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ROUND 11 in the Men’s SBL saw two big wins for the Joondalup Wolves as they regained top position while Warwick Senators and Geraldton Buccaneers split their double-headers while there were strong wins for Willetton, Goldfields, Perry Lakes, Rockingham and Kalamunda.

Round 11 in the Men’s SBL began on Friday night with two tantalising match ups that saw a rematch of the 2017 Grand Final with the Joondalup Wolves prevailing 108-98 over the Perth Redbacks at Belmont Oasis.

The Warwick Senators then won their ninth straight match in impressive fashion despite Michael Vigor’s return for the Lakeside Lightning, with the Senators coming away 90-78 victors at Warwick Stadium.

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Then on Saturday night, the Willetton Tigers won consecutive matches and ending the winning run of the Warwick Senators, winning 90-87 at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Goldfields Giants continued their strong form beating Mandurah Magic 93-88 in Kalgoorlie while the Joondalup Wolves won a tight one 87-84 against the Geraldton Buccaneers at HBF Arena.

The Perry Lakes Hawks snapped their three-game losing run beating the Gavin Field-less Cockburn Cougars 101-81 at Bendat Basketball Centre with the Rockingham Flames beating the East Perth Eagles at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns travelling south to beat the South West Slammers 84-66.

The round then concluded on Sunday at Herb Graham Recreation Centre with the Geraldton Buccaneers putting on a 20-0 run in the second half to beat the East Perth Eagles 103-83.

Following 11 rounds of the 2019 Men’s SBL season, the Joondalup Wolves (12-3) sit on top of the standings ahead of the Warwick Senators (10-3), Rockingham Flames (10-4) and Geraldton Buccaneers (9-4).

The Lakeside Lightning (8-4) remain fifth in front of the Goldfields Giants (9-5), Perry Lakes Hawks (8-6) and Perth Redbacks (7-8).

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns (7-8) are just outside the top eight in front of the Willetton Tigers (6-9), East Perth Eagles (5-10), Cockburn Cougars (3-10), Mandurah Magic (3-10) and South West Slammers (0-13).

ROUND 11 MEN’S SBL

FRIDAY

TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 98 lost to CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 108

Round 11 of the Men’s SBL got underway on Friday night with a 2017 Grand Final rematch as the Perth Redbacks and Joondalup Wolves renewed their rivalry with the Wolfpack coming away with a 10-point win after a tremendous contest.

A fascinating rivalry has built up in recent years between the two teams which included that Grand Final contest of two years ago, and the clash didn’t disappoint once more on Friday night.

The Wolfpack came into the game on a two-game winning run while the Redbacks had won five of their past six so they were both in good form as well with the Wolves starting strongly to end up leading 30-24 by quarter-time.

Joondalup maintained the momentum throughout the second term to go into half-time with a 56-41 advantage.

The Redbacks fired back, though, and put up 28 points to just 21 in the third quarter to cut the Wolves lead to 77-69.

But Joondalup did enough in a high-scoring last quarter to hold sway and score the 108-98 victory to set up their clash with Geraldton on Saturday night while the loss saw the Redbacks slip to 7-8 in their only appearance of the weekend.

Both teams delivered outstanding shooting performances in a high quality contest with the Wolves finishing up going 39/79 at 49 per cent from the floor, 16/33 at 48 per cent from three-point range and 14/19 at 73 per cent at the foul line.

Meanwhile, the Redbacks went 35/69 at 50 per cent from the field, 14/31 at 45 per cent from three and 14/21 at 66 per cent from the charity stripe.

The Wolfpack did finish with eight more rounds as well as 26 assists for the night while the Redbacks also had 26 assists.

Earnest Ross ended the night with 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Wolves with Ridell Camidge producing 22 points including going 4/5 from three-point territory.

Rob Huntington also had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists for Joondalup, Reece Maxwell 11 points and seven boards, Ben Ironmonger 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, and Seb Salinas seven points, five boards and three assists.

Jourdan DeMuynck put up a huge showing for the Redbacks finishing with 44 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals on shooting 17/30 from the field and 7/14 from downtown.

Marshall Nelson added 22 points and three assists for Perth while hitting 5/8 from long-range with Majier Garang contributing 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayden Coburn seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Captain Joel Wagner had six points, 11 assists, three steals and three rebounds in his 349th SBL appearance.

BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 90 defeated LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 78

The Warwick Senators continue to be the hottest team in the Men’s SBL overcoming the absence of Ash Litterick and the return for Lakeside of Michael Vigor to score an impressive 12-point win at Warwick Stadium on Friday night.

