West Recap | Round 17 Saturday

Image credit: Travis Anderson | @andmediaphoto

Stacey Barr returned to NBL1 West with the game winner for Warwick Senators with Nici Gilday and Shaun Stewart having triple doubles in wins for Goldfields Giants while Natalie Chou put up 44 points, Taeshon Cherry 40 and Elijah Pepper 35.

WEST RECAP | ROUND 17 FRIDAY

NBL1'S UNBEATEN OUTFITS ON NATIONALS COLLISION COURSE

LIGHTS OUT: TANA STARRING IN WILLETTON RETURN

WEIR ANSWERS CALL FOR WOUNDED SENATORS

PEPPER SETS NEW NBL1 RECORD WITH 59 POINTS

WOMEN

Perry Lakes Hawks (98) defeated East Perth Eagles (86)

The Perry Lakes Hawks welcomed back Jayda Clark and hit back from Friday night's loss with a strong showing to beat the East Perth Eagles 98-86 to strengthen their hopes of finishing higher than eighth.

The two teams came into the match up at Bendat Basketball Centre sitting in seventh and eighth positions with the winner to at least finish the round in seventh place and potentially higher depending on other results.

Perry Lakes were back home fresh off losing on Friday night away to the undefeated Cockburn Cougars by 21 points while the Eagles were coming off a dominant home performance last Saturday beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Hawks were without both Megan McKay and Jayda Clark on Friday night even though they regained Alex Fowler who was last week named MVP of the Asia Cup in China

But Clark was back for Perry Lakes on Saturday and made the world of difference with how they looked from the outset with the home team leading 23-15 already by quarter-time.

East Perth responded impressively in the second term with 27 points to 15 with 11/19 shooting from the field to just 7/21 from Perry Lakes, and that did see the Eagles leading 43-38 by the main break.

The Hawks then hit back with a massive third term on the back of shooting 16/21 from the floor to put up 35 points while holding East Perth to 17 points on 5/15 shooting.

That saw Perry Lakes open up a 15-point lead in the second half before securing the 12-point victory that improves them to a 10-9 record with a game to finish next Saturday at home to the Goldfields Giants.

Coming off her brilliant MVP winning Asia Cup campaign, Alex Fowler produced 24 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for Perry Lakes with 9/11 field goal shooting.

Jayda Clark returned for her first game since June 27 and provided 18 points, four assists and four rebounds with Amy Jacobs contributing 14 points, five assists, four boards and two steals.

Mia Satie also had 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, Grace Stone 11 points, six assists and four boards, and Maddy Dennis 10 points, four assists and two rebounds.

East Perth are now 10-9 as well with their season to finish against the vastly improved Joondalup Wolves on the road this Friday night.

Abby Cubillo put in another huge performance for the Eagles with 28 points and five assists with Sasha Goodlett adding 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists in just 24 minutes of court time thanks to foul trouble.

Tessa Morrison added 10 points, two rebounds and two steals, Ari van Vliet 10 points, three boards and three steals, Taylor Roberts 10 points with 2/3 three-point shooting, and Awatea Leach seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 98 (Fowler 24, Clark 18, Jacobs 14)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 86 (Cubillo 28, Goodlett 15, Morrison 10, van Vliet 10, Roberts 10)

Goldfields Giants (94) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (74)

Erin Antosh produced her best game of the season and Nici Gilday had a triple-double as the Goldfields Giants scored their fourth win beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 94-74 who were without Karly Murphy.

Both teams came into the match up at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium with three wins to their name for the season and both looking at it as a chance to make it four.

Not helping the cause of the Eastern Suns was being without power forward Murphy who has been averaging 25.3 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists, and the Giants were able to take full advantage of her absence.

Goldfields got off to a flying start with a 12-0 run to open up a 22-point lead on the way to the 30-12 advantage by quarter-time.

It was another 33 points to 24 from the Giants in the first quarter which saw the home team leading 63-36 by half-time and that lead got out to 31 points early in the second half.

Kalamunda did manage 26 points the rest of the third quarter but the Giants had too big of an advantage to be troubled and went on to score the 20-point win.

