NBL1 West Recap | Men's Saturday Round 10

Marshall Nelson turned on a show again for the Rockingham Flames, Cameron Coleman came up big for the Geraldton Buccaneers, Jonathan Wade delivered for the Joondalup Wolves and Jay Bowie fired on his old home floor for the Mandurah Magic in Saturday night of the NBL1 West competition.

The Saturday action to wrap up the round in NBL1 West saw wins in the end for the Geraldton Buccaneers, Joondalup Wolves, Warwick Senators, Goldfields Giants, Mandurah Magic and Rockingham Flames.

NBL1 West Round 10 got underway on Friday night with the Joondalup Wolves defeating the Perth Redbacks 96-91, the Cockburn Cougars beating the Mandurah Magic 105-99 and the Warwick Senators downing the East Perth Eagles 80-68.

That led into Round 10 wrapping up on Saturday evening beginning with the Geraldton Buccaneers hitting back from their first loss of the season last Sunday to return home and beat the Willetton Tigers 102-77.

Cameron Coleman delivered 28 points in the win for the Buccs while Mathiang Muo had 18 points, Shaun Stewart 17 and Malik Meunier 17. Oliver Hayes-Brown had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Willetton.

The Joondalup Wolves had to battle hard but eventually overcame the South West Slammers on the road 99-84 to make it two Round 10 wins inside 24 hours.

Jonathan Wade put up 27 points for the Wolfpack while CJ Turnage had another 18 points and Julian Pesava 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Buay Tuach had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Slammers.

The Warwick Senators beat the East Perth Eagles for the second time in Round 10 this time at Warwick Stadium where they won 93-73.

Cody Ellis had another 22 points for the Senators with Caleb Davis adding 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Logan Thwaites had 19 points for East Perth against his old team.

The Goldfields Giants returned to the winner's list in Kalgoorlie beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 100-78 with Jesse Ghee finishing with 19 points and Hamish Cummings 17 on the back of five three-pointers. Andrew Ferguson had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks.

After a tough loss at home on Friday night despite 28 first quarter points from Dequan Abrom, the Mandurah Magic hit back on Saturday to beat the Lakeside Lightning 106-75.

Jay Bowie ended up with 22 points for the Magic as did Abrom with Kyle Armour adding 20 points and five assists on his first return to the church. Landon Taliaferro ended up with 18 points with four triples for Lakeside.

The Rockingham Flames celebrated wearing specially designed jerseys for Mental Health Awareness by beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 108-75.

Marshall Nelson had 27 points for the Flames with a couple of spectacular dunks while Albert Almanza top scored for the Suns with 17 points.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 10 – SATURDAY NIGHT

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 102 defeated WILLETTON TIGERS 77

The Geraldton Buccaneers responded in emphatic fashion to their first loss of the NBL1 West season by beating the Willetton Tigers by 25 points on Saturday night.

It was a fascinating Round 9 for the Buccs on the road where they came from the death to escape with a win against the Warwick Senators on Saturday night before they almost pulled another one out against the Cockburn Cougars on Sunday.

However, they couldn’t quite complete the job at Wally Hagan Stadium so after winning the opening 10 games of 2022, they suffered their first loss ahead of hosting the Tigers at Active West Stadium this Saturday night.

Willetton arrived in Geraldton knocking on the door of the top eight but the Buccs came out on a mission from the outset scoring nine straight points during the opening term to lead by as much as 15, and to be up 32-20 by quarter-time.

The Buccaneers extended that advantage to 23 points during the second quarter and went into the half-time break in control 55-39.

Willetton was able to breathe life back into the game during the third quarter by scoring 17 points in-a-row to send a real scare into the league-leaders, but the Buccs responded and held firm to still lead by nine points at three quarter-time.

Geraldton then completed the job with 28 points to 12 in the fourth term to end up winning 102-77 to improve to a 10-1 record on the season to remain on top while Willetton remains outside the top eight at 6-6.

Cameron Coleman was terrific for Geraldton finishing the evening with 28 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists on shooting 10/16 from the floor and 7/8 from the free-throw line.

Mathiang Muo added 18 points, nine rebounds and six steals, Malik Meunier 17 points and five assists, Shaun Stewart 17 points, four boards and three assists, Fletcher Klasztorny seven points, and Ryan Blanchett seven points and seven rebounds.

