Recap NBL1 West | First Nations Round Saturday

Featured image: Tyson lumbaca | @Ty.visuales

Ashlyn Lee hit the shot of her life for the Perth Redbacks game winner in Saturday NBL1 West while the Rockingham Flames knocked off the Geraldton Buccaneers with Emma Clarke and Jacob Wiley leading Joondalup Wolves to wins over Willetton Tigers.

REDBACKS STAR CHOU WANTS TO KEEP CALLING PERTH HOME

MURRAY USES 15 MONTHS OF PAIN AS DRIVING FORCE

RECAP NBL1 WEST | FIRST NATIONS ROUND FRIDAY

WOMEN

Perry Lakes Hawks (103) defeated East Perth Eagles (41)

The Perry Lakes Hawks did an impressive demolition job on the East Perth Eagles with the 103-41 victory to consolidate their own fourth position and knock their opponents from the playoff race.

Perry Lakes came into the clash back home at Bendat Basketball Centre looking to maintain their hold on a top four spot while for the Eagles to be any hope of staying in the playoff hunt, they needed to snap a two-game losing slide.

However, right from the outset and it was a dominant performance from Perry Lakes and they blew the Eagles away in the first quarter.

As good as the Hawks were to put up 36 points in the first period by knocking down almost 70 per cent from the field, the Eagles struggled an equal amount with just the eight on 12 per cent two-point shooting.

Things never really improved as the night went on for East Perth and Perry Lakes can take a lot of credit for that with another 19 points to 14 in the second frame to be leading 55-22 at half-time.

It was another 22 points to 10 in the third quarter and 26 to nine in the fourth with Perry Lakes rolling to the eventual 62-point victory to see the Hawks improve to a 13-5 record as a result.

The Hawks ended up shooting 52.2 per cent from the field for the game while putting up the 103 points and hitting 17/31 from three-point range along with collecting 46 rebounds to 24.

East Perth slips to 5-12 with the third straight loss and not only did they end up shooting 26.5 per cent from the field they coughed up 30 turnovers and had an all-round night to forget.

Tessa Morrison top-scored for the Eagles with 10 points to go with three rebounds and two steals with Taylor Roberts adding eight points and two steals on 2/2 shooting from downtown, and Laci Hawthorne seven points and three rebounds.

Grace Stone finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals for Perry Lakes with 4/8 three-point shooting while Millie McCarthy added 16 points and five assists on 4/6 shooting from downtown too.

Ash Isenbarger added 14 points and six rebounds, Mia Satie nine points, seven boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and Maddy Dennis six points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals.

The Hawks now are away to the Perth Redbacks next Saturday with the Eagles at home to the Willetton Tigers this coming Friday night.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 103 (Stone 25, McCarthy 16, Isenbarger 14)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 41 (Morrison 10, Roberts 8, Hawthorne 7)

Perth Redbacks (91) defeated Lakeside Lightning (88)

They were without Anneli Maley and Shenae Hartree, lost Natalie Chou and Raya Thompson along the way and then Ashlyn Lee had the moment of her career hitting the game winning three for the Perth Redbacks over the Lakeside Lightning.

The Redbacks were back home at Belmont Oasis to host the Lightning while missing Anneli Maley and her 23.1 points, 16.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists a game while young gun Shenae Hartree remains out injured taking her 10.8 points and 7.6 boards with her.

Then to top it off, superstar guard Natalie Chou injured an ankle in the third quarter, Raya Thompson went off hurt in the second and neither were able to return.

That all meant the Redbacks were up against it against the Lightning who were looking to hit back from their Friday night loss to the Cockburn Cougars in a battle of two teams locked into playoff spots.

The Redbacks would threaten to open up a match-winning lead throughout the night, but every time they did the Lightning would respond and it was always going to be a game going down to the wire.

After leading by seven points in the first quarter, Lakeside was back within one by quarter-time and then it was the Redbacks going into half-time on top 55-49.

Perth went out to a game high 12-point lead in the third quarter but once more Lakeside responded and it was a game that went down to the wire.

The Redbacks did have a chance to build on a one-point lead when Ashlyn Lee went to the foul line with 30 seconds to go, but she missed both and that left the door open for Lakeside.