The victory improves the Giants to a 4-15 record on the season with a game to finish this Saturday afternoon against the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Import big Erin Antosh had a strong display as the biggest beneficiary from no Karly Murphy for the Suns by delivering 30 points, 16 rebounds and four assists on 12/20 shooting from the field.

Nici Gilday continued her standout form by producing a triple-double made up of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists with Rachel Pettit adding 12 points, six boards and four assists, and Hazelle Yam seven points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds.

The Eastern Suns are now 3-16 with just one game to go too and that's on Friday night against the Mandurah Magic.

Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant did her best to step up further for Kalamunda and finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds and two assists with Jemma Gartrell adding 11 points and two boards, and Alyssa Bowen 11 points and eight rebounds.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 94 (Antosh 30, Gilday 21, Hawaikirangi 12, Pettit 12)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 74 (McGhee-Pleasant 34, Bowen 11, Gartrell 11)

Mandurah Magic (84) lost to Perth Redbacks (96)

The Perth Redbacks kept their top two hopes alive with Natalie Chou stepping up huge for 44 points in the absence of Anneli Maley for the 96-84 road win over the Mandurah Magic.

The Redbacks arrived at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre in impressive form and having at least locked up third spot with a chance of finishing second with Friday night against the Magic the last game of their regular season.

Not only were they without Maley thanks to Australian Gangurrus 3x3 duties in Indonesia, but also captain Raya Thompson and rising star Alaska Rhebok but they have continued to defy not being at full strength most of 2025.

Mandurah was also needing a win to try to improve to fifth spot and avoid dropping further down the top eight and it was the home team leading 22-20 by quarter-time having earlier opened up an 11-point lead.

The Magic were still clinging to the 39-36 advantage by the half-time break before the Redbacks fired in the third period with 30 points to 22 to grab the lead.

Perth kept that momentum going with another 30 points to 23 in the last quarter to have outscored the Magic 60-45 in the second half to come away with the important 12-point victory.

The win improves the Redbacks to a 15-5 record having now completed their regular season and they will likely stay in third unless the Warwick Senators lose to the Cockburn Cougars next Friday enough to see their percentage drop below Perth's.

Natalie Chou came up huge for the Redbacks with 44 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals on 15/31 shooting from the floor and 11/11 at the foul line.

Georgia Denehey added 16 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals, Shenae Hartree eight points, 11 boards, five steals and three assists, and Patty Brossmann 12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Mandurah now has just one game to go against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Friday night with them sitting at 10-9 and locked in a battle to finish anywhere between sixth and eighth.

McKenna Dale finished with 23 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Magic with Tina Stephens contributing 18 points, four boards and two assists, Claire Jacobs 14 points and four rebounds, and Grace Berg 13 points, nine boards, three assists and two steals.

MANDURAH MAGIC 84 (Dale 23, Stephens 18, Jacobs 14)

PERTH REDBACKS 96 (Chou 44, Denehey 16, Brossmann 12)

Warwick Senators (95) defeated Joondalup Wolves (94)

Warwick Senators captain and two-time MVP Stacey Barr marked her return in the most spectacular fashion by hitting a trademark buzzer-beating game winner to keep her team in second spot with the 95-94 win over the Joondalup Wolves.

Barr had a pre-planned trip away for the past couple of weeks which in theory wouldn’t have been too much of a problem considering the Senators have fellow guards Robbi Ryan, Chloe Forster, Emma Gandini and Kyana Weir to fall back on.

However, at the same time Barr was going away, Ryan and Forster went down with serious leg injuries, and the Senators have been fighting to stay competitive since with losses to Kalamunda and Perry Lakes, and a tight win over the South West Slammers.

They were still sitting in second position coming into Saturday night's game at Warwick Stadium against the Wolves but needed to win to hold out the Perth Redbacks from leapfrogging them.

The Wolfpack also arrived in their best form of the season with four straight wins even if they might be just one game too far out to sneak into the top eight.

Warwick made a flying start to the Battle of Joondalup opening up a 23-point lead during the second term and going into the half-time break on top 56-38 thanks to shooting 20/39 from the field to 16/40 from the Wolves.

