NBL1 West Recap | Men's Saturday Round 13

The Perth Redbacks shocked the Geraldton Buccaneers on Saturday night to keep their season alive while the East Perth Eagles made it two wins in 24 hours and the Rockingham Flames came from behind to ease their pain from how they lost on Friday.

First Nations Round in the NBL1 West Men's competition began on Friday night with three cracking contests.

The Cockburn Cougars beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 94-91 with the Joondalup Wolves winning at the buzzer against the Rockingham Flames 91-88 and the East Perth Eagles beating the Lakeside Lightning in overtime 110-106.

That led into Saturday night which started with the Mandurah Magic consolidating their playoff position with a strong 88-67 win over a Willetton Tigers team minus Oliver Hayes-Brown and then with Michael Vigor picking up a fourth foul in the second quarter.

Former Tiger Ray Turner put his old team to the sword with 30 points and seven rebounds with Dequan Abrom adding 21 points. Damien Scott top-scored for Willetton with 24 points.

The Perth Redbacks kept their playoff hopes alive with their best performance of the season despite the absence of games record holding captain Joel Wagner as they beat the league-leading Geraldton Buccaneers 88-81.

The Redbacks produced a three-point barrage from Jerami Grace, Tevin Jackson and Zac Gattorna late to secure the win with Grace scoring 27 points and Gattorna 19 with the pair combining for nine three-pointers. Cameron Coleman scored 22 points, Shaun Stewart 21 and Johny Narkle 18.

The East Perth Eagles had won just one game for the season coming into Round 13 but they have now won twice inside 24 hours with a thumping 103-72 win against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Saturday.

Justin King delivered 30 points for East Perth with Lee Roberts scoring 16 points, Fabian Johnson 13 and Sergio Soarez 11. Spencer Alone and Reece Maxwell both scored 12 points for Kalamunda.

Esperance will be playing host to two match ups between Goldfields and South West this weekend, and they got a treat on Saturday night with the Giants winning a heart stopper 105-104 over the Slammers thanks to a late bucket from Jesse Ghee.

Lafonzo Smith delivered 23 points and eight rebounds for Goldfields in the win while Buay Tuach put up 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Slammers, and Raphell Thomas-Edwards 21 points and 12 boards.

The Rockingham Flames produced a tremendous second half fight back to beat the Warwick Senators 88-80 at home on Saturday to help soothe the pain from losing in heartbreaking fashion the night before to the Joondalup Wolves.

Tom Jervis was a dominant force for Rockingham with 17 points and 16 rebounds while Cody Ellis had 22 first-half points for the Senators on his way to 24 for the night. 

The Round 13 NBL1 West Men's action wraps up on Sunday with the South West Slammers and Goldfields Giants again facing off in Esperance while the Willetton Tigers are hosting the Perth Redbacks and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns are at home to Geraldton Buccaneers.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 13 – SATURDAY NIGHT

PERTH REDBACKS 88 defeated GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 81

The Perth Redbacks kept their playoff hopes alive in spectacular fashion with a three-point barrage late to see them overrun the league-leading Geraldton Buccaneers.

The Buccs arrived at Belmont Oasis on Saturday night having lost just once so far in the 2022 NBL1 West season to hold a two-game buffer at the top of the table, but the Redbacks had to begin their winning run if they were to stay in the playoff hunt.

Perth had lost their past three games coming into the clash and were without inspirational captain Joel Wagner who doubles as the club's games record holder and the league's all-time assists leader.

The Buccs were also minus Mathiang Muo who was with the South Sudan national team, but they started well with 25 points to 18 in the first quarter.

Geraldton maintained that advantage to still lead 48-41 by half-time, and then despite an 11-0 run during the third quarter from the Redbacks, the Buccaneers still lead 66-62 by three quarter-time.

The Buccs were still on top with four and-a-half minutes to lead by six after a Shaun Stewart triple, but that's when the Redbacks caught fire in spectacular fashion.

It started with three balls from Zac Gattorna, Jerami Grance and Tevin Jackson to see them grab the lead and then Gattorna nailed another from deep and those four three-pointers in two minutes sealed the 88-81 victory.

