NBL1 West Recap | Men's Saturday Round 16

The six Saturday night winners in the NBL1 West on Saturday night are all either inside the top eight or trying to break in with Gavin Field hitting 10 three-pointers for 39 points among the superstars to deliver match-winning performances.

The Round 16 NBL1 West Men's winners on Saturday night were the Geraldton Buccaneers, Rockingham Flames, Cockburn Cougars, Mandurah Magic, Warwick Senators and Perry Lakes Hawks.

Round 16 in the NBL1 West began with two matches on Friday night with the Perth Redbacks moving a game clear in eighth position of the Perry Lakes Hawks with the thrilling 76-73 victory.

The Cockburn Cougars also caught fire from beyond the arc to hit 21 three-pointers in a 108-89 victory on the road to the Warwick Senators.

The Geraldton Buccaneers returned home and bounced back from their third loss of the season to maintain top spot beating the third placed Joondalup Wolves 83-59.

Mathiang Muo delivered 23 points and eight rebounds with six three-pointers for the Buccs with Malik Meunier adding 18 points and Mat Wundenberg 13 rebounds.

Joel Vaiangina top-scored for Joondalup with 16 points.

Despite the absence of Greg Hire and Marshall Nelson, the Rockingham Flames made it five consecutive wins to maintain second position beating the Willetton Tigers 88-76.

Devondrick Walker strengthened his MVP claims by delivering another 28 points for Rockingham with Travis Durnin adding 19 points and Tom Jervis just missing a triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Michael Vigor delivered 19 points and 11 rebounds for Willetton, and Travis Fee 19 points and seven assists.

Defence wasn’t at a premium at Wally Hagan Stadium and that suited the Cockburn Cougars perfectly as they racked up the 124-105 win over the South West Slammers.

Cockburn hit 17/34 from three-point land with Gavin Field exploding for 39 points with 10 triples. Josh Hunt added 28 points to continue his career-best form.

Buay Tuach had some spectacular moments for the Slammers on his way to 34 points with Caleb Van De Griend adding 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Two teams fighting for a top four position locked horns at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and it was the Goldfields Giants prevailing 93-88 against the Mandurah Magic.

It was a sixth straight win for the Giants as they consolidated fourth spot with Gairges Daow finishing with 27 points and Hamish Cummings 25 with the pair combining for seven three-pointers.

Dequan Abrom did what he could to lift the Magic with five triples for 30 points with Jay Bowie adding 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Warwick Senators were still minus Cody Ellis and Corban Wroe, but got Bryan Michaels back, and with Perth Wildcats pair Kyle Zunic and Majok Majok leading the charge, they stopped their slide beating the Lakeside Lightning 91-84.

Zunic delivered his season-best performance with 29 points with Majok adding 15 points and eight rebounds with the returning Michaels scoring 16 points.

Landon Taliaferro and Dom Jackson combined for 39 points for Lakeside.

The Perry Lakes Hawks then bounced back from a tough loss the night before to the Perth Redbacks to keep their finals hopes alive beating the East Perth Eagles 76-48.

Andrew Ferguson put up 19 points and nine rebounds for Perry Lakes while Ryan Smith hit four triples for 15 points, and Jack Isenbarger three of them for 16 points.

Justin King was East Perth's only double-figure points scorer with 12 to go with six rebounds and four assists.

There is one more game to come in Round 16 of the NBL1 West on Sunday and that sees the Kalamunda Eastern Suns play host to the Goldfields Giants at Ray Owen Sports Centre from 1pm.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 16 – SATURDAY NIGHT

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 83 defeated JOONDALUP WOLVES 59

It was a rematch of the 2019 Grand Final on Saturday night and the Geraldton Buccaneers repeated that result with the 24-point win over the Joondalup Wolves.

The league-leading Buccs were back home at Active West Stadium to host the Wolfpack on Saturday night with the two teams having met just two weeks ago in Joondalup and Geraldton won that game on the road 91-78.

They were back home on Saturday night and started on fire putting up 30 points to 19 in the first quarter having led the Wolves by as much as 12 points.

Geraldton stretched that lead out to 16 points during the second term before going into the half-time break leading 45-34.

The Buccs continued the charge with another 20 points to 10 in the third quarter, and then 18 to 15 in the fourth to see them end up winning 83-59 in emphatic fashion against a Wolfpack team in third spot on the table.

The win sees Geraldton bounce back from their first home loss of the season last week at the hands of the Perry Lakes Hawks to maintain their hold on top spot at 17-3. The Wolfpack are now 14-5 after the defeat.

It was an incredible dominance on the glass from the Buccaneers as they pulled in 57 rebounds to Joondalup's 32 including 22 at the offensive end to 10. That helped them take 10 more field goals for the game while shooting 44.0 per cent opposed to 29.2.