Even though the Senators started the game with consecutive threes to Wani Swaka Lu Buluk and Caleb Davis, the Lightning soon took over and it was Jarrad Prue hitting their first four points including on a trademark offensive board.

Michael Vigor then hit their next four points, including a dunk on another offensive rebound, and the signs were there that Lakeside could dominate inside.

When Jobi Wall hit six quick points too for the Lightning, they took the lead and were still up 27-20 by quarter-time.

Triples from Davis and Ngor Manyang turned things around and had Warwick back in front narrowly two minutes into the second period before the Lightning responded with a 7-0 run of their own.

Things remained tight leading into half-time with Warwick only leading 44-43 at the break with a dunk on the buzzer from Manyang following an offensive board.

By the time Justin King nailed a three four minutes into the second half, the Senators were up nine with all the momentum.

While the Lightning never gave up the ghost, they never really got within striking distance the rest of the way with the Senators going on to win by 12 for the ninth straight win.

The Senators finished with 41 rebounds to 40 for the night on top of 19 assists and just 10 turnovers for 33 made field goals. They restricted Lakeside to going 8/25 from three-point range and with winning the rebound battle and conceding just eight triples, that was pivotal in the final result.

With Ash Litterick sitting out with an injured ankle, Robert Anshila stepped up big time for the Senators for his best game of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Justin King top-scored for Warwick with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists with Caleb Davis also contributing 17 points and four assists, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Cody Ellis seven points, five boards, two assists and two steals.

Ngor Manyang continued his run of career-best form too with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two assists including hitting two three-pointers.

Michael Vigor showed just what a difference-maker he could be for the Lightning delivering 24 points and seven rebounds despite the loss.

Rowan Mackenzie also put up 19 points, five rebounds and four assists while Jobi Wall produced 12 points and four rebounds, Kyle Armour 12 points and eight assists, and Jarrad Prue nine points and 11 rebounds.

Coming off his 37-point Player of the Round performance, Jack Isenbarger had just two points on 1/7 shooting.

SATURDAY

WILLETTON TIGERS 90 defeated BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 87

The Willetton Tigers showed they are a team that can’t be slept on in the second half of the season bringing an end to the nine-game winning run of the Warwick Senators at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.

Willetton had ended its three-game losing slide against East Perth the previous week but it was going to be a whole other challenge up against a Senators team on a nine-game winning run come Saturday night.

Even on their home floor, it was going to take a big effort from the Tigers when despite the Senators coming off a tough game with Lakeside on Friday, they did take great confidence from the way they performed even in the absence of starting centre Ash Litterick.

Warwick kept that momentum going too on Saturday night starting strongly against Willetton with 24 points to 16 in the opening quarter.

While the Tigers outscored the Senators in the second period, the visitors still went into the half-time break leading 49-43.

Willetton then turned things on its head at both ends of the floor in the third quarter. The Tigers held the Senators to just the 13 points in the third quarter while scoring 25 themselves.

That saw them work their way on top and then up by 10 to start the fourth quarter when Damien Scott dropped a triple.

The Senators wouldn’t go away and did get within a solitary point on a couple of occasions down the stretch, but on this occasion it would be the Tigers with the answers. Firstly with a Mo Barrow jumper and then free-throws from Marrow and Scott which were enough to secure the 90-87 victory.

The win improves Willetton to 6-9 on the season while Warwick slips to 10-3 with their nine-match winning streak coming to an end.

Damien Scott had a terrific night for the Tigers leading his side to the win with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals on shooting 10/17 from the field and 3/7 from long-range.

Jackson Hussey was a strong contributor too with 23 points, four assists and three rebounds on 9/14 shooting with Chris Galbreath producing 11 points and nine boards, Mo Barrow 12 points and three rebounds, and Scott Elder nine points and five boards.

Caleb Davis finished the evening with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists for Warwick while Justin King added 22 points, seven assists and six boards.

Ngor Manyang continued the best form of his career with 13 points and four rebounds for the Senators as well while Cody Ellis finished with 11 points, five boards, five assists and four steals.

NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 93 defeated MANDURAH MAGIC 88

The Goldfields Giants continued their good form even without Patrick Burke to beat the Mandurah Magic in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night by five points but not without surviving a second half fight back from the visitors.

The Giants were coming off a one-point loss at Niels Hansen Basketball Centre the previous Saturday night but that was hardly a bad performance and prior to that they had won three straight games including beaten the past two champions, Perry Lakes and Perth, on the road.

