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SEVEN games in the Men’s SBL on Saturday night meant that all 14 teams in the competition hit the floor with the Geraldton Buccaneers, Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Perth Redbacks, Joondalup Wolves, Rockingham Flames, Lakeside Lightning and Willetton Tigers victorious.

Round 11 in the Men’s SBL began on Friday night with three matches that saw the Joondalup Wolves defeat the Perry Lakes Hawks 95-67, the Rockingham Flames beat the Willetton Tigers 107-86 and the Stirling Senators knock off the Perth Redbacks 94-89.

Saturday night then got underway with two regional contests that saw the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the South West Slammers 105-82 and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns down the Goldfields Giants 128-106.

The Perth Redbacks also defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 101-82 with the Joondalup Wolves downing the Mandurah Magic 107-75, the Rockingham Flames beating the East Perth Eagles 100-94, the Lakeside Lightning prevailing 100-94 over the Cockburn Cougars and the Willetton Tigers bouncing back to beat the Stirling Senators 83-69.

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Saturday night in the Men’s SBL began at Active West Stadium with the Buccaneers hosting the Slammers. Geraldton proved too strong being on top all evening leading by as much as 26 points before winning by 23.

The win improves the Buccs to an 11-2 record ahead of their double-header with the Giants this weekend while the Slammers slip to 3-10.

Marcus Alipate top-scored for the Buccaneers with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals while nailing 6/8 from three-point territory.

Gokul Natesan added 19 points, five rebounds and five assists with Liam Hunt contributing 19 points and eight rebounds, Colter Lasher 16 points and 10 boards, Earnest Ross 13 points, five assists and five rebounds, and Aaron Ralph 12 points and six boards.

Travis Durnin top-scored for the Slammers with 20 points and five rebounds with Brian Voelkel contributing 19 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Brandon Thompson also had 17 points for South West, Clive Weeden 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Michael Lay 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

The Eastern Suns then made the trip to Kalgoorlie needing a win to stay in touch for a playoff off position and Kalamunda delivered a terrific showing from the outset to beat the Giants by 22 points at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium.

The Suns made a flying start and never looked back leading by as much as 39 points throughout the evening and going to take home the 22-point win to improve to a 6-9 record in 10th spot. The Giants remain in bottom place at 2-11.

Logan Viskovich delivered a career-best night for the Eastern Suns with 35 points, three rebounds and two assists on shooting a stunning 11/13 from the field, 7/8 from three-point range and 6/7 from the charity stripe.

Courtney Belger was impressive too with 28 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals on a supremely efficient shooting effort made up of 9/10 from the floor, 4/4 from beyond the arc and 6/6 from the foul line.

Kevin Davis added 19 points and eight rebounds for Kalamunda with Ryan Blanchett contributing 14 points, five boards and four assists, Louis Timms 12 points and six rebounds, and Carl Aylett nine points. Kerrod Horn also had six points, eight assists and two steals.

Kyle Sovine had a good night for the Giants with 33 points and six rebounds on shooting 12/17 from the field, 3/4 from downtown and 6/6 from the free-throw line.

Jeylyn Sharpe added 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Goldfields with Jake Martin contributing 15 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Brandon Holloway 13 points and seven assists, and Justyn Beattie nine points and two assists.

The defending champion Redbacks hosted the Hawks at Belmont Oasis with both teams coming off losses on Friday night with Perth having lost to Stirling and Perry Lakes going down to Joondalup.

But the Redbacks were on top from the outset back on their home floor to lead by as much as 25 points before going on to beat the Hawks by 19 points.

The win improved Perth to an 11-4 record in third position while Perry Lakes has now lost five straight to be in eighth spot at 6-8.

Lee Roberts top-scored for the Redbacks with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

Ben Smith added 19 points, three rebounds and two assists for Perth while Mo Barrow contributed 18 points and five boards, Jackson Hussey 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Shawn Redhage eight points, 12 boards and seven assists, and Joel Wagner eight points, four assists and four rebounds.

Captain Ben Purser battled hard against the tide for the Hawks with 17 points, three assists, two steals and two rebounds while Ryan Smith put up 13 points on 3/5 shooting from long range.

Dan Thomas finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals, Brian Carlwell 12 points and six boards, Jacob Holmen 10 points and nine rebounds, and Lochlan Cummings seven points and five boards.

But Cummings and Holmen combined to shoot just 6/32 from the floor and 3/10 from deep. Holmen went 1/14 inside the arc and Cummings 1/6 beyond it.

Despite the five straight losses, the last three have been against the league’s top three teams and coach Matt Parsons is confident the Hawks will be able to steady the ship across the second half of the season.

“We are talking about two of the top teams we’ve played in the space of 24 hours and it’s not the easiest of weekends,” Parsons said.

“We probably lowered our colours against Joondalup and probably didn’t play the way we expected to or planned for, then against the Redbacks it was a bit of a free hit. For the most part we can hold our heads high, they are a very good team.

“We are talking about a couple of calls or balls rolling out the wrong way that’s the difference with being a 10-point game or a 20-point game. We’ve obviously brought some people in late and are still working through that, and it will come.

