NBL1 West Recap | Men's Saturday Round 8

Marshall Nelson sent a reminder of his NBL quality while new Lakeside Lightning import Donnie Vaughn helped deliver a win, Carter Skaggs shot the lights out for the Cockburn Cougars and Julian Pesava stood tall for Joondalup Wolves in Saturday night's NBL1 West action.

There were six matches in Saturday night's Round 8 NBL1 West Men's action with victories for the Geraldton Buccaneers, Warwick Senators, Cockburn Cougars, Rockingham Flames, Joondalup Wolves and Lakeside Lightning.

The Geraldton Buccaneers continued their undefeated start to the 2022 season beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 88-59 on Saturday night at home.

Malik Meunier was excited for the Buccs with 31 points while Albert Amanza battled hard for the Suns with 19 points.

Julian Pesava produced his best performance in Joondalup Wolves' colours in Saturday night's 92-84 win over the Mandurah Magic. He finished with 34 points and nine rebounds. Dequan Abrom scored 22 points for the Magic and Ray Turner 20.

The Warwick Senators continued their good form with a strong 105-70 road win against the South West Slammers with captain Cody Ellis delivering 22 points. Buay Tach had excitement moments for the Slammers in his 21 points and seven rebounds. 

The Cockburn Cougars snapped their four-match losing streak with an impressive 125-81 win over the Perth Redbacks at Wally Hagan Stadium.

Import shooter Carter Skaggs hit nine three-pointers on his way to 35 points in the win for Cockburn with Jerami Grace scoring another 16 points for the Redbacks on 4/6 shooting from deep after his 10 threes on Friday.

The Lakeside Lightning played out a thriller against the Goldfields Giants but prevailed with a strong finish at home with new import guard Donnie Vaughn stepping up in the eventual 78-73 victory.

Sebit Reath put up 18 points and 14 rebounds for Lakeside with Mayo Malek finishing with 19 points for the Giants.

Despite the absence of Greg Hire, the Rockingham Flames proved too strong at home for the Willetton Tigers, winning 81-65. 

Marshall Nelson was brilliant with 39 points on 14/22 shooting to continue to put his hand up for an NBL contract. Perth Wildcats development player Oliver Hayes-Brown top-scored for Willetton with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Round 8 in the NBL1 Men's competition will now wrap up on Sunday afternoon from 1pm with the Perry Lakes Hawks playing the Goldfields Giants at Bendat Basketball Centre.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 8 – SATURDAY NIGHT

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 88 defeated KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 59

The Geraldton Buccaneers continued their undefeated start to the 2022 season with a 29-point win at home to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Saturday night.

The Buccs have done it tough the past two years through the COVID pandemic, but the last normal season they took part in was back in 2019 when they won the championship, and they continue to show they are going to be mighty tough to stop again in 2022.

Geraldton were back at Active West Stadium on Saturday night to host the Eastern Suns, and the Buccs leading by as much as nine points in the first term before leading 21-14 at quarter-time.

The Buccaneers went on another 9-0 run during the second term to open up a 21-point advantage and to still be in control leading 43-22 at the half-time break.

To the credit of the Eastern Suns they were able to show some impressive fight in the third quarter and at one point knocking down 11 straight points, and they ended up outscoring the Buccs 24 points to 19 in the quarter.

However, Geraldton got rolling again in the fourth term to put up another 26 points to 13 on the way to winning 88-59 to improve to a perfect 9-0 record while the Eastern Suns are now 1-9.

Malik Meunier was outstanding for the Buccaneers finishing with 31 points, five rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 11/18 from the field and 7/7 at the free-throw line.

Cameron Coleman added 19 points, nine rebounds and three steals with Johny Narkle contributing 13 points and five boards, Ryan Blanchett nine points and eight rebounds, and Mathiang Muo seven points, three boards and two assists.

Albert Almanza top-scored for Kalamunda with 19 points and four rebounds while knocking down 5/6 from three-point range.

Rob Huntington added 13 points, three rebounds and three steals, Brendan Dinardo 11 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists up against the team he won a championship with back in 2019.

 

JOONDALUP WOLVES 92 defeated MANDURAH MAGIC 84

The Joondalup Wolves bounced back impressively with Julian Pesava leading the charge in an eight-point win at home against the Mandurah Magic.