Mathiang Muo delivered 23 points and eight rebounds for Geraldton while hitting 6/9 from three-point range with Malik Meunier adding 18 points, three rebounds and three steals, Shaun Stewart 13 points, five boards and three assists, and Cameron Coleman 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Joel Vaiangina top-scored for the Wolfpack with 16 points to go with four rebounds with Julian Pesava adding 11 points, five boards and three steals, Jordan Wellsteed 10 points and three boards, Tom Parkinson six points, Jonathan Wade six points, five assists and four rebounds, and CJ Turnage six points and eight boards.

 

COCKBURN COUGARS 124 defeated SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 105

The Cockburn Cougars made it a tremendous weekend backing up their Friday night win with a brilliant offensive onslaught on Saturday to beat the South West Slammers by 19 points.

The Cougars opened Round 16 in the NBL1 West with an impressive 108-89 victory on the road to the Warwick Senators on Friday night which kept their top four prospects alive.

They did need to keep winning, though, coming into Saturday night's contest at Wally Hagan Stadium against the bottom placed Slammers who were on a high on the back of their second win of the season last week.

It was quite the spectacle all evening between two high-octane and entertaining teams. They combined for 57 points in the first quarter with the Slammers leading 29-28 at quarter-time.

The high-scoring continued in the second quarter but Cockburn really caught fire and exploded for 40 points while nailing 78 per cent from three-point land with Gavin Field unstoppable as they opened up a 68-57 half-time advantage.

The trend continued throughout the second half with another 36 points to 23 in the third quarter from the Cougars, and then despite the Slammers winning the last term 25 points to 20, Cockburn still won big 124-105.

The two teams combined for 229 points on the night with the Cougars shooting at a remarkable 57.0 per cent from the floor while hitting 17/34 from three-point land. The Slammers also went at 42.7 per cent overall and hit 10/27 from beyond the arc.

The win improves the Cougars to a 13-7 record on the season to be knocking on the door of a top four spot with two rounds remaining.

Gavin Field had another remarkable performance for Cockburn to add to the legacy of his 291-game career by hitting 10/12 from three-point land for 39 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Josh Hunt is in the best patch of form in his 64-game career as well with 28 points and five rebounds while Carter Skaggs contributed 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, Paschal Chukwu 12 points, nine boards and nine blocks, Seva Chan 12 points and 15 assists, and Luke Phillips 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Slammers are now 2-18 after the loss but you can see something building for the future under coach Shane Goff.

Buay Tuach had another spectacular night for the Slammers including a couple of highlight reel throwdowns on his way to 34 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals.

Caleb Van De Griend is in the best patch of form of his young career too and had 25 points and 13 boards with Tanner Vogel contributing 10 points and Brody England nine. 

 

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 84 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 91

The Lakeside Lightning had the chance to upset the Warwick Senators for a second time in three weeks on Saturday night, and for a lot of the evening they appeared on track to do exactly that.

For most of the 2022 NBL1 West Men's season the Senators have looked likely to be a top four finishing team, and a genuine championship threat, but their inability to ever get their full squad together has caught up with them.

It has been a rocky road all season long for the Senators personnel wise with new coach Luke Brennan in and out of being available while Bryan Michaels and Corban Wroe have missed more than they have played, and Kyle Zunic and Majok Majok haven't played as much as they hoped.

Then just as Zunic and Majok became available again, the Senators have been without captain Cody Ellis the past two weeks and they just haven’t been able to get any continuity in their player availability, and it all came to a fore on Friday night.

The Senators were blown away at Warwick Stadium by the Cockburn Cougars by 19 points to mean they have lost three straight to all but fall from top four calculations, but they couldn’t afford to drop a game to the Lightning again.

Lakeside might be out of playoff contention but did win at Warwick Stadium just two weeks ago so the Senators were fully aware what they are capable of.

The Senators did blow the game wide open in the second quarter by scoring 16 consecutive points to end up leading by 15, but the Lightning wouldn’t go away and by half-time Warwick's lead was only 44-42.

It was Lakeside's turn to take charge in the third quarter and on the back of scoring 14 straight points either side of three quarter-time, the home team went up by 10 and had all the momentum.

The pressure was right back on the Senators to avoid a fourth straight loss and their big guns did step up with Perth Wildcats pair Kyle Zunic and Majok Majok leading the way.

Warwick took back over to score 18 straight points to turn an eight-point deficit into a 10-point lead to end up winning 91-84.

The victory improves the Senators to a 13-7 record on the season to remain some hope of a top four finish still while the Lightning slip to 4-15 in what has been a horror season.

The Senators getting to the foul line 29 times to Lakeside's 15 proved pivotal in the final result while they shot 42.0 per cent from the field compared with 36.6.

Perth Wildcats point guard Kyle Zunic finished with his season-best of 29 points for Warwick to go with four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots while hitting 13/15 from the foul line.

Bryan Michaels played his first game since May 14 for Warwick and played 25 minutes for 16 points with Majok Majok adding 15 points and eight rebounds, Caleb Davis 13 points, six boards and five assists, and Tyler Shand nine points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.

