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THE Warwick Senators scored two statement Round 8 victories in the Men’s SBL over the Rockingham Flames and Joondalup Wolves while the Perth Redbacks continued to emerge with two big wins as well.

The Senators faced two significant tests within 24 hours in Round 8 of the Men’s SBL with Warwick passing both with flying colours recording the wins over the Flames and Wolfpack.

They weren’t the only team to impress in the Men’s SBL on the weekend with the Redbacks winning twice as well while the Perry Lakes Hawks, Goldfields Giants, Geraldton Buccaneers and Lakeside Lightning recorded strong wins.

ROUND 8 SPOTLIGHT | SENATORS BREAK HOODOO AGAINST WOLVES
ROUND 8 SPOTLIGHT | HAWKS CATCH FIRE TO DOUSE SUNS
ROUND 8 MEN’S SBL PREVIEW

Round 8 in the Men’s SBL began on Friday night with the Perth Redbacks beating the East Perth Eagles 114-79 while the Perry Lakes Hawks defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 102-80, and the Warwick Senators downed the Rockingham Flames 110-99.

Then on Saturday night, the Perth Redbacks beat the South West Slammers 124-68, the Rockingham Flames downed the Willetton Tigers 96-68, the Warwick Senators prevailed 80-71 over the Joondalup Wolves and the Lakeside Lightning beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 109-77.

The regional clashes saw the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Mandurah Magic 89-74 and the Goldfields Giants defeat the Cockburn Cougars 84-79.

After eight rounds in the Men’s SBL, the Geraldton Buccaneers, Warwick Senators and Lakeside Lightning all hold 7-2 records while the Joondalup Wolves and Perry Lakes Hawks are just behind at 7-3.

The Rockingham Flames are now 7-4 while the Goldfields Giants are 6-4 and Perth Redbacks 5-6 to close out the top eight.

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns (5-7) are just outside ahead of the Willetton Tigers (4-7), East Perth Eagles (4-7), Cockburn Cougars (3-6), Mandurah Magic (2-8) and South West Slammers (0-10).

FRIDAY

CMTG EAST PERTH EAGLES 79 lost to TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 114

The different trajectories the form of East Perth and Perth continue to head kept going on Friday night with the Redbacks beating the Eagles by 35 points.

East Perth started the season strongly winning three of its first four games but the Eagles have now lost four straight following Friday night’s loss and six of their past seven.

The Redbacks, meanwhile, started their season losing their first four games and six of the first eight, but they have now won their last two following the big Friday night win at Herb Graham Recreation Centre.

The Redbacks came out on fire with 29 points to 10 in the first quarter. They added another 32 points to 22 in the second period and continued on after the break with 33 points to 27 in the third term.

The Redbacks went on to win the game 114-79 to continue their resurgence this season following the slow start.

Perth finished with 55 rebounds to 41 while having a tremendous shooting night to make up for their 22 turnovers. The Redbacks shot 43/82 at 52 per cent from the field and 19/31 at a remarkable 61 per cent from three-point territory.

Marshall Nelson had a stunning shooting night from downtown nailing 7/8 of his three-point attempts to finish with 31 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jourdan DeMuynck showed his value for the Redbacks too with 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists with Zac Gattorna producing 20 points, five boards and three steals, Majier Garang 11 points and nine rebounds, and Lachlan Bertram eight points, three boards and two assists.

Cameron Williams finished with 19 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists for the Eagles while Drew Williamson contributed 19 points, four boards and three steals, and Aiden Murphy 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Jordan Wellsteed also had nine points, three rebounds and three assists for East Perth, and Dennis Tawhiti eight points and 10 boards.

ID ATHLETIC PERRY LAKES HAWKS 102 defeated KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 80

Clint Steindl was back in the line-up for the Perry Lakes Hawks but it was the supporting cast of the defending champions that was behind Friday night’s 102-80 victory over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Bendat Basketball Centre.