The Lightning couldn’t quite capitalise with Marnelle Garraud wide on her three-point attempt before Brooke Malone was fouled after grabbing the rebound for the Redbacks.

She made one to make it a two-point lead but Lakeside had another chance, got the ball inside to Teige Morrell and she was fouled and made both at the line.

There was five seconds left and Mikayla Pirini inbounded the ball for the Redbacks, then got it back and dished out the pass to a wide open Ashlyn Lee waiting in the corner.

She had made just five three-pointers all season, but in the 94th game of her career, she never hesitated and it was nothing but net as she hit the game winner in stunning fashion for her only score of the game with the Redbacks winning 91-88.

The Redbacks improve to 11-8 as a result of the win against the odds with Brooke Malone finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds while Mikayla Pirini added 21 points and three assists with 4/4 three-point shooting.

Before getting hurt, Natalie Chou had 16 points, three rebounds and two assists with Georgia Denehey adding 15 points, nine boards and three assists, and Kelsey Curtin nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

It's a tough weekend for Lakeside with the two losses as they slip to 9-8 with Marnelle Garraud delivering 29 points, five assists and four steals, and Teige Morrell 26 points, 15 boards and four assists.

Caitie Jones also had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists with Jade Gowland ending up with six points, nine boards, two assists and two steals.

The Redbacks have just one game to go of the regular season next Saturday at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks with the Lightning away to the South West Slammers on Friday night.

PERTH REDBACKS 91 (Malone 26, Pirini 21, Chou 16)

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 88 (Garraud 29, Morrell 26, Jones 17)

South West Slammers (51) lost to Mandurah Magic (101)

The Mandurah Magic maintained their hold on a playoff position with a third straight victory winning on the road 101-51 over the South West Slammers.

The Magic arrived at Eaton Recreation Centre to take on the winless Slammers building some impressive momentum with Sam Roscoe, Donica Cosby and Christina Boag settling into the side, and with Casey Mihovilovich and Emma Klasztorny continuing to lead the way.

Mandurah managed to be leading 29-21 by the end of the first quarter before then putting up another 25 points to 13 in the second frame to go into half-time on top 54-34.

It was an even more emphatic third quarter and the Slammers managed only two points for the entire 10 minutes with those two points only coming at the foul line as they missed all their field goal attempts.

The Magic scored another 28 points up the other end and the lead did grow to as much as 50 points by the end of the game as they improved to an 8-11 record to be solid in eighth position.

Donica Cosby top-scored in the win for Mandurah with 22 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals with Emma Klasztorny producing 20 points, two boards, two assists and two steals.

The games record holder Casey Mihovilovich continues to play at a high level 572 games into her career with another 17 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals while Sam Roscoe added 15 points and three blocks, and Christina Boag seven points, six boards and two steals.

It's another loss for the Slammers who have lost all 18 games of 2024 while now having racked up 50 defeats in-a-row dating back to a lone win in 2022 that ended another 41-match losing run.

Zaya Black continued her strong season despite the results for South West with another 15 points while Courtney Bayliss put up seven points, two rebounds and two steals, Charlotte Mills seven points, and Nyidier Riak six points, seven boards and four assists.

The Slammers remain at home to the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night with the Magic having the bye and then finishing off at home to Willetton.

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 51 (Black 15, Bayliss 7, Mills 7)

MANDURAH MAGIC 101 (Cosby 22, Klasztorny 20, Mihovilovich 17)

Willetton Tigers (87) lost to Joondalup Wolves (95)

The Joondalup Wolves have left themselves a lot of catching up to do, but the returning Emma Clarke and Jorjah Smith combined for 44 points in the 95-87 road win over the Willetton Tigers.

The Wolves had built a squad coming into the season that looked capable of being a championship contender and they did win the opening five matches, but then the personnel struggles crept in.

Emma Clarke came off a breakout WNBL season but was sidelined up until June 21 while Jorjah Smith and Julia Chandler have been out injured while Geraldynn Leaupepe didn’t arrive until eight games in.

Things hit a breaking point and the Wolves had lost nine games in-a-row coming into Saturday's match up with the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium including the last two to the Redbacks and Flames by a combined 77 points.