Landon Taliaferro top-scored for Lakeside with 21 points with Dom Jackson adding 18 points, Ben Lee nine, Justin Bennett eight, Nick Palleschi seven and Ben Fairclough seven.

 

MANDURAH MAGIC 88 lost to GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 93

The Goldfields Giants took another significant step towards locking in a top four spot by beating the Mandurah Magic on Saturday night.

The Magic hosted the Giants at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Saturday night in the NBL1 West with Goldfields looking to consolidate fourth spot with Mandurah needing to string wins together ahead of the playoffs.

The Magic ended up opening up a seven-point lead during the first quarter and were up still 21-16 by quarter-time before the home team took over further in the second term.

Mandurah put together 31 points to 21 to go into half-time leading 52-37 to be in control.

Goldfields came out of half-time a different looking outfit with the Giants producing 32 points to 16 in the third quarter to turn that 15-point deficit into a one-point lead.

Goldfields then turned that into the eventual 93-88 victory that could be season-defining for both teams.

The win improves the Giants to a 14-5 record to remain in fourth spot while the Magic stay seventh at 11-9.

Gairges Daow ended up with 27 points for Goldfields on the back of shooting 10/20 from the floor, 3/4 from deep and 4/4 from the stripe.

Hamish Cummings added 25 points for the Giants, Lafonzo Smith 11 points and eight rebounds, Hussayn Ford 10 points and 11 boards, Damon Ballantyne 10 points and six assists, and Mayo Malek eight points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Dequan Abrom did what he could once again to try and lift the Magic with 30 points and four rebounds on 5/14 shooting from three-point land.

Former Giant Jay Bowie finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Mandurah with Christian Jurlina contributing 12 points, six boards and three assists, Ray Turner seven points and 12 rebounds, and Kyle Armour five points and five boards.

 

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 76 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 48

The Perry Lakes Hawks kept their playoff hopes alive in their championship defence with a 28-point win at home over the East Perth Eagles on Saturday night.

It was a tough loss for the Hawks on Friday night against the Perth Redbacks as they continue to jostle over eighth spot, but they needed to bounce back on Saturday at Bendat Basketball Centre against East Perth, and they did exactly that.

Perry Lakes clung to a narrow one-point lead by the end of the first quarter before the Hawks pulled away during the second term with 20 points to 12 to head into the main break leading 38-29.

It was then a dominant second half from the reigning champions with the Hawks outscoring the Eagles 23 points to 13 in the third quarter, and 15 to six in the fourth to see them end up winning 76-48.

The victory improves Perry Lakes to a 10-10 record on the season to be still in ninth spot behind the 10-9 Redbacks. The Hawks finish their season over the last two weeks against the Lakeside Lightning and Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Eagles slip to 4-15 following the defeat and they finish the season from here against the South West Slammers, Joondalup Wolves and Geraldton Buccaneers.

Not only did Perry Lakes deliver quite the impressive lockdown defensive performance to hold East Perth to 48 points on 19/66 shooting from the field, they hit 14/37 themselves from three-point range at 37.8 per cent.

Andrew Ferguson finished up with 19 points and nine rebounds for Perry Lakes on the back of going 3/6 from downtown.

Another former Lakeside star Jack Isenbarger put up 16 points with 3/5 shooting from long-range with Ryan Smith adding 15 points with 4/7 shooting from deep, and Lewis Thomas seven points and three steals.

Justin King top-scored for East Perth with 12 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Lee Roberts added nine points and seven rebounds, Jarrad Anastasio eight points and six boards, and Sergio Soarez six points and 13 rebounds.

 

WILLETTON TIGERS 76 lost to ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 88

Despite the absence of two superstars, the Rockingham Flames kept their winning form going on Saturday night against the Willetton Tigers to maintain their hold on second position.

Rockingham arrived at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday night missing Marshall Nelson and Greg Hire but they still had too much firepower for the struggling Tigers to maintain second spot.

Both teams went on their own 10-0 scoring runs in the first quarter but by quarter-time Rockingham was leading 25-20.

Willetton turned things back around in the second quarter outscoring Rockingham 24 points to 20 and the Flames only clung to the narrow 45-44 advantage.

However, the Flames worked their way on top throughout the second half to open up a 16-point lead during the final term on the way to the 88-76 victory.

It's a fifth consecutive win for the Flames to improve them to a 16-4 record on the season in second spot while the Tigers have now lost five straight to be out of the finals race at 6-14.

Devondrick Walker further emphasised his claims on the MVP award this season finishing with 28 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals for Rockingham.

Travis Durnin added 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, Ryan Godfrey 18 points and four boards, and 198-game veteran and 218-game NBL big man Tom Jervis just missing a triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Michael Vigor finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Willetton with Travis Fee contributing 19 points, seven assists and four boards, Tom Gerovich 16 points and four rebounds, and Hunter Clarke 11 points, six boards and four assists.