The win snaps the losing slide for the Redbacks and improves them to a 7-8 record ahead of taking on the Willetton Tigers on Sunday while the Buccs are now 13-2 ahead of also playing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Sunday.

Jerami Grace finished the night with 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Redbacks while draining 6/11 from three-point land.

Zac Gattorna added 19 points, three assists and three steals on 3/4 shooting from deep with Tevin Jackson contributing 16 points, 10 boards, four assists and three steals, and Louis Timms 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Cameron Coleman put up 22 points, three rebounds and three steals for Geraldton with Shaun Stewart contributing 21 points, four boards, three assists and two steals, and Johny Narkle 18 points.

 

EAST PERTH EAGLES 103 defeated KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 72

The East Perth Eagles had only won once so far in 2022 coming into Round 13, but they made it two wins inside 24 hours with a 31-point home win against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Saturday.

It has been a tough season for the Eagles and coming into Friday night's clash with the Lakeside Lightning, they had lost nine straight and had won just once in 14 attempts this NBL1 West campaign.

However, East Perth is a different looking line-up now with their big three of Justin King, Lee Roberts and Shaquille Maharaj together, and they came away with an overtime win over Lakeside on Friday.

That gave them some confidence ahead of hosting the Eastern Suns at Herb Graham Recreation Centre on Saturday night, but it was the Eastern Suns who started the better to lead by as much as nine points in the first quarter and to be up 25-21 by quarter-time.

However, East Perth got rolling in the second period outscoring the Suns 34 points to 11 and to go on a 12-0 run at one point to end leading as much as 19, and to be on top 55-36 by half-time.

The Eagles rammed home their advantage in the third quarter with another 24 points to 12 which set them up for the eventual 103-72 victory.

The two Round 13 victories improve East Perth to a 3-13 record on the season with the Eastern Suns now 3-12 ahead of hosting the league-leading Geraldton Buccaneers on Sunday.

The Eagles collected 57 rebounds to 41 for the night while shooting 48.8 per cent from the floor opposed to 32.4 from the Eastern Suns.

Justin King put up 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists for East Perth while shooting 14/22 from the floor and 2/3 from three-point territory.

Lee Roberts tasted his first win this season with East Perth and delivered 16 points, five rebounds and four steals with Fabian Johnson contributing 13 points and six boards, and Sergio Soarez 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Reece Maxwell ended up with 12 points for Kalamunda with Spencer Alone adding 12 points with 4/7 shooting from downtown. Rob Huntington added 10 points and four rebounds, and Albert Almanza nine points.

 

MANDURAH MAGIC 88 defeated WILLETTON TIGERS 67

The fight over a playoff spot took on greater significance at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Saturday night, and it was the Mandurah Magic who proved too strong for the shorthanded Willetton Tigers.

Mandurah came into the game still clinging to eighth position despite losing their last two matches while Willetton was sitting ninth two wins behind but with a game in hand so that raised the stakes for their First Nations Round match up.

However, the Tigers' job was made tougher in the continued absence of starting point guard Connor Mincherton and with Perth Wildcats development player Oliver Hayes-Brown not playing on the back of his 24-point, 24-rebound game last weekend.

The last thing Willetton could then afford was any of their key remaining players to get hurt or in foul trouble, but by early in the second quarter their star centre and 255-game veteran Michael Vigor collected a fourth foul.

He would only end up playing eight minutes for the game as a result and Mandurah was able to take full advantage firstly leading 28-11 by quarter-time, and still being on top 50-35 by half-time on the back of a tip-in on the buzzer on the offensive rebound from Cousteau Kyle.

The Magic would lead by as much as 21 points throughout the second half and cruised to the crucial 88-67 victory.

The result improves the Magic to a 9-7 record on the season to consolidate their spot in the top eight while the Tigers fell further out of the playoff hunt at 6-9 ahead of a Sunday match up with the Perth Redbacks.

Ray Turner won a league MVP award with Willetton and he sent a reminder of what he's still capable of putting up 30 points and seven rebounds in the win for the Magic.

Dequan Abrom added 21 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists for Mandurah, Riley Parker 13 points, eight boards, five assists and two steals, Kyle Armour 11 points and four assists, and Christian Jurlina eight points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Damien Scott put up 24 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists for Willetton in his 299th game in the league as he prepared to celebrate game 300 on Sunday against the Redbacks.