“I’m fairly happy with where we stand. We just have to weather the storm and we back our guys in, we’ve got a good bunch of talented guys who want to work hard and to win. The results will come.”

The league-leading Wolfpack were back home at HBF Arena on Saturday night and remained unbeaten at their new venue beating the Magic by 32 points.

The Wolves were coming off a win over Perry Lakes on Friday and kept that momentum going with 34 points to 16 in the first quarter against the Magic. Mandurah stuck with Joondalup the next two quarters but the Wolfpack pulled away with a 31-15 final period to win by 32.

The win keeps the Wolves on top of the standings at 14-1 while the Magic are 12th at 3-10.

The Wolves win was again set up by having plenty of strong contributors led by Jalen Billups with 19 points and five rebounds. Trian Iliadis also had 19 points, five assists and five steals.

Brian Sullivan added 16 points, nine assists, five steals and three rebounds, Rob Huntington 12 points, three boards and two assists, Chris Clausen 10 points and four rebounds, Ben Ironmonger nine points and Sean Easther eight.

Chudier Pal fought hard for the Magic finishing with 22 points and 18 rebounds with Jamal Shabazz contributing 21 points and 10 boards, and Shaun Stewart 19 points and three assists.

The Cougars and Lightning then did battle at Wally Hagan Stadium on Saturday night with Cockburn coming off two wins last weekend, but now no longer having Perth Wildcats shooting guard Clint Steindl after he fractured his wrist.

Lakeside had built some momentum too in recent times with the arrival of Daniel Alexander and Bryan Michaels, and return of Corey Shervill which all set the stage for a tight battle on Saturday.

The Lightning held sway through the opening three quarters to still lead 70-60 heading into the fourth, but the Cougars came home strongly before ultimately falling four points short.

The win improves Lakeside to a 7-7 record in seventh spot while Cockburn is in ninth at 6-8.

John Isenbarger top-scored for the Lightning with 20 points and six assists while hitting 4/11 from three-point territory.

Daniel Alexander finished with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds with Jarrad Prue putting in a remarkable effort made up of 13 points and 29 rebounds – of which 18 were at the offensive end.

Michael Garbellini also had 11 points and five rebounds and Corey Shervill eight points and three boards.

Gavin Field had a huge outing for the Cougars with 34 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals shooting 12/25 from the field, 5/11 form long range and 5/5 from the foul line.

Seva Chan contributed 17 points, three rebounds and two assists for Cockburn, Julian Pesava 12 points, seven boards and three assists, and Matej Mandic seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Two teams locked in a battle over positions in the bottom half of the top eight then met at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre with East Perth hosting the Kevin White-boosted Rockingham.

The Flames were coming off a 21-point home win to the Tigers on Friday but it was the Eagles who started strongly on Saturday with 34 points to 27 in the first quarter.

But Rockingham responded in the second period putting up 30 points to 16 to lead 57-50 at the break.

It was then a tight affair through the second half with both teams desperate for the win, but Rockingham did enough to hold on and win by six to improve to an 8-7 record having started this weekend on a five-game losing slide.

East Perth now sits 11th at 5-10 having lost four straight.

Justin Beard top-scored for the Flames with 27 points, seven rebounds and two steals shooting 10/15 from the field and 6/10 from three-point range.

Greg Hire delivered another strong all-round performance made up of 26 points, 16 rebounds and three assists shooting 4/6 from long range and 10/13 from the free-throw line.

Kevin White added 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Ryan Godfrey contributed 12 points and seven assists, and Curtis Washington 10 points and seven boards.

Drew Williamson put up 22 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Eagles while Anthony Golden added 22 points, seven boards and six assists, and Jonathan Morse 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

Willetton were still without star import Jay Bowie with a knee injury ahead of hosting the Senators on Saturday night with the Tigers coming off a loss on Friday in Rockingham while Stirling were impressive beating the Redbacks at home.

It turned out to be a tight contest for three quarters too until the Tigers pulled away in the last term with 25 points to 17 to end up winning by 14 points and improve to an 8-6 record in fifth position. The Senators stay fourth at 9-6.

Badou Diagne continued his good form for the Tigers with another impressive showing finishing with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Kyle Armour added 18 points and six assists for Willetton, Damien Scott 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, Andrew Black 14 points and seven assists, and Hayden Noordhoek seven points and six rebounds.

Justin King top-scored for the Senators with 20 points and five rebounds with Ash Litterick adding 11 points, seven boards and three assists, Cody Ellis 11 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Robert Anshila nine points and seven boards.

WEEK 11 MEN’S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks 67 lost to Joondalup Wolves 95
Rockingham Flames 107 defeated Willetton Tigers 86
Stirling Senators 94 defeated Perth Redbacks 89

SATURDAY
Geraldton Buccaneers 105 defeated South West Slammers 82
Goldfields Giants 106 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 128
Perth Redbacks 101 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 82
Joondalup Wolves 107 defeated Mandurah Magic 75
East Perth Eagles 94 lost to Rockingham Flames 100
Cockburn Cougars 81 lost to Lakeside Lightning 85
Willetton Tigers 83 defeated Stirling Senators 69