But the Magic also made the trip to Kalgoorlie fresh off their third win of the season against Cockburn and were looking to back it up with consecutive wins for the first time in 2019.

But it was the Giants who shot out of the blocks quickly putting up 32 points in the first quarter to already hold a 17-point lead by quarter-time.

Goldfields would lead by as many as 20 points to be in command of the contest but Mandurah responded well either side of half-time.

The Magic was able to cut the lead of the Giants at half-time to just six points and then Mandurah outscored Goldfields 25 points to 19 in the third period and all of a sudden scores were tied heading into the fourth.

The Giants were just able to find enough when it mattered most down the stretch to come away with the 93-88 victory that sees them improve to a 9-5 record on the season while the Magic are now 3-10 despite the encouraging showing.

In the absence of powerful import Patrick Burke, Jay Bowie (34 points, 11 rebounds, three assists), Mayo Malek (26 points, 13 rebounds) and David Humphries (22 points, seven boards, four assists, two steals) all delivered standout performances for the Giants.

Jerome Reid also had five points and five rebounds, Daniel Forlano four points and four assists, and Brandon Holloway two points and four assists.

Mandurah’s star trio also had impressive showings with Marvin Smith leading the way with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on shooting 14/19 from the field.

Shaun Stewart also had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Magic, and Travis Durnin 19 points, 10 boards and three assists.

Damon Ballantyne battled hard for five points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals while Akau Deng also had four points and nine boards.

CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 87 defeated QUADRIO EARTHMOVING GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 84

The Joondalup Wolves and Geraldton Buccaneers have been perennial contenders of late they have had some cracking battles in recent years, and Saturday night at HBF Arena was another of those.

The Wolfpack and Buccs have more often than not been jostling for top two or top four positions when meeting during the regular season in recent years including in 2018 when Geraldton claimed the minor premiership just ahead of Joondalup.

With Earnest Ross now with the Wolves in 2019 having played at the Buccs in 2018, there was some added intrigue for the contest at the Joondalup venue as well on Saturday night.

The Wolfpack were coming into the game fresh off beating the Perth Redbacks on Friday night while the Buccaneers were starting their road triple double-header after a bounce back win at home last week to the Perry Lakes Hawks following a surprise loss to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Wolves did start strongly leading 11-4 early and still 16-9 before a Marcus Alipate triple and another from youngster Oliver Haste kept things close with the home team up 24-23 at the end of one.

The Buccs then started the second quarter strong to go up 33-29 on an Alipate field goal leading the Wolves into a timeout from coach Ben Ettridge. He got an immediate response with Ridell Camidge hitting his third three-pointer of the half before Earnest Ross also connected from deep to tie scores.

Haste responded in kind for Geraldton and then despite four quick Kevin Davis points for the Wolves, the visitors led 48-46 at the half-time interval.

It took one possession of the second half for the Wolfpack to regain the lead thanks to a Rob Huntington three. A Davis and-one play then put them up four but it didn’t take long for a Colter Lasher triple to the Buccaneers back in front by two.

The Wolfpack, though, then made the biggest break of the game and when Seb Salinas drained one from downtown, they led by seven heading towards three quarter-time.

That soon became eight and they still lead by four heading into the fourth quarter.

The seesawing contest continued and with five quick Liam Hunt points, the Buccs took the early lead in the last term. He then scored again to stretch his team’s lead to three but Camidge was in the midst of his best game of the season and another three saw the Wolves back on top.

He hit another soon after and that was enough to give the Wolfpack a match-winning advantage and they held on to win 87-84 to improve to 12-3 on the season and reclaim top position.

Ridell Camidge played his best game of the season for the Wolfpack finishing with 30 points and three rebounds including shooting 7/11 from three-point range.

Earnest Ross also had 24 points and 12 rebounds while Kevin Davis contributed 14 points, four boards and three blocked shots, and Rob Huntington seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

Liam Hunt top-scored for the Buccaneers with 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists while shooting 10/11 from the floor.

Colter Lasher also produced 21 points and eight rebounds for the Buccs with Marcus Alipate contributing 17 points and seven assists, Aaron Ralph 11 points and seven rebounds, and Oliver Haste six points.

ID ATHLETIC PERRY LAKES HAWKS 101 defeated PRESTIGE HONDA MELVILLE COCKBURN COUGARS 81

There was no Gavin Field or Clint Steindl for either side, but the Perry Lakes Hawks shook off a committed Cockburn Cougars outfit to win by 20 points at Bendat Basketball Centre on Saturday night.