Joondalup fired back in the second half starting with 28 points to 21 in the third quarter and then never gave up the ghost even when Warwick were still leading by seven with three minutes to play after a three-pointer to Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard.

That's when the Wolfpack fired back with the next 11 points including a triple from Jhazmin Joson to see them leading 94-90 with Warwick having to respond or risking losing second spot.

That's when Stacey Barr sent a reminder of her quality scoring the last five points of the game including a deadly three-point bomb that was the last score of the game to give the Senators the one-point victory.

The win keeps Warwick in second position with a 15-4 record and with a game against the undefeated Cockburn Cougars to finish on Friday night for the regular season.

Not only did Stacey Barr come up huge late, but she was tremendous all night on return for the Senators with 32 points, seven assists and six rebounds with 13/26 shooting.

The Geelong Venom WNBL bound Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard also had 31 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals with 9/14 three-point shooting.

Nat Burton added 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists, and Emma Gandini seven points, four assists and three boards.

The loss kills off the slim finals hopes of the Wolfpack as they slip to 7-12 despite continuing their vastly improved run of form.

Jhazmin Joson delivered 24 points for Joondalup with 6/12 shooting from downtown with Kurstyn Harden contributing 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Stefanie Berberabe 17 points, nine assists, six boards and six steals, Lesila Finau 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Maddie Sutton 11 points, 11 boards and three assists.

WARWICK SENATORS 95 (Barr 32, Clinch Hoycard 31, Burton 12)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 94 (Joson 24, Harden 22, Berberabe 17)

Willetton Tigers (46) lost to Cockburn Cougars (101)

The Willetton Tigers continue to struggle and understandably so without the mighty presence of Zitina Aokuso with the Cockburn Cougars taking full advantage for the 101-46 victory to stay undefeated in 2025.

The Cougars beat the Perry Lakes Hawks by 21 points at home on Friday night to improve to 18-0 on the season ahead of taking on the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday.

Willetton has been without Aokuso for a fifth straight match and considering she's been an MVP candidate with 24.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists a game, it's been tough for the Tigers to stay afloat without her.

They did still manage to beat the South West Slammers but the other three losses have come at an average of 44 points and it was always going to be a challenge to avoid a blowout against the undefeated Cougars.

Cockburn weren’t in a merciful mood against their local rivals either with 36 points to seven in the first quarter on shooting 14/26 from the field opposed to the 3/17 from Willetton.

It was another 30 points to nine in the second term and by half-time the Cougars were well in command leading 66-16 on shooting 24/45 to the 5/31 from the Tigers.

Willetton did manage to outscore Cockburn 19 points to 16 in the third period but the Cougars lead still grew to as much as 59 points in the second half and they secured the eventual 55-point victory.

The win improves the Cougars to a perfect 19-0 record with one game left to complete the perfect regular season on Friday night against the second placed Warwick Senators who are missing Robbi Ryan and Chloe Forster.

Jessie Edwards had a night out taking advantage of Willetton's size deficiency without Aokuso and finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds on 8/10 shooting in just 21 minutes.

Steph Gorman added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, Ruby Porter 16 points, four assists, two boards and two steals, Sarah Mortensen 16 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists, and Daniel Raber 14 points and six boards.

Willetton have now slipped to an 11-8 record with their regular season ending against the bottom placed Slammers with the chance to still end up finishing in fifth place.

Ella Averill top-scored for the Tigers with 12 points and seven rebounds on 5/7 shooting with Ajulu Thatha adding seven points and four boards, Desiree Kelley seven points, five boards, three steals and two assists, and Eva Langton six points and two rebounds.

WILLETTON TIGERS 46 (Averill 12, Kelley 7, Thatha 7)

COCKBURN COUGARS 101 (Edwards 22, Gorman 16, Porter 16, Mortensen 16)

MEN

Geraldton Buccaneers (119) defeated South West Slammers (96)

The Geraldton Buccaneers marked their last home game of the regular season making it nine straight wins by defeating the South West Slammers 119-96.

The Buccaneers are on track to at least get one home final, but they were playing their last regular season game at Active West Stadium putting their eight-game winning streak on the line up against the bottom placed Slammers.

