NBL1 West Recap | Friday Men's Round 5

There were two tremendous contests in the NBL1 West Men's Division on Friday night with the Perth Redbacks notching their first win and the Warwick Senators sending a statement against the Joondalup Wolves.

The first full round of action in the NBL1 West since the opening weekend got underway on Friday night and the two contests in the Men's Division certainly didn’t disappoint.

The Perth Redbacks had a rough first couple of matches to start the season but they made a fast start against the East Perth Eagles on Friday at Belmont Oasis and came away with the 79-65 victory.

Louis Timms played in his first win for the Redbacks with 22 points and seven rebounds while Zac Gattorna had 20 points and 10 boards, and Tevin Jackson 17 points and nine rebounds. Logan Thwaites and Mitch Benger had 15 points each for the Eagles.

It was then the battle of undefeated teams as local rivals the Warwick Senators and Joondalup Wolves did battle at Warwick Senators, and it was the West Coast Classic champion Senators who prevailed 100-78.

Justin King put up 28 points and nine rebounds with Cody Ellis adding 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Senators while Lochlan Cummings scored 17 points for the Wolfpack.

It all leads into a monster night of action in the Men's Division of NBL1 West including the Geraldton Buccaneers playing their first home match up against the Rockingham Flames at Active West Stadium.

The Joondalup Wolves also back up from Friday night by hosting the Mandurah Magic at HBF Arena with the East Perth Eagles also at home to the Goldfields Giants at Herb Graham Recreation Centre.

The Willetton Tigers and Perry Lakes Hawks also lock horns in the battle of undefeated teams at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Lakeside Lightning also facing the South West Slammers at Lakeside Recreation Centre, and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns playing the Cockburn Cougars at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns are also at home to the Willetton Tigers while the Cockburn Cougars face the Goldfields Giants at Wally Hagan Stadium.

NBL1 WEST – 2021 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 5 – FRIDAY NIGHT

PERTH REDBACKS 79 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 65

After a rough start, the Perth Redbacks have opened their account with a first NBL1 West victory in the Men's Division beating the East Perth Eagles 79-65 on Friday night.

The Redbacks Men lost their first couple of games in NBL1 West away to the Warwick Senators and at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks, but they hit back well at Belmont Oasis on Friday evening to come away with the 14-point win over the Eagles.

The Redbacks got off to the perfect start in the hunt for that elusive first win by scoring the game's opening six points through Louis Timms, Zac Gattorna and Tevin Jackson before a triple from Kieran Berry got East Perth going.

But Perth continued to pull away and soon led by double-figures with three balls from Kyden Edman and Gattorna, and went into quarter-time leading 29-17.

However, the Eagles weren’t going away and they got the better of the second quarter with 18 points of their own and limiting the Redbacks to just 10. It was a frustrated Redbacks outfit who went into half-time with the narrow 39-35 lead.

But the Redbacks were able to pull away throughout the second half with 21 points to 14 in the third quarter, and 19 to 16 in the fourth to take away the 79-65 victory for their first win of the NBL1 West season and see the Eagles fall to a 1-3 record.

In the end, the fact that the Redbacks forced the Eagles into 23 turnovers and ultimately took 10 extra field and got to the free-throw line for 30 attempts to 12 were the major differences in the game.

Louis Timms tasted victory for the first time with the Redbacks having crossed over from the Eastern Suns, and he led the way with 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Zac Gattorna also produced 20 points and 10 rebounds for Perth, Tevin Jackson 17 points and nine boards, Lachlan Bertram seven points and five rebounds, and Joel Wagner seven points and seven assists.

Logan Thwaites put up 15 points and five rebounds for East Perth with Mitch Benger adding 15 points, six boards and four assists, Andrej Donlagic nine points and seven rebounds, and Matt Vinci nine points and five boards.

WARWICK SENATORS 100 defeated JOONDALUPL WOLVES 78

Two of the early form teams of the NBL1 West Men's Division locked horns on Friday night with the Warwick Senators prevailing 100-78 against the Joondalup Wolves.

The two teams were both part of the top four who made the finals in the West Coast Classic last year, and they have started the new season impressively coming into Friday's clash between the local rivals at Warwick Stadium.

On the back of taking out the West Coast Classic last year, the Senators opened up 2021 with wins over the Perth Redbacks and South West Slammers while the Wolves also looked good in victories over the East Perth Eagles and Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Senators worked their way on top during the opening quarter but the Wolves turned the tide in the second term and all of a sudden went into half-time with the 43-40 edge away from home.

But it was all the Senators in the second half as they unleashed their full array of arsenal to rack up 60 points on the back 30 points in the third and fourth quarters to win by 22 points having turned around the three-point deficit from half-time.

The Senators ended up winning the rebound count including having 10 offensive boards to just four on top of forcing the Wolves into 19 turnovers and ultimately they took 15 extra field goals, and once again the team that won the possession game prevailed on the scoreboard.

Justin King had a night out for the Senators racking up 28 points, nine rebounds and three assists while shooting 5/7 from beyond the arc.

Cody Ellis had a tremendous all-round performance made up of 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals with young gun Ethan Elliott adding 14 points, Corban Wroe 11 points and three assists, and Caleb Davis 15 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Lochlan Cummings top-scored for Joondalup with 17 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists with Jacob Formosa ending up with 15 points, six boards and four assists, and Trian Iliadis 12 points.