The match up of the night was always going to be the battle of shooting guards between Clint Steindl and on-fire Kalamunda import Josh Braun. The tone for that was set when Steindl took that first shot just seconds after tip-off.

Despite Carlwell getting the offensive board and putback for the Hawks, the Suns started well and it was on the back of going inside to start with Louis Timms and Ryan Blanchett finishing well.

Steindl then drained a triple but Blanchett responded in kind for the Eastern Suns. When Timms converted a three-point play the Suns led 10-7 in a good start against the defending champs.

They still led until Ryan Smith came on and continued his hot shooting form from long-range. Kyle Sovine too came and provided Perry Lakes with a spark inside and then four quick points from wily veteran Dan Thomas saw the home team up 27-20 after one.

Carlwell knocked down a trailing three-point to put Perry Lakes up 10 to start the second period before Timms kept the Suns in touch with a couple of inside baskets.

Carlwell was producing a huge first half for the Hawks, though, controlling things inside and when Steindl knocked one down from beyond the arc, the margin was 13 as Mark Utley called a timeout.

He got an immediate response with consecutive Braun three-pointers to keep the margin to single-figures. Despite Braun converting an alley-oop and hitting a three to close the first half, it went against the tide and Perry Lakes went into half-time up 62-44.

Kalamunda did continue to battle through the second half, but could never get close enough to seriously threaten Perry Lakes who led by as much as 22 points and with getting 50 points off the bench, their depth shone through.

Ryan Smith top-scored for the Hawks in just 23 minutes off the bench with 20 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots including going 6/10 from beyond the arc.

Brian Carlwell dominated the first half and finished the night with an efficient 18 points and 10 rebounds in exactly 20 minutes.

Clint Steindl put up 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals while Kyle Sovine contributed 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The strong contributions for Perry Lakes continued with Ben Purser’s 10 points, five assists and four rebounds along with seven points and four boards from Cooper Hamilton, and Rob Cassir’s five points, four rebounds and two assists.

Louis Timms finished the night with 25 points, 15 rebounds and three assists for Kalamunda with Ryan Blanchett contributing eight points, Logan Viskovich eight points and three rebounds, Corey Easley five points, eight boards and six assists, and Carl Aylett five points and three assists.

Josh Braun had a fascinating battle with Clint Steindl and Ryan Smith throughout the night as the star import shooting guard continued the strong start to his SBL career even if he didn’t feel he played well personally.

Braun finished the night with 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots on 8/21 shooting from the field, 5/7 from three-point range and 5/7 from the foul line.

SINCLAIR MCDONALD’S ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 99 lost to BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 110

Another cracking Friday night contest loomed at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and it was the Warwick Senators that went south and came back with the impressive 11-point win over the Rockingham Flames.

The Flames were minus Greg Hire who was in Puerto Rico helping Australia book a place for the 3×3 FIBA World Cup but they haven’t had their full team on their court all season but have still been able to deliver some impressive basketball.

But the Senators went down to Rockingham on a four-game winning streak and played with that confidence from the start, scoring 31 points to 23 in the opening quarter.

Both teams then combined for 62 points in the second quarter too in a high-quality contest with the Senators ending up leading the Flames 63-53 at half-time.

Warwick pulled further away in the third quarter to take a 16-point advantage heading into the fourth term. The Senators led by as much as 20 before claiming the 110-99 victory.

It was a terrific shooting night from both teams with Warwick going 44/79 at 55 per cent from the floor and 14/26 at 53 per cent from downtown while Rockingham shot 37/73 at 50 per cent from the field, and 18/37 at 48 per cent from three-point territory.

The Senators finished with eight more rebounds than the Flames on their way to a fifth consecutive win.

Justin King ended the night with 26 points and six rebounds for Warwick on shooting 10/15 from the field and 4/5 from three-point range.