Perth Wildcats development player Oliver Hayes-Brown delivered 21 points and 10 rebounds for Willetton with Damien Scott contributing 16 points, and Michael Vigor nine points, five boards and three blocks.

 

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 84 lost to JOONDALUP WOLVES 99

The Joondalup Wolves won its second game of Round 10 inside 24 hours but they had to battle hard to overcome the South West Slammers at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The Slammers were back on their home floor looking to cause the upset win on the back of improved recent form while the Wolves were fresh off a Friday night home victory against the Perth Redbacks in a hard fought contest.

If the Wolfpack were feeling weary they sure didn’t show any signs in the first quarter as they piled on 38 points to lead the Slammers by 10 points at quarter-time.

Joondalup scored another eight consecutive points during the second quarter to open up a 19-point advantage, and they were still in control at the main break leading 59-43.

The Wolves continued to pull away further to lead by as much as 26 points early in the last term, but to the credit of the Slammers they kept on fighting to outscore Joondalup 23 to 14 in the final quarter.

However, Joondalup still cruised to the 99-84 victory to make it three consecutive wins to improve to a 9-3 record on the season while the Slammers are now 1-11.

Jonathan Wade led the charge in the win for the Wolves with 27 points, four rebounds and two assists while going 16/18 at the foul line.

CJ Turnage added 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, Julian Pesava 17 points, nine boards, seven assists and three steals, Maris Colton 13 points and three rebounds, and Joel Vaiangina seven points, 10 boards and two blocked shots.

Buay Tuach finished the night with 26 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for the Slammers with Caleb Van De Griend adding 18 points and four boards, Brody England 12 points and eight rebounds, and Cory Richardson eight points and four assists.

 

WARWICK SENATORS 93 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 73

The Warwick Senators did battle with the East Perth Eagles for the second time inside 24 hours, and it was a similar result on Saturday night at Warwick Stadium.

The two teams played one another at Herb Graham Recreation Centre on Friday night with the Senators winning 80-68 and they met just minutes away at Warwick Stadium on Saturday evening.

On the back of the 12-point win the previous evening, Warwick started well again on their home floor on Saturday despite the continued absence of Kyle Zunic and Bryan Michaels.

The Senators opened up a lead as big as eight points during the opening term and then they really put their foot down going on a run of 16 consecutive points during the second term with the lead growing to 24.

Warwick still led 50-28 by half-time before the lead ballooned to 30 during the third term and the Senators went on to record the 93-73 victory to make it back-to-back Round 10 wins over East Perth in the space of 24 hours.

It was a hot shooting night for the Senators as they went 50.7 per cent as a team from the field which helped them overcome East Perth getting to the foul line 22 times, and also outrebounding them.

Captain Cody Ellis ended up top scoring with 22 points, three rebounds and three assists for Warwick while knocking down 4/7 from three-point range.

Caleb Davis added 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, Ash Litterick 13 points and seven boards, Tyler Shand eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and Corban Wroe seven points and four assists.

Logan Thwaites produced his best game of the season for East Perth on the night with 19 points while Shaquille Maharaj put up 17 points and three rebounds, Justin King 15 points and 11 boards, and Fabian Johnson eight points, four boards, three steals and two assists.

 

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 100 defeated PERRY LAKES HAWKS 78

The Goldfields Giants weren’t about to lose consecutive home matches bouncing back to beat the Perry Lakes Hawks in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night by 22 points.

The Giants lost at home last week to the Perth Redbacks and they were back at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium this Saturday night up against the reigning champion Perry Lakes who also were looking to rebound from a loss to the Mandurah Magic.

So both teams were suitably motivated for the Saturday night match up and it was the Hawks who controlled most of the opening quarter to lead by as much as eight, and to still be on top 22-20 by quarter-time.

However, Goldfields took over in the second term scoring 10 consecutive points to end up outscoring the Hawks 32 points to 22 to see the home side going into the half-time break leading 52-44.

The Giants extended their lead narrowly to 13 points by three quarter-time and then they completed the job with a standout fourth quarter with 31 points to 18 to eventually beat the reigning champions 100-78.

The victory improves Goldfields to a 7-4 record on the season to be solid inside the top eight while Perry Lakes slips to 6-6 as a result of the defeat.

The Giants ended the night with a supremely impressive seven players scoring in double-figures with Jesse Ghee showing the way with 19 points and five assists.