The Hawks were in a tremendous run of form winning seven of eight games when they added Perth Wildcats NBL legend Shawn Redhage to their defending champion line-up, but that saw them lose the last three games heading into Saturday night.

And Perry Lakes was without Perth Wildcats championship winning sharpshooter Clint Steindl for the clash with the Cougars but it was a Cockburn team minus superstar captain Gavin Field with them having lost five straight.

That meant both teams were desperate for a win come Saturday night and the upset was on the cards early with Cockburn racing to a 7-2 lead with all seven Cougars points coming from import Eric Milam.

But minutes later after a Brian Carlwell dunk, Perry Lakes led 12-11. The Cougars continued to start strongly, though, and it was only a Ryan Smith triple that saw the Hawks lead 27-24 by quarter-time.

While Cockburn never kept competing, Perry Lakes would lead the rest of the way after extending their lead to 10 to start the second quarter thanks to four quick Kyle Sovine points and then a triple from Cooper Hamilton.

The Hawks went into half-time leading 54-42 and despite a strong third quarter from Cougars that brought them back within seven at three quarter-time, Perry Lakes pulled away to win 101-81.

The win improves the Hawks to an 8-6 record on the season while the Cougars are now 3-10 and desperate for the return of Gavin Field.

The Hawks ended up pulling in 12 more rebounds than the Cougars while having 27 assists on 42 made field goals while turning the ball over just 13 times. Their bench also scored 66 of their 101 points.

Ryan Smith top-scored off the bench for Perry Lakes in less than 28 minutes of court time with 25 points and six rebounds while nailing 6/12 from three-point range.

Kyle Sovine added 18 points and six rebounds for the Hawks too off the bench with Brian Carlwell contributing 17 points and 10 boards, and Rob Cassir six points, three rebounds and three assists.

Cooper Hamilton was the only starter to score in double-figures with 11 points on 3/5 from downtown while Mitch Clarke had eight points and five rebounds, and Shawn Redhage eight points and four boards after a tough 3/12 shooting night.

Eric Milam had a hot start and finished the night top-scoring for the Cougars with 20 points and four rebounds on 9/17 shooting from the floor.

Seva Chan produced 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds too for Cockburn while Jaarod Holmes contributed 18 points and four boards, Jake Harris nine points and three rebounds, and Hayden Bell seven points, five boards and three assists.

SINCLAIR MCDONALD’S ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 77 defeated CMTG EAST PERTH EAGLES 60

The Rockingham Flames returned to Mike Barnett Sports Complex and continued their impressive form making it three straight wins beating the East Perth Eagles by 17 points.

East Perth had changed over coach officially during the week with Adam Forde standing down as he prepares to join the Sydney Kings in the NBL.

He handed over the reins to Colin Driscoll who has already coached some games this season in Forde’s absence, but now is officially in charge for the rest of 2019.

He was looking for a winning start to his tenure to keep the Eagles in touch for a playoff position too against a Flames team in hot form but without Greg Hire who was helping Australia win the 3×3 Asia Cup on the weekend.

But Rockingham came out and dominated the first half holding East Perth to just 14 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second while putting up 52 themselves to lead 52-25 at half-time.

The game was all but over as a contest but the Eagles at least showed some impressive fight in the second half to outscore the Flames 35 points to 25 to limit Rockingham’s eventual 77-60 win.

That should give East Perth some momentum to take into Sunday’s clash with the Geraldton Buccaneers while the Flames have now won three straight to sit third at 10-4.

Chudier Pal ended up top-scoring for Rockingham with 17 points and 11 rebounds along with two blocked shots.

Josh Ritchart contributed 15 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals as well for the Flames with Luke Travers producing 13 points, seven boards, three assists and three blocked shots, Caleb White 12 points and three assists, and Justin Beard 11 points and seven rebounds.

Drew Williamson top-scored for East Perth with the captain producing 18 points and five rebounds with Dennis Tawhiti adding 13 points and seven boards, Cameron Williams 10 points and three assists, and Jordan Wellsteed eight points and two rebounds.

PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 66 lost to KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 84

The impressive presence of Terrell Carter wasn’t enough for the South West Slammers to win its first game of the 2019 season with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns going south and coming back with a strong 18-point victory.

While the Slammers did add imposing big man Terrell Carter to its line-up for the first time, they were without point guard Michael Lay with Chris Douglas continuing to be out along with the changeover of imports from Brian Voelkel to Carter.