Lachie Evans added 12 points on 4/9 shooting from downtown for Willetton with Tom Gerovich contributing 10 points and five boards, Dylan Hampson six points and three rebounds, and Travis Fee six points and three boards.

 

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 105 defeated SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 104

The Goldfields Giants and South West Slammers played their first of two games this weekend in Esperance, and they put on quite the spectacle on Saturday night.

The two teams are playing one another twice in Round 13 of the NBL1 West season at Esperance Indoor Sports Stadium, and while it appeared a mismatch on paper, that's certainly not how it turned out.

The Giants are on track for a playoff appearance in 2022 having so far won nine of 14 games coming into this weekend while the Slammers are in last place with one win.

However, with the arrival of new import Raphell Thomas-Edwards to partner Buay Tuach as the spearheads, it's a significantly more capable Slammers team coming into the back end of the season.

The two teams set the tone for what was to come by combining for 61 points in the opening quarter with the Giants leading 32-29 by the end of one.

They then combined for 63 points in the second term with Goldfields outscoring South West 35 points to 28 to go into half-time on top 67-57.

The Slammers hit back in the third quarter with 27 points to 19 and then they hit the front in the fourth term. When Tuach found Caleb Van De Griend inside for the finish with just over two minutes to go, the Slammers snatched the 101-100 lead.

However, a strong offensive rebound and finish for the Giants from Lafonzo Smith saw them back on top by a point before the rollercoaster ride continued with Tuach draining a three to put South West up 104-102.

In the end, the game was sealed when the Giants forced the turnover on Thomas-Edwards and Ghee finished in transition up the other end to see them up one. The Slammers didn’t get a chance at the game winner with Cory Richardson called for the offensive foul and Goldfields won 105-104.

Lafonzo Smith produced his best performance of the season for the Giants in the win with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists on a perfect 11/11 shooting from the field.

Damon Ballantyne added 17 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, Jesse Ghee 16 points and seven assists, Hamish Cummings 14 points on 4/6 shooting from downtown, Jerome Reid 11 points and three assists in his hometown, and Hussayn Ford 10 points.

Buay Tuach delivered 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Slammers with Raphell Thomas-Edwards contributing 21 points, 12 boards and four assists.

Caleb Van De Griend also had 19 points and nine rebounds, Brody England 13 points, and Cory Richardson 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

 

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 88 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 80

The Warwick Senators blew the Rockingham Flames off the floor largely thanks to Cody Ellis in the first half on Saturday night, but last year's Grand Finalists dug deep and dominated after half-time for the eight-point win.

Rockingham came into the game fresh off losing in the most heartbreaking fashion on Friday night with a half-court prayer on the buzzer from Jonathan Wade against the Joondalup Wolves after they appeared to have the win in the bag.

So the Flames were motivated at home at Mike Barnett Sports Complex to bounce back from that, but the Senators arrived in Rockingham fresh and sitting in second position and looking to maintain their hold on that spot.

It was Cody Ellis who lit up the floor in the second half as he enjoyed having Tom Jervis guarding him for a lot of the first half. The 189-game captain and former Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks NBL forward put on a clinic knocking down four three-pointers on his way to 22 points.

On the back of that, the Senators led by as much as 21 points during the second period and still went into half-time leading 51-44.

However, Rockingham took control in the third quarter and held the Senators to just the seven points to grab the lead, and then go on with the job with 25 points to 22 in the fourth term to open up a 14-point advantage on the way to the 88-80 victory.

The win sees the Flames finish Round 13 with a 12-4 record while the Senators are 11-4 with the battle for top four and top two positions heating up.

Tom Jervis had a tremendous night in the end for Rockingham with 17 points and 16 rebounds while Marshall Nelson had another 16 points and eight assists along with seven rebounds.

Jake Amos also had 15 points and five rebounds for Rockingham, Devondrick Walker 14 points and five boards, and Brendan Redhead 10 points.

Cody Ellis finished with 24 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals for Warwick while Kyle Zunic added 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Caleb Davis also had 16 points and eight boards for the Senators, George Pearl seven points and four rebounds, and Ash Litterick six points and three boards.