Caleb Davis added 26 points and 10 rebounds too for the Senators while Ash Litterick produced 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, Cody Ellis 14 points, four assists, three boards and three steals, Rob Anshila 12 points and seven rebounds, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 11 points and seven assists.

Caleb White top-scored for the Flames with 31 points on shooting 10/15 from the floor and 6/8 from downtown in his highest-scoring performance of the season.

Josh Ritchart also had 22 points and five rebounds for Rockingham while Justin Beard had 13 points, five boards and four assists, and Luke Travers seven points and six rebounds.

SATURDAY

TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 124 defeated PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 68

The Perth Redbacks continued to build their momentum after a slow start to the season with a 56-point hammering of the still winless South West Slammers on Saturday.

The Redbacks were coming off a win over the Eagles by 35 points on Friday night as they returned to Belmont Oasis to host the winless Slammers on Saturday night.

The Slammers hopes weren’t helped with the continued absence of Brian Voelkel and the signs were ominous from early on.

The Redbacks piled on 37 points in the opening quarter while holding the Slammers to just 10 points.

Perth continued to extend their advantage throughout the evening at one stage scoring 15 consecutive points and leading by as much as 58 points before settling on the 124-68 victory.

The win is a third straight for the Redbacks who are now 4-6 on the season while the Slammers are 0-10 under new coach John Triscari.

It was another outstanding shooting night from the Redbacks who went at 49/84 from the field at 58 per cent and 20/42 from three-point range at 47 per cent. They also had 34 assists on 49 field goals and just the six turnovers.

The Slammers didn’t shoot too badly going 27/65 at 41 per cent from the floor and 10/25 at 40 per cent from downtown. But they only had 31 turnovers to 45 from the Redbacks and conceded 19 turnovers from which Perth scored 31 points.

Jourdan DeMuynck top-scored for the Redbacks in his third appearance of the season with 24 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals including hitting 5/9 from beyond the arc.

Marshall Nelson put up another 20 points, three rebounds and three assists for Perth while Zac Gattorna contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, Ronan Coppin 12 points, Lachlan Bertram 12 points and five boards, and Dylan Vilardi 10 points and two assists.

Tyler Livingston fought hard against the odds for the Slammers with 29 points and 10 rebounds with Michael Lay adding 11 points, six assists and three rebounds, Cory Richardson seven points and Phoenix O’Neill seven points, four rebounds and two assists.

WILLETTON TIGERS 68 lost to SINCLAIR MCDONALD’S ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 96

The Rockingham Flames wasted no time bouncing back from their home loss on Friday beating the Willetton Tigers by 28 points on Saturday night.

The Flames went down on their home floor to the Warwick Senators on Friday night without Greg Hire and Chudier Pal, but they responded strongly on Saturday at Willetton Basketball Stadium against the Tigers.

It was a tight opening quarter with scores tied at 23-apiece by quarter-time before the Flames surged ahead in the second period with 30 points to 16.

Rockingham continued its momentum with another 25 points to 16 in the third term and then another 18 to 13 in the fourth to run out 96-68 winners.

The win improves the Flames to a 7-4 record on the season while Willetton is now 4-7.

Rockingham had a good shooting night, especially inside the arc going 38/71 at 53 per cent from the field while Willetton ended up shooting 27/78 at 34 per cent.

Caleb White again top-scored for the Flames with 18 points and five rebounds while hitting 4/8 from three-point range.

Josh Ritchart added 16 points and eight rebounds with Chudier Pal delivering 14 points and five boards, Ryan Godfrey 14 points and five assists, Luke Travers 10 points and four assists, and Luke Roberts nine points and six assists.

Mo Barrow top-scored for Willetton with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists with Damien Scott adding 13 points and four assists, Scott Elder 10 points and seven rebounds, Andrew Black nine points and four assists, and Hamish Cummings eight points and five boards.

NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 84 defeated PRESTIGE HONDA MELVILLE COCKBURN COUGARS 79

The Goldfields Giants continued their winning ways on their home floor on Saturday night coming from behind to beat the Cockburn Cougars by five points.