Hamish Cummings nailed 5/10 from downtown on his way to 17 points and three assists with Lafonzo Smith contributing 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Damon Ballantyne 13 points and six assists.

Jerome Reid also had 11 points and four steals, Mayo Malek 11 points and seven rebounds, and Hussayn Ford 10 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Andrew Ferguson top-scored for Perry Lakes with 18 points and 10 rebounds with Rob Cassir adding 15 points, Matt Leary 14 points and five steals, Ben Purser 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and Ryan Smith nine points with three triples.

 

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 75 lost to MANDURAH MAGIC 106

After a heartbreaking loss at home on Friday night, the Mandurah Magic took out their frustrations on the Lakeside Lightning at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Saturday.

Mandurah made a remarkable start the previous night at home to the Cockburn Cougars with Dequan Abrom putting up 28 points in the first quarter alone with the Magic leading by as much as 17 points.

However, they couldn’t quite complete the deal with the Cougars overrunning them in the end meaning the Magic arrived to take on the Lightning determined to make amends on Saturday evening.

There was added intrigue in the game as well with Kyle Armour and Jay Bowie returning to their old home floor in Mandurah uniforms for the first time.

It might not have been Abrom doing all the damage this time around, but the Magic made a similarly hot start in the first quarter with another 37 points to end up leading by 14 points by quarter-time.

Mandurah continued on with the job going on another 8-0 run in the second term to stretch that lead out to 25, and the Magic remained in control leading 61-46 at the half-time break.

There would be no let up this time with Jay Bowie catching fire spectacularly to help Mandurah out to a 33-point lead before his night ended early just before three quarter-time with what appeared a lower leg strain.

The Magic closed it out strongly to win 106-75 and improve to an 8-5 record on the season with the Lightning losing further touch of a playoff spot at 2-9.

It was a remarkable shooting performance from Mandurah who went 61.9 per cent from the floor as a team to go with nailing 12/25 from three-point land and 16/18 at the foul line.

That was despite Lakeside winning the rebound battle 37 to 29 including 21 offensive boards to nine. The Lightning also took nine extra field goals than the Magic but still lost the game by 31 points despite still shooting a respectable 41.7 per cent.

Jay Bowie only played 20 and-a-half minutes but put up 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Mandurah on 8/11 shooting with Dequan Abrom backing up his 42 points from Friday with 22 on Saturday along with four boards, two assists and two steals.

Kyle Armour added 20 points, five assists and four steals, Ray Turner 13 points and three boards, Riley Parker eight points and three rebounds, and Christian Jurlina eight points. 

Landon Taliaferro returned to the Lightning line-up with 18 points on 4/9 shooting from downtown while Donnie Vaughn finished with 14 points and six assists, Dom Jackson 11 points and five rebounds, and Josh Davey 10 points and 10 boards despite copping a cut to his head early on.

 

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 75 lost to ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 108

The Rockingham Flames continued their hot form proving too much for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday night.

As part of the NBL1 Mental Health Round, the Flames were wearing specially designed uniforms to mark the occasion in conjunction with A Stitch in Time to help raise awareness for mental health.

The Flames lifted for the occasion as well having regained the services of Greg Hire and Justin Beard for the trip up the hill, and it didn’t take long for them to flex their muscles even though the Eastern Suns were coming off their second win of the season.

With Devondrick Walker doing a bit of everything and Marshall Nelson finishing spectacularly, the Flames didn’t take long to build up a double-figure advantage and to head into the quarter-time break leading 30-19.

Another run of 11 straight points in the second term saw Rockingham open up a 22-point lead and they would still be up 59-39 going into half-time.

Eventually Rockingham would lead by as much as 33 points in the fourth term before going on to win 108-75 to make it four wins in-a-row to improve to 9-2 on the season. Kalamunda now slips to 2-10 following the loss.

Marshall Nelson finished his spectacular evening for the Flames with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists on 10/16 shooting from the field.

MVP fancy Devondrick Walker had another strong showing for Rockingham with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals with Justin Beard playing his first game of the season and putting up 16 points.

Tom Jervis added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Greg Hire 10 points, 12 boards and five assists.

Albert Almanza top-scored for Kalamunda with 17 points and five rebounds while Reece Maxwell finished with 14 points and five boards, and Cooper Lowe 10 points and six rebounds.