However, Clarke, Smith and Chandler were all back in the line-up setting up a fascinating match up with a Willetton team in their best form of the season winning five straight including downing the second placed Warwick on Friday night.

The Wolves are trying to break back into a playoff spot and the Tigers in touch of the top four with Joondalup going on to lead by five points at quarter-time and extending that advantage to 11 at the half.

The Wolfpack maintained that advantage throughout the second half with the lead getting out to as much as 13 points to end up winning by eight points and snapping the nine-game losing run to improve to a 7-11 record.

Emma Clarke showed how much she has been missed so far this season for the Wolves by producing 25 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

Jorjah Smith is another back from injury and knocked down 4/7 from three-point land for 17 points, four rebounds and two assists with Sarah Toeaina adding 21 points, six boards and three assists.

Julia Chandler is another player now back for the Wolfpack who had 13 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Willetton is now 10-8 having split its double-header weekend with Jillian Archer outstanding once more with 27 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Melisa Brcaninovic added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists while Kaylee Smiler contributed 13 points and three assists, Amy Jacobs 10 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Desiree Kelley eight points, eight assists, seven boards and two steals.

The Tigers are on the road to the East Perth Eagles on Friday night while the Wolves remain away to the Lakeside Lightning on Saturday.

WILLETTON TIGERS 87 (Archer 27, Brcaninovic 17, Smiler 13)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 95 (Clarke 25, Toeaina 21, Smith 17)

Goldfields Giants (65) lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns (83)

The combination of Tiahna Sears and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant continues to grow more impressive as the season goes on and they helped deliver the Kalamunda Eastern Suns the 83-65 victory against the Goldfields Giants.

Both teams came into the contest at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium looking for a morale boosting win as the end of the season draws near and it was an exciting opening quarter consisting of 56 points.

It was the Eastern Suns leading 30-26 by quarter-time before they were able to keep the momentum rolling into the second term with 20 points to nine to head into the half-time break leading 50-35.

The lead for the Suns continued to grow and got out to as much as 28 points in the second half on the back of them scoring 17 consecutive points.

Kalamunda would end up scoring the 18-point victory to improve to a 6-12 record on the season having now won five of the past seven with things starting to come together nicely in the first year under coach Marcus Bardill.

Tiahna Sears produced another 22 points and 13 rebounds in the win for the Eastern Suns with Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant contributing 21 points, 14 rebounds and two assists.

Olivia Berry also had 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals, and Mackenzie Taylor eight points and seven boards on 4/7 shooting from the floor.

It's a sixth straight defeat for Goldfields who are now 3-15 on the season with Lauren Fech top-scoring with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Alex Clinch Hoycard contributed 13 points and four rebounds, Kate Sidebottom 11 points and three boards, Jhazmin Joson 10 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals, and captain Ash Sidebottom six points, three boards and two assists.

The Giants stay at home next Saturday to host the Warwick Senators with the Eastern Suns hosting the Cockburn Cougars this coming Friday night.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 65 (Fech 14, Clinch Hoycard 13, K Sidebottom 11)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 83 (Sears 22, McGhee-Pleasant 21, Fotu 17)

MEN

Geraldton Buccaneers (93) lost to Rockingham Flames (94)

A rematch of the 2022 Grand Final was always going to be a spectacle and it certainly delivered with plenty of drama down the stretch with a Travis Durnin free-throw ultimately seeing the Rockingham Flames beat the Geraldton Buccaneers 94-93.

Coming off that championship in 2022 and then again finishing on top of the table and reaching the championship game at the National Finals last year, Rockingham did start the 2024 campaign in ominous fashion winning the first five games.

However, things then hit the skids losing six of the next eight games and with two-time MVP Devondrick Walker missing eight games, but he was back to help them beat the Mandurah Magic a couple of weeks ago.

Jeremy Combs is also back in the line-up so they arrived at Active West Stadium ready for the challenge against the competition's benchmark with the Buccaneers having locked up top spot already coming into the third round of the season.

Geraldton had lost just once all season and were on an 11-game winning streak coming into the match up, and the Buccs started well to be leading already 28-17 by the end of one.

After the Buccaneers lead was 13 points early in the second quarter, Rockingham did work back into the clash to cut the lead of the home team back to just four points at half-time.