The Giants had won three of their four matches at Niels Hansen Basketball Centre this season including a one-point thriller last Saturday night over the Geraldton Buccaneers.

But Cockburn came to Kalgoorlie looking to respond to a 24-point loss last week against the Rockingham Flames that snapped their three-game winning streak.

So the stage was set for a fascinating contest and it was the visiting Cougars who started impressively with 24 points to 22 in the opening quarter. They continued to play well leading into half-time to lead 46-41 at the major break.

Cockburn still led 69-64 at three quarter-time but with their home crowd behind them, the Giants produced an impressive last quarter with 20 points to 10 to end up winning 84-79 and improve to 6-4 on the season.

Patrick Burke continued to impress for the Giants with another 28 points and 11 rebounds on 12/24 shooting from the field despite just going 4/12 from the foul line.

David Humphries added 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Goldfields with Mayo Malek producing 14 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, Jay Bowie 12 points, seven boards, five assists and two steals, and Brandon Holloway five points and six assists.

Gavin Field did all he could to try and lift the Cougars to the win with 25 points 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots on 10/19 shooting from the field and 4/9 from downtown.

Jaarod Holmes added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Cockburn, Eric Milam 16 points and five boards, and Hayden Bell 10 points and five rebounds.

QUADRIO EARTHMOVING GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 89 defeated MANDURAH MAGIC 74

There would be no surprise Geraldton upset on this year’s road trip for the Mandurah Magic with the Geraldton Buccaneers holding home court with a 15-point win on Friday night.

The Magic scored a stunning upset win in Geraldton last year despite ending up the season with just the five wins while the Buccaneers were minor premiers, but Aaron Trahair couldn’t produce the same result with Mandurah on Saturday night against the club he started his head coaching career with.

The Buccs started well on Saturday night with 30 points to 14 in the opening quarter to set the tone for another win on the back of their victory last Sunday at home to the Giants having lost by a point to Goldfields in Kalgoorlie the previous evening.

The Magic did produce a fighting performance the rest of the way despite the Buccaneers leading by as much as 18 points. Geraldton went on to win 89-74 to improve to 7-2 on the season while Mandurah slipped to 2-8.

The Buccs dominated the boards with 58 rebounds to just 37 from the Magic in what proved the major difference between the two line-ups.

Aaron Ralph continues to be one of the most lethal scorers in the SBL despite 370 games under his belt. He was lethal on Saturday night for the Buccs with 23 points, four rebounds and two assists while nailing 6/9 from three-point territory.

Colter Lasher added 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Buccaneers while Liam Hunt produced 14 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots and two steals.

Marcus Alipate also had 13 points and four assists for Geraldton and Matt Wundenberg seven points and seven rebounds.

Shaun Stewart fought valiantly for the Magic with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals with Marvin Smith contributing 21 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists.

BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 80 defeated CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 71

The Warwick Senators have come a long way but had struggled with the Joondalup Wolves for a long time. But they opened up a big first half lead on Saturday night and then withstood the charge of the Wolfpack to continue their impressive winning form.

The Wolves did start well opening up 5-2 thanks to Rob Huntington and Ridell Camidge, but the Senators soon got into their groove with their length and versatility paying dividends at both ends of the floor.

With two triples to Cody Ellis, they soon led 10-5 which became 16-7 and they were on top 22-14 by quarter-time despite Damian Matacz giving the Wolves a lift late in the quarter.

Ash Litterick then scored six quick points to start the second quarter with Warwick going on an 8-0 run to lead 30-14. When Ellis knocked down his third triple of the half, the Senators were leading 36-16 and they were still up 41-24 by half-time despite Joondalup hitting the last five points.

Earnest Ross and Huntington helped the Wolves hit the opening five points of the second half and they were always going to hit back hard after the break.