The Buccs still have a chance to finish in the top two if they keep winning and they started on fire with 37 points to 21 in the first quarter on shooting 15/20 from the field to the 7/16 from the Slammers.

It was another 22 points to 20 in the second quarter with Geraldton going into half-time leading 59-41 before the home team put up another 32 points to 22 in the third term with the lead growing to 30 points.

That advantage got out to 31 points as well in the last quarter before the Buccs scored the 23-point win on the back of not only a ninth straight win, but a ninth straight game of scoring over 100 points.

The Buccaneers improve to a 16-4 record and now finish the regular season with two road games against the Perth Redbacks and East Perth Eagles.

Nik DeSantis delivered 22 points, six assists and three rebounds with Akeem Springs providing 22 points, four boards, three assists and two steals.

Johny Narkle also had another 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, Verle Williams 15 points, eight assists and five steals, and Joshua Keyes 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

The Slammers have now lost their past seven games to be 1-20 with a game to finish at home to the Willetton Tigers on Friday night.

Jamal Poplar continues to be a shining light on a tough season for South West with the import centre finishing with another 31 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Manny Wugol added 16 points, four assists and three rebounds, Nathan Walsh 14 points and four boards, Pharell Keats 10 points, eight assists and three rebounds, and Devan Craig 10 points, four boards, three assists and two steals.

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 119 (DeSantis 22, Springs 22, Narkle 18)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 96 (Poplar 31, Wugol 16, Walsh 14)

Perry Lakes Hawks (80) lost to East Perth Eagles (92)

Nothing has come easily for the East Perth Eagles this season but a Jonah Antonio-inspired big finish on Saturday saw them beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 92-80 and return to the top eight entering the last round.

It was a must-win game for the Eagles when they arrived at Bendat Basketball Centre if they wanted to stay in the finals mix having kept alive with the win at home against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns last Saturday night.

Perry Lakes had slipped out of the playoff hunt having lost nine straight matches including on Friday night on the road to the Cockburn Cougars, and they were still missing Luke Phillips, Nick Floyd and Keegan Phillips with 304-game veteran Seva Chan also not playing.

East Perth did narrowly lead 19-16 by the end of the first quarter and then by half-time the Eagles were still leading 45-42 thanks to shooting 18/37 from the field opposed to the 15/38 from the Hawks.

It was in the third quarter when Perry Lakes too charge with a 12-0 run and to open up an eight-point lead, but the Eagles had too much on the line and had got the scores back level by three quarter-time.

The Eagles fired up in the fourth quarter with 32 points to 20 with shooting 12/17 from the field to 9/16 from Perry Lakes while they went 7/12 at the foul line to 0/1 from the Hawks.

That saw East Perth get the win they needed by 12 points to improve to a 9-11 record to now finish the round inside the top eight once more but their season will be decided next weekend with games away to the Joondalup Wolves and at home to the Geraldton Buccaneers.

Jonah Antonio came up huge in the win for East Perth with 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals with shooting 10/17 from the field and 6/9 at the foul line.

Max Rice added 18 points and two assists, Lee Roberts 14 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and three assists, Ioannis Dimakopoulos 12 points and four rebounds, Chier Maker eight points and two boards, and Nick Filpo eight points and three assists.

Perry Lakes have now lost 10 straight to slip to a 7-14 record and their season can't finish quick enough with a last game on Saturday afternoon at home to the Goldfields Giants.

Matt Leary put up 25 points for Perry Lakes while it was young big man Max Bucknell who shone with 17 points and eight rebounds in 26:27 of court time.

Jaden Stanley-Williams added 11 points and six rebounds, and AJ Nobensi seven points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 80 (Leary 25, Bucknell 17, Stanley-Williams 11)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 92 (Antonio 26, Rice 18, Roberts 14)

Goldfields Giants (120) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (97)

The Goldfields Giants went a long way to securing a home final with a dominant performance in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 120-97.

With the two teams locked in a battle over spots in the bottom part of the top eight, there was plenty on the line in the last home game of the regular season for the Giants at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium.

They came into the clash having beaten the Perth Redbacks last week also at home to consolidated their place in the top eight while the Eastern Suns were still eighth, but only just having lost their past three matches.