The Flames kept that momentum going to open up their own nine-point lead during the fourth quarter, but games between these two teams and are always dramatic affairs and this one would be no different.

Rockingham were up by those nine points with just under four minutes to play after a three ball from Walker, but the Buccs just refuse to lose.

A layup to Johny Narkle and then three-point play from Nik DeSantis had the defending champs back within four points going into the last minute before Josh Keyes nailed two free throws to make it a two-point ball game.

Rockingham captain Ryan Godfrey missed two free throws uncharacteristically to leave the door ajar for Geraldton with Narkle fouled going to the basket, but he made just one and the Flames still led by a point with just under 10 seconds to play.

The first job for the Flames was to get the ball in play, but they couldn’t do it with a five second violation giving the Buccs a chance and again Narkle was fouled going to the bucket.

He once again missed the first and made the second to tie scores up with time still on the clock for Rockingham to get a quick shot off to try and break the deadlock out of a timeout.

Instead, the Buccs were called for a foul before the ball was in play meaning Travis Durnin stepped up to knock down the technical before the Flames could inbound the ball again.

This time they did get it in play, Walker took a three and that was enough to allow time to expire and Rockingham showed there's life still in its season improving to an 11-9 record to lock away that playoff spot.

Two-time MVP Devondrick Walker is starting to feel more like himself and he had 30 points and five assists with 6/14 three-point shooting in the win while Travis Durnin delivered 24 points and two assists with 5/7 shooting from downtown.

Ryan Godrey also had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, Gorjok Gak 12 points and four assists, and Jeremy Combs nine points, 16 rebounds and four assists.

Geraldton remains locked into top spot despite the loss at 18-2 with Nik DeSantis continuing his standout first season in the NBL1 West with another 25 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Johny Narkle put up 19 points, five rebounds and two steals with Josh Keyes contributing 13 points, seven boards and five assists, Josh Braun 12 points and four rebounds, and Liam Hunt 13 points, 11 boards and four assists.

The Buccaneers remain at home next Saturday to host the Mandurah Magic while the Flames are back home to host the East Perth Eagles on Saturday as well.

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 93 (DeSantis 25, Narkle 19, Keyes 13, Hunt 13)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 94 (Walker 30, Durnin 24, Godfrey 14)

Perry Lakes Hawks (93) lost to East Perth Eagles (106)

The East Perth Eagles started on fire to set the tone for the eventual 106-93 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks with Taylor Young putting up 28 points as they kept their top four hopes alive.

Perry Lakes was back home at Bendat Basketball Centre attempting to snap a six-game losing slide that has seen them all but fall out of playoff contention.

They were hosting an Eagles team still in the top four race but looking to bounce back from last Friday night's loss at home to the Eastern Suns.

It was a hot start from East Perth as they raced out to score the game's first six points on the way to a 10-2 opening before the Hawks steadied before the twists continued with the Eagles back out to a 25-13 advantage on a three-point make from Lukas Milner.

The Eagles were determined to keep themselves in the race for a top four position and remained in control the rest of the way to be leading by as much as 13 points in the second term and then as much as 16 in the fourth.

East Perth ended up scoring the 13-point victory to improve to a 12-7 record on the season with Taylor Young outstanding as point guard with 28 points, seven assists, two rebounds and two steals on 10/18 shooting from the field and 5/5 at the free-throw line.

Lukas Milner is fitting back in nicely in his second season with East Perth and had 22 points and eight rebounds with David Okwera contributing 12 points, 15 boards and seven assists, and Lee Roberts 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Sharif Watson also delivered 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Sebit Reath 10 points, four boards and two steals.

Perry Lakes falls further out of the playoff hunt now having lost seven in-a-row for a 7-13 record with Dequan Abrom leading the scoring with 26 points to go with five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Jaylen Key also had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds, Luke Phillips 13 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, Matt Leary 13 points and two assists, and Keegan Phillips nine points, five assists and four rebounds.

The Hawks now are away to the Perth Redbacks next Saturday with the Eagles at home to the Willetton Tigers this coming Friday night.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 93 (Abrom 26, Key 19, L Phillips 13, Leary 13)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 106 (Young 28, Milner 22, Okwera 12, Roberts 12)

Willetton Tigers (78) lost to Joondalup Wolves (95)

It turned out to be a horror weekend for the Willetton Tigers as they conceded second spot to the Joondalup Wolves after the Wolfpack took the 95-78 win home with them on Saturday night.