So it was a significantly different line-up than coach John Triscari would have pictured having by this time in the season as a talented and deep Kalamunda team came to Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night.

While the Eastern Suns have been playing well, they do need to keep winning if they hope to break into the top eight and they started strongly against the Slammers leading by five points at quarter-time and then by 11 at half-time.

Kalamunda continued to control the contest in the second half as well to end up winning 84-66 to improve to a 7-8 record while the Slammers have lost their first 13 games of 2019.

Josh Braun finished the night with 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Eastern Suns with Louis Timms adding 23 points, five boards and four assists.

Ryan Blanchett delivered 11 points and three rebounds from the bench with Logan Viskovich contributing 10 points and three boards, and Javion Blake eight points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Terrell Carter produced 27 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists on debut for the Slammers while shooting an efficient 12/16 from the field.

Fellow import Tyler Livingston added 19 points and seven rebounds while Lucas Goff contributed eight points and 10 boards, and Cory Richardson six points, eight rebounds and three assists.

SUNDAY

CMTG EAST PERTH EAGLES 83 lost to QUADRIO EARTHMOVING GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 103

The Geraldton Buccaneers had to fight hard to shake off the East Perth Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Herb Graham Recreation Centre in the absence of their new import and starting forward, but the Buccs made a 22-0 second half run to set up the eventual 20-point victory.

Both East Perth and Geraldton came into the Sunday afternoon contest after losing the previous night with the Eagles losing in Rockingham by 17 points and the Buccaneers going down to the Wolfpack in a nail-biter by three.

So that had them both determined to bounce back with East Perth looking to stay in touch with the top eight and Geraldton out to remain entrenched inside the top four.

Despite an early East Perth three from captain Drew Williamson, Geraldton got the better of the start opening up a 12-3 lead forcing Colin Driscoll into his first timeout of the game.

It didn’t have an immediate response with the Buccaneers soon going up 17-5 after Marcus Alipate nailed a three-pointer, but then Shaquille Maharaj responded in kind and the Eagles worked back into the contest.

Cameron Williams then hit a three as well and with Maharaj knocking down his second three, Geraldton’s lead was cut to 24-20 by quarter-time.

Each time the Buccaneers threatened to pull away in the second quarter, the Eagles were able to score to stay in touch until three consecutive triples from Alipate saw the visitors go up by nine heading towards half-time.

But seven quick East Perth points from Jordan Wellsteed to close the half saw Geraldton’s lead just 50-46 at half-time.

The Eagles then stuck with the Buccs for the first half of the third quarter too including a three-point play from Dennis Tawhiti and then 10 quick points from Maharaj in the space of two minutes, including knocking down two from beyond the arc.

But the Buccs finished the third quarter with the last seven points including yet another three from Alipate to lead 78-66 at three quarter-time.

Geraldton continued that momentum into the fourth period scoring the first 15 points including an and-one play from Liam Hunt, two triples from Ralph and another from Alipate to continue the best outing of his SBL career.

By the time Matt Wundenberg hit a free-throw, Geraldton led 97-69 before their 22-0 run ended thanks to a three-pointer from Ned Seery for East Perth but the Buccs went on to cruise to the 103-83 win.

It was a dominant performance on the glass from the Buccs as they reeled in 52 rebounds to 30 including 19 on the offensive end for 17 second chance points.

The Buccs also hit 15/32 from three-point range and had 29 assists on 33 made field goals for the game. They also forced the Eagles into 17 turnovers and scored 22 points from those.

Marcus Alipate was the star of the contest for Geraldton finishing with 35 points, six rebounds and six assists while nailing 9/14 from three-point range and 6/6 from the foul line. His previous season-high was 23 points against Cockburn.

Aaron Ralph battled away too in usual fashion for the Buccs compiling 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals, starting in the absence of both DeAngelo Isby and Brayden Inger. Brendan Dinardo started too and did well with 10 points, five boards, three assists and two steals.

Colter Lasher produced 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as well for the Buccaneers while Liam Hunt added 10 points and four rebounds, and Matt Wundenberg three points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Shaquille Maharaj continues to show he will be a handy mid-season addition for East Perth ending up top-scoring in just 21 minutes with 16 points, six assists and three rebounds while hitting 4/8 from downtown.

Cameron Williams added 15 points for the Eagles with Jermaine Malie producing 12 points, Drew Williamson 11 to go with four assists and three steals, Ned Seery eight points and three assists, Dennis Tawhiti seven points and three boards, and Jordan Wellsteed seven points and five rebounds.