and three steals, Damien Scott 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Deng Gak 10 points, nine boards and two blocks.
The Slammers back up on the road on Saturday against the Perry Lakes Hawks while the Tigers are at home to the Goldfields Giants on Sunday.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 105 (Tuach 24, Keats 21, Craig 18)
WILLETTON TIGERS 98 (Dupree 26, Nelson 17, Vigor 14)