Both the Wolves and Magic came into the Saturday night clash at HBF Arena coming off defeats and it was Mandurah away from home who got off to the better start to lead 25-19 by quarter-time.

The Magic opened up a lead by as much as 14 points during the first half and then were still on top 52-43 at the half-time break.

However, with Julian Pesava leading the charge, the Wolfpack hit back strongly in the third quarter going on an 11-0 run and putting up 27 points while holding the Magic to 11 to turn that nine-point deficit into a seven-point advantage at three quarter-time.

The Wolfpack then closed the deal to win 92-84 and improve to a 6-2 record on the season while the Magic have lost consecutive matches to slip to 5-4 by the end of Round 8.

Julian Pesava produced his best performance since joining the Wolves this season after previous stints at the Cockburn Cougars and Goldfields Giants. He produced 34 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals including 4/9 from behind the arc and 10/13 at the charity stripe.

Jonathan Wade added 19 points, five rebounds and three assists for Joondalup, CJ Turnage 13 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, and Joel Vaiangina 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

Dequan Abrom finished with 22 points, four assists and four steals while former MVP Ray Turner had 20 points and 13 rebounds with Jay Bowie contributing 17 points, nine boards, three assists and three steals, Byron Pearson 10 points, and Kyle Armour nine points and five assists.

 

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 70 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 105

The Warwick Senators continued their impressive form to deliver an emphatic 35-point win on the road to the South West Slammers on Saturday night.

The Slammers were coming into the game at Eaton Recreation Centre on the back of their first win of the season against the East Perth Eagles, but the Senators arrived on a roll themselves and ready to keep their impressive form going.

It didn’t take long for the visiting Senators to stamp their authority on the contest going on an 8-0 run during the first quarter to end up leading by 17 points at quarter-time.

To the Slammers' credit they fought hard in the second quarter and Warwick's lead was actually cut back at half-time to 52-37.

However, the Senators picked things back up in the third quarter with another 35 points to 17 including hitting 13 consecutive points to lead by as much as 33 points.

The lead for Warwick grew to as much as 38 during the fourth period and they ended up cruising to the 105-70 victory to improve to 7-2 on the season while the Slammers are 1-8 as a result of the defeat.

Senators captain Cody Ellis again led the charge for his team in the big win with 22 points and six rebounds while Caleb Davis added 19 points and 11 boards.

Kade Cockram had the best performance of his young career with 14 points and three rebounds including hitting 4/5 from three-point territory.

Kyle Zunic also had 10 points and five rebounds, Corban Wroe nine points and six assists, and George Pearl seven points, five boards, three steals and two assists.

Buay Tuach had some spectacular moments above the rim at both ends for the Slammers with 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Brody England added 12 points and eight rebounds, Cooper Metcalfe 11 points, and Cody Hill nine points and three boards.

 

COCKBURN COUGARS 125 defeated PERTH REDBACKS 81

The Cockburn Cougars returned to the winner's circle in spectacular fashion beating the Perth Redbacks by 44 points at home on Saturday night.

The Cougars won their first four matches of the 2022 season before losing four in-a-row coming into Saturday's clash at Wally Hagan Stadium and they produced quite the dominant display against a Redbacks team who had won big at home to East Perth 24 hours earlier.

Cockburn opened up on fire with 37 points to 21 in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the evening.

The Cougars led by as much as 21 points in the second period on the way to being up 62-46 at the half.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Cougars ran all over the Redbacks. Cockburn put up 30 points to 19 in the third term, and then 33 points to 16 in the fourth to lead by as much as 44 which was the final margin in the eventual 125-81 victory.

The result improves the Cougars to a 5-4 record on the season following eight rounds while the Redbacks are now 5-5 after the massive contrast of beating East Perth by 28 points on Friday and losing to Cockburn by 44 on Saturday.

It was a stunning dominant night from Cockburn as they shot 57.5 per cent from the field and hit 17/34 at 50 per cent from beyond the arc to go with collecting 55 rebounds to 30 from the Redbacks who shot just 38.8 per cent and made just 5/20 of threes.

Carter Skaggs had the best night of his short NBL1 West career for the Cougars nailing 9/13 from the land of plenty on his way to 35 points and eight rebounds.