Right from the outset the Giants took control of the contest with 25 points to 12 in the first quarter before continuing on with that momentum building a 19-point lead in the second term.

Goldfields went into half-time leading 56-39 before going on with the job to open up a 32-point lead in the second half on the way to the eventual 23-point victory.

The Giants ended up shooting 52 per cent from the field to 47 from the Suns while knocking down 17/32 from three-point range to 14/37.

The win improves Goldfields to an 11-10 record ahead of one last game in the regular season on Saturday away to the Perry Lakes Hawks.

The most fascinating part of the game was the defensive job that Giants young gun Sam Morrow did by coming into the starting line-up to match up on former teammate Randy Bell.

He didn’t give Bell a chance to breathe most of the night and held him to eight points and five assists on 3/10 shooting with five turnovers while having 17 points, five assists and four rebounds himself on 5/8 three-point shooting.

Michael Jok added 28 points, five rebounds and two steals with 6/10 shooting from downtown while De'Sean Parsons contributed 25 points, 13 boards, seven assists and three steals, and Shaun Stewart a huge triple-double made up of 24 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds.

Former captain and 229-game veteran Jerome Reid backed up his 41-point outburst last week with another 17 points on 5/6 three-point shooting.

Kalamunda now slip outside the top eight with a 9-12 record with four straight losses and a game to finish on the road to the Mandurah Magic this Friday night.

Marshall Nelson finished with 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Eastern Suns with Marley Sam adding 19 points and six assists, Lewis Thomas 11 points and six rebounds, and Seb Salinas knocked down 4/5 from downtown for 12 points in game No. 547.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 120 (Jok 28, Parsons 25, Stewart 24)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 97 (Nelson 20, Sam 19, Salinas 12)

Mandurah Magic (89) lost to Perth Redbacks (91)

The Perth Redbacks got a late season morale boost with a 91-89 thrilling win on the road to the shorthanded defending champion Mandurah Magic.

With the Magic still clinging to a playoff position in the absence of star starting pair Julian Pesava and Jahcoree Ealy, they played host to a Redbacks team at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre just trying to finish their season on a high note.

Both teams came into the match up having lost their past couple of games and they then couldn’t be separated by quarter-time with the scores locked at 26-26.

The Magic were then clinging to the 52-50 lead by half-time before the Redbacks turned things around in the third period and went into three quarter-time on top 70-68.

The Redbacks then remained in front for almost all the last quarter but they could never lead by more than five points with the Magic not going away.

Nick Woodall knocked down a three ball with just under a minute to play to bring Mandurah back within a point before Perth responded with an offensive rebound and putback by Emmanuel Kanwei.

Sammie Freeman then made a couple of foul shots to bring Mandurah back within a point before Lochlan Cummings made one at the line for Perth and it was a two-point ball game with Mandurah in possession for the final play.

Lachlan Bertram took it hard at the rim and couldn’t make it nor could he get the foul call before Freeman crashed the pack looking for a putback, but he was unsuccessful too and the Redbacks held on for the two-point win.

The win improves Perth to a 6-15 record with one game to go on Friday night when they host the Geraldton Buccaneers.

Joe Cook-Green finished with 24 points and four assists for the Redbacks with Emmanuel Kanwei contributing 21 points, 15 rebounds and two assists, Lochlan Cummings 16 points, eight boards and eight assists, and Michael Riley 11 points and four rebounds.

The Magic are now 10-11 and locked in a battle with the Eastern Suns and the East Perth Eagles over seventh and eight place with a game at home to Kalamunda to finish on Friday night.

Lachlan Bertram top-scored for Mandurah with 26 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals with Sammie Freeman contributing 25 points, 16 boards, four blocks and two steals.

Championship captain Chad Miegel added 12 points, Nick Woodall 10 points and Jermaine Malie five points, six rebounds and four assists.

MANDURAH MAGIC 89 (Bertram 26, Freeman 25, Miegel 12)

PERTH REDBACKS 91 (Cook-Green 24, Kanwei 21, Cummings 16)

Warwick Senators (101) defeated Joondalup Wolves (87)

Elijah Pepper was once again brilliant with 35 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals as the Warwick Senators consolidated their top two spot with the 101-87 win against the Joondalup Wolves.