Both teams entered the round locked in a battle over second position with 14 wins apiece with Willetton playing on Friday night and having a game to forget in the absence of 299-game centre Michael Vigor and gun import Michael Dupree.

The Tigers lost to the Warwick Senators by 37 points ahead of hosting the Wolfpack on Saturday night while still missing both Vigor and Dupree.

The Wolves arrived fresh but also needing to hit back from a defeat to the Geraldton Buccaneers at home last Sunday, and the visitors started on fire with 34 points to 23 in the first quarter.

Joondalup continued to dominate in the second quarter and completed a 14-0 scoring run to open up a 26-point advantage before going into half-time leading 64-44.

Willetton did attempt to mount a fightback in the third frame with 25 points to 17 but they couldn’t ever get close enough to strike with the Wolfpack ending up winning by 17 to move clear in second position as a result.

Joondalup improves to a 15-5 record with the win with Jacob Wiley proving to be a masterful late season pick up in place of Jeremy Combs. He put up 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 9/14 shooting from the floor and 7/9 from the foul line in just his seventh game.

Jonathan Wade also provided 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, Ethan Elliott 17 points, five boards, five assists and three steals, Caleb Davis 12 points and nine rebounds, and CJ Turnage 11 points, seven boards and seven assists.

Willetton is now 14-6 with four straight losses now including the two this weekend with Marshall Nelson finishing with 18 points, five assists and five steals.

Roosevelt Williams also had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, Damien Scott 12 points, three boards and two steals, Deng Gak nine points and 11 rebounds, and Travis Fee nine points and eight boards.

The Tigers are on the road to the East Perth Eagles on Friday night while the Wolves remain away to the Lakeside Lightning on Saturday.

WILLETTON TIGERS 78 (Nelson 18, Williams 14, Scott 12)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 95 (Wiley 26, Wade 21, Elliott 17)

Perth Redbacks (89) defeated Lakeside Lightning (83)

Joe Cook-Green put up 38 points to lift the Perth Redbacks to a drought breaking 89-83 Saturday night victory against the Lakeside Lightning.

Both teams came into the match up at Belmont Oasis out of the playoff race with the Redbacks having lost nine straight matches and the Lightning four in-a-row including on Friday night against Cockburn.

It was a hot start at home from the Redbacks trying to get off the bottom of the NBL1 West standings and they raced out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter and to still be leading 31-15 at quarter-time.

Lakeside were able to steady the ship in the second term with 23 points to 13 and that cut the Perth advantage to 44-38 by the half-time break.

It remained a tight contest throughout the second half and Max Richards even put Lakeside in front early in the fourth quarter.

However, the Redbacks immediately responded courtesy of Jacob Formosa with a three-pointer but the lead would continue switching hands.

It was another triple from Formosa that saw the Redbacks pull away for good though. Following that, scores from Ioannis Dimakopoulos, Joe Cook-Green and Cook-Green again pushed the home team out to an eight-point lead with three minutes to play.

Cook-Green landed a huge three a minute later to put the Redbacks out to a double-digit lead once more and from there they were able to hold on for the six-point win to snap the nine-game losing slide to improve to 5-15.

Cook-Green had a spectacular night with 38 points, three rebounds and three assists for Perth with 5/10 three-point shooting while Denzel Jackson contributed 11 points and four boards on 5/6 shooting.

Miles Gibson also had 10 points and four rebounds, Ioannis Dimakopoulos eight points, seven boards and four assists, and Jacob Formosa eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

The Lightning have now lost five straight including both this weekend to sit at 5-14 with Max Richards top-scoring with 21 points and six rebounds.

Marshawn Blackmon added 18 points and seven rebounds, Michael Garbellini 14 points on 3/5 three-point shooting, Mike Adewunmi 10 points, five boards, three assists and two steals, and Dom Jackson 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Redbacks have just one game to go of the regular season next Saturday at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks with the Lightning away to the South West Slammers on Friday night.