Nathan Pond added 18 points and seven rebounds in just 17 minutes for Cockburn, Gavin Field 16 points on 4/7 from deep, Paschal Chukwu 11 points and 10 boards, Josh Hunt 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Seva Chan nine points and 10 assists.

Jerami Grace hit 10 triples the night before for the Redbacks against the Eagles and made 4/6 from downtown again on Saturday for 16 points. However, the rest of his team made 1/14 from beyond the arc.

Joel Wagner added 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Ben Smith nine points and two boards, Louis Timms eight points, five rebounds and two blocks, and Tevin Jackson eight points.

 

LAKESIDE LIGHTING 78 defeated GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 73 

It was a tight affair at Lakeside Recreation Centre but the Lakeside Lightning were able to notch their second win of the NBL1 West Men's season at the expense of the Goldfields Giants.

It's been a tough start to the season for the Lightning under the experienced coaching of Dave Lindstrom just through a lack of personnel available, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday and the signs were encouraging as a result.

New import guard Donnie Vaughn was on debut for Lakeside with Debit Reath, Landon Taliaferro and Dom Jackson all back in the line-up as well from the team that lost to Willetton last week.

Goldfields was on their first half of a road double this weekend and were able to lead by as much as five points in the first quarter and were up 17-16 by quarter-time.

Lakeside, though, took over in the second quarter going on a 9-0 on the way putting up 24 points to 12 to be in control at the main break leading 40-29.

Goldfields hit back in the third quarter to make a game of it again and with three minutes remaining, Damon Ballantyne got to the hole to score and tie scores up for the Giants.

Donnie Vaughn responded in kind for Lakeside but then a huge three-point Goldfields three-point play from Jesse Ghee with just offer a minute to go saw scores level once more.

However, the difference was Vaughn for Lakeside in his first appearance. He knocked down the two biggest shots of the game to secure Lakeside the 78-73 victory on their home floor.

Sebit Reath was tremendous for the Lightning with 18 points and 14 rebounds with Landon Taliaferro delivering 16 points and four boards despite a rough 4/18 shooting night.

Donnie Vaughn finished with 10 points and three rebounds with Nick Palleschi contributing nine points and six assists, Majier Garang eight points, six boards and three blocked shots, and Dom Jackson eight points and four rebounds.

Mayo Malek delivered 19 points and five rebounds for Goldfields with Jesse Ghee contributing 15 points, six boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks, and Damon Ballantyne 13 points and five assists.

Gairges Daow also had 10 points and four rebounds, and Hussayn Ford 10 points and six boards.

 

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 81 defeated WILLETTON TIGERS 65

The Rockingham Flames proved too strong at home beating the Willetton Tigers by 16 points at home on Saturday night.

Despite the absence of Greg Hire who was playing at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Manila Masters in the Philippines, Rockingham shook off a slow start from both teams to deliver an impressive performance against Willetton at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The two teams only combined for the 19 points in a struggle of an opening quarter with the Flames leading 13-6 at quarter-time. Things picked up slightly in the second period with the Flames remaining on top to go into half-time leading 30-21.

Rockingham then blew the game wide open in impressive fashion in the third quarter with the presence down low of Tom Jervis and then the dynamism of Marshall Nelson proving tough for the Tigers to counter.

Rockingham put up 29 points to 15 in the third period including scoring 13 consecutive points at one point to lead by 23 points at three quarter-time.

That advantage grew to 24 early in the fourth before Rockingham cruised to the 81-65 win to improve to 7-2 on the season following the opening eight rounds while Willetton are now 4-5 with the defeat.

Marshall Nelson was brilliant for the Flames on the night as he continues to try to earn a full-time contract for #NBL23. He delivered 39 points, five rebounds and three assists on 14/22 shooting from the field, 4/9 from downtown and 7/9 at the foul line.

Devondrick Walker added another 21 points and eight rebounds for Rockingham with 3/6 from deep with Tom Jervis contributing nine points, 17 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.

It was a tough night for Willetton but fresh off re-signing at the Perth Wildcats, Oliver Hayes-Brown put up 19 points and 13 rebounds while fellow big man Michel Vigor had eight points and four boards in his 250th appearance in the league.

Damien Scott added 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, Travis Fee 10 points and three boards.