The second Battle of Joondalup for the season at Warwick Stadium was a big one for both teams with the Senators looking to maintain their top two spot while the Wolves could still finish in the top four had they scored the win.

Both teams came into the game having won their last two matches as well and the Wolfpack started strongly with 21 points to 17 in the first quarter and they were then leading by six early in the second term.

That's when the Senators took over with an 8-0 scoring run and opening up their own double-figure lead before being on top 47-43 at half-time.

Joondalup turned the tide back their way once more with 29 points to 24 in the third period to be up by a point heading into the fourth, but the Senators weren’t about to let their hold on a top two finish slip.

Warwick delivered 30 points to 15 in the final term with a 16-0 scoring run to end up knocking down 5/8 from three-point range to 1/7 and to turn that one-point deficit into a 14-point victory.

The win improves the Senators to a 17-4 record with one game to go on Friday night away to the Cockburn Cougars.

Elijah Pepper strengthened his MVP claims with another 35 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals with 12/20 shooting from the field, 4/8 from three-point range and 7/9 at the free-throw line for Warwick.

Mitch Clarke also delivered 27 points and four assists, Kye Chamberlain 12 points on 4/7 three-point shooting, and Todd Withers 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Wolves remain in fifth place at 13-8 with a game to finish on Friday night at home to an East Perth Eagles team who needs a win to keep their season alive.

CJ Turnage finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for Joondalup with Joey Baker adding 23 points, two boards and two steals, and Caleb Davis 16 points, six rebounds and five assists on his old home floor.

WARWICK SENATORS 101 (Pepper 35, Clarke 27, Chamberlain 12)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 87 (Turnage 27, Baker 23, Davis 16)

Willetton Tigers (127) defeated Cockburn Cougars (119)

Taeshon Cherry put up 40 points on a night where Willetton and Cockburn combined for 246 points over 40 minutes with the Tigers prevailing 127-119 against the Cougars.

It did always shape as a fascinating contest with Willetton still a chance to finish higher than fourth but needing to win to avoid being a chance of losing their top four spot and giving up a finals double chance.

The Cougars might have arrived at Willetton Basketball Stadium out of the playoff hunt, but they had won five of their last six matches including beating the Perry Lakes Hawks at home on Friday night by 14 points.

Both teams came out ready to put on an offensive show and they combined for 67 points in the first quarter with 27/41 field goal shooting along with 6/12 from beyond the arc.

Cockburn opened up a seven-point lead early in the second term but then Willetton responded by going on a 13-0 run to open up their own six-point lead, and from there the Tigers were on top 64-59 by half-time.

It was another 33 points to 27 in the third quarter for Willetton before their lead got out to 15 points in the fourth term, and they turned that into the eight-point win in quite the exciting affair.

The Tigers scored the 127 points with 64 per cent shooting and 11/27 from three-point range with 22/27 at the free-throw line while the Cougars ended up going 59 per cent from the field with 15/29 from downtown and 10/15 at the charity stripe.

The win improves Willetton to a 15-6 record to remain in fourth position with a game to finish away to the last placed South West Slammers on Friday night.

Taeshon Cherry was brilliant in the win for the Tigers with 40 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists with 16/20 shooting from the field, 5/8 from downtown and 3/3 at the foul line.

Tom Gerovich added 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, Roosevelt Williams Jr 16 points, four assists and two rebounds, Damien Scott 12 points and six assists, Tana Kopa 12 points, three boards, and three assists, and Michael Vigor 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Cougars are now 6-15 with a game to finish in their season on Friday night at home to the second placed Warwick Senators.

Kortland Martin made another 5/12 from three-point territory for Cockburn with 27 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals with Chan Nai top-scoring with 33 points, six boards, three assists and two steals on 13/19 shooting from the field and 4/6 from long-range.

Josh Hunt added 20 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists, and Terrandus Smith 17 points, four assists and three rebounds.

WILLETTON TIGERS 127 (Cherry 40, Gerovich 25, Williams Jr 16)

COCKBURN COUGARS 119 (Nai 33, Martin 27, Hunt 20)