PERTH REDBACKS 89 (Cook-Green 38, D Jackson 11, Gibson 10)

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 83 (Richards 21, Blackmon 18, Garbellini 14)

South West Slammers (100) defeated Mandurah Magic (92)

Playoffs might be out of reach but the signs are exciting that the South West Slammers are building moving forward with a third straight win with the 100-92 home win over the Mandurah Magic.

The Slammers were back home at Eaton Recreation Centre on a two-game winning streak having beaten Perry Lakes and Willetton its past two matches.

The Magic arrived needing a win to remain in fourth position as well and welcoming back Michael Durr and Jarrod Molnar who missed both their wins last weekend against the Lakeside Lightning and Eastern Suns.

The guard match up alone of MVP candidates Buay Tuach from the Slammers and Joel Murray from the Magic was exciting enough, but the two teams would end up putting on quite the show.

The Slammers started well on their home floor with 27 points to 17 in the first quarter and while the Magic always kept themselves in the game, it was South West who were able to maintain that double-figure lead a lot of the night.

The Slammers would go on to lead by as much as 13 points in the second quarter and by 18 in the second half on the way to the eventual eight-point victory to make it three straight wins to improve to a 6-14 record.

Buay Tuach once again came up big for the Slammers with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists but he also received plenty of help including Alex Holcombe providing 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Mathiang Muo also had 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals on 5/9 three-point shooting while Devan Craig added 15 points, two boards and two assists, and Xavier Cotton seven points, six rebounds and two steals.

Mandurah loses its hold on fourth spot at the expense of the East Perth Eagles with the loss and sitting on a 12-8 record with MVP favourite Joel Murray providing another 37 points and six assists on 12/23 shooting from the floor and 12/12 at the foul line.

Michael Durr had a big impact on his return with 15 points, 25 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks with Jarrod Molnar hitting five threes on his way to 17 points while Lachlan Bertram contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

The Slammers remain at home to the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night with the Magic on the road to the Geraldton Buccaneers next Saturday.

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 100 (Tuach 20, Muo 18, Holcombe 18)

MANDURAH MAGIC 92 (Murray 37, Molnar 17, Durr 15)

Goldfields Giants (94) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (86)

The Goldfields Giants kept themselves in the top four hunt with De'Sean Parsons and Randy Bell combining for 59 points in the 94-86 home win despite Seb Salinas winding back the clock for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Giants came into the Saturday night match up at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium a game out of fourth position so that was still a possibility if they keep winning, but the Eastern Suns arrived a dangerous team.

The Suns might have lost last up to the Mandurah Magic by 24 points but they had won five of eight games prior to that including against playoff teams East Perth and Warwick.

Both teams like to play an up-tempo style of basketball too so the stage was set for a terrific match up and it was the Giants on top 26-21 by the end of the first quarter.

The Eastern Suns then turned things around in the second term and it was the league's games record holder Seb Salinas showing the way by hitting some big shots.

Kalamunda put up 32 points to 22 in that quarter which saw them taking the 53-48 lead into the half-time break.

Goldfields had to dig deep in the second half and it wasn’t until the final quarter when they did get on top with 18 points to eight to end up claiming the eight-point victory.

The win keeps the Giants in touch of the top four with a 12-8 record and it was De'Sean Parsons who was a dominant force ending up with 36 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals on 15/21 shooting from the floor.

Randy Bell also had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists with Kon Anguik contributing 15 points and three assists, and Damon Ballantyne nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.

The Eastern Suns are 6-14 now on the season following the defeat but their best basketball has been significantly better than that record suggests.

It was Seb Salinas in the 530th game of his career who top-scored for the Suns with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists while knocking down four three-pointers with Raphell Thomas-Edwards contributing 15 points, five boards and three assists.

Jack Exeter also had 13 points, five assists and three rebounds, Marek Nelson 11 points, six assists and four boards, Rob Huntington eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks, and Reece Maxwell eight points, three boards and two assists.

The Giants stay at home next Saturday to host the Warwick Senators with the Eastern Suns hosting the Cockburn Cougars this coming Friday night.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 94 (Parsons 36, Bell 23, Anguik 15)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 86 (Salinas 18, Thomas-Edwards 15, Exeter 13)