The Senators continued to answer and when Wani Swaka Lo Buluk drained a triple, they were still up 15 but Ross converted a three-point play as he attempted to put the Wolves on his back.

Ridell Camidge then tried to lift the Wolves back into the game and when he hit a three they were back within 12 before Justin King responded in kind for the Senators.

But Joondalup had picked up some momentum and a Trian Iliadis triple had the margin back to 10 with Warwick leading 61-49 at three quarter-time.

That set the stage for the Wolves to throw everything at the Senators in the fourth quarter with Warwick having lost Caleb Davis to an ankle injury and coming off their win in Rockingham the night before.

A trademark Seb Salinas three-pointer saw Joondalup just nine points down early in the final term and when Trian Iliadis converted a layup it was a seven-point ball game.

But Jay Thwaites would prove the unlikely hero down the stretch for the Senators, playing a larger role in the absence of Davis. He hit a jumper to put Warwick back up 11 and then after Wolves triples from Camidge and Ben Ironmonger, Thwaites hit a three of his own.

While the Wolves still got within five with just over a minute to go, they could never quite make it a one possession game and the Senators held on for the nine-point win.

Add that in to Warwick beating Rockingham on the road on Friday night and it was a weekend that suggests they are a genuine title threat in 2019, but so are both their opponents from this weekend.

The Senators ended up outrebounding the Wolves by 10 while shooting it at 31/69 at 44 per cent from the floor and 8/20 at 40 per cent deep. The Wolves went at 27/78 from the field at 34 per cent and 10/32 from beyond the arc at 31 per cent.

Once again it was the number of contributors the Senators had that was key to their performance with captain Cody Ellis top-scoring with 17 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots on the back of hitting 4/8 from downtown.

Justin King put up 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for Warwick while Rob Anshila produced 11 points, nine boards, three assists and two blocks, and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Jay Thwaites stepped up well for eight points, five assists and four rebounds with Ash Litterick contributing eight points, 13 boards and two blocked shots.

Ridell Camidge top-scored for the Wolves with 15 points and four rebounds with Trian Iliadis adding 12 points, three boards, three assists and two steals, Earnest Ross 11 points and six rebounds, Rob Huntington eight points and five boards, and Damian Matacz eight points and five rebounds.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 77 lost to LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 109

Round 8 in the Men’s SBL concluded on Saturday night at Ray Owen Sports Centre with a big win for the Lakeside Lightning over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

Kalamunda was back on its home floor attempting to bounce back from a Friday night loss to Perry Lakes and continue its momentum from its previous two victories over the Eagles and Tigers.

But it wasn’t to be on Saturday night with Lakeside proving too strong with Michael Vigor and Jack Isenbarger in their line-up for the first time this season.

Vigor’s original restricted player status was revoked to allow him to join Lakeside this season as the Lightning were able to unveil a line-up that includes Vigor, Isenbarger and Jobi Wall for the first time in the eventual 32-point win over the Eastern Suns.

The Lightning came out on fire with 34 points to 16 in the opening quarter to set the tone for the evening with the Eastern Suns unable to ever really get back into the contest.

Lakeside ended up pulling further away in the fourth quarter with another 29 points to 19 to come away with the 109-77 win to improve to 7-2 on the season while Kalamunda slips to 5-7 with its two Round 8 losses.

Jobi Wall top-scored for Lakeside with 24 points and six rebounds but he had plenty of support including Michael Vigor making his Lightning debut with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Jack Isenbarger marked his return from last year’s horrific broken leg with 15 points and two assists including shooting 5/8 from beyond the arc while Kyle Armour contributed 16 points and six assists, Rowan Mackenzie 14 points and eight assists, and Josh Davey five points and 15 boards.

Louis Timms top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 17 points and five rebounds with Corey Easley contributing 12 points, seven boards and five assists.

Josh Braun put up 12 points and five rebounds with Ryan Blanchett contributing 10 points and six boards, Nathan Drown nine points and two assists, and Carl Aylett eight points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.