NBL1 West Recap | Men's Friday Round 16

The Perth Redbacks took a step towards a playoff berth in the NBL1 West with a win over the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday night to open Round 16 while the Cockburn Cougars made 21 three-pointers in a big road win over the Warwick Senators.

The stakes couldn’t have been higher at Belmont Oasis between the Perth Redbacks and Perry Lakes Hawks with both teams battling over eighth position entering Round 16 on identical 9-9 records.

With finals positions now determined by percentage and not head-to-head records should you finish on the same win-loss ratio, it was the Redbacks sitting eighth with a narrow edge over the Hawks.

There was then precious little that separated the two teams on Friday night with so much on the line between the two teams who met in last year's semi finals with the Hawks going on to win the championship.

Both teams made huge shots late, but ultimately what proved match-winning for the Redbacks was an offensive rebound to Louis Timms on a missed free-throw. 

He made one more at the line to keep Perth up three and they went on to win 76-73 when Perry Lakes couldn’t get the ball in hand on the last possession to attempt one last shot.

Tevin Jackson finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for the Redbacks with Zac Gattorna spectacular with 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and while only credited with one block, he was much more lively defensively than that.

Matt Leary hit 3/5 from deep for 18 points for Perry Lakes with Andrew Ferguson adding 15 points and 12 boards.

The Cockburn Cougars then kept their top four prospects alive with a strong showing on the road to beat the Warwick Senators 108-89.

The Senators were still missing key trio Cody Ellis, Corban Wroe and Bryan Michaels, and couldn’t go with the Cougars as a result despite the presence of Perth Wildcats NBL pair Kyle Zunic and Majok Majok.

Josh Hunt had his best game of the season for Cockburn with 28 points on shooting 4/7 from deep while Carter Skaggs went 8/17 on his way to 26 points.

Zunic had a season-best 28 points for the Senators while Majok struggled for an impact with four points and three minutes in 21 and-a-half minutes.

Round 16 in the NBL1 West continues on Saturday night with the Willetton Tigers at home to the Rockingham Flames with the Cockburn Cougars also hosting the South West Slammers, and the Mandurah Magic taking on the Goldfields Giants.

The Geraldton Buccaneers will also be hosting the Joondalup Wolves while the Lakeside Lightning play the Warwick Senators and the Perry Lakes Hawks back up against the East Perth Eagles.

Round 16 in the NBL1 West then wraps up on Sunday at 1pm with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns playing the Goldfields Giants at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 MEN'S SEASON
ROUND 16 – FRIDAY NIGHT

PERTH REDBACKS 76 defeated PERRY LAKES HAWKS 73

The last remaining playoff spot up for grabs in the NBL1 West went on the line on Friday night between two teams locked together in the fight for it with three rounds remaining.

The Perth Redbacks and Perry Lakes Hawks came into Friday night's contest at Belmont Oasis both holding 9-9 records entering Round 16 and with the top seven teams locked into taking part in the playoffs, there's only going to be room for one of them come finals time.

So Friday night's clash was always going to be a potentially season-defining one for both teams and then you add in the fact the natural rivalry including the two teams meeting in the semi finals last year, and the makings of a classic was there.

Perry Lakes won that semi-final on the way to the championship in 2021 with both Tevin and Denzel Jackson were playing for the Redbacks as former Hawks players while Lewis Thomas is a former Perth player now with Perry Lakes.

The game certainly didn’t disappoint as a tight, physical and spirited contest either.

The Redbacks managed to open up a seven-point lead early and were still on top 20-17 by quarter-time.

The home team remained on top for much of the second quarter at one point going up by 12, and then still holding a 40-31 advantage by the major break.

However, Perry Lakes worked their way back into the contest in the second half as you would expect from the reigning champions with their season potentially on the line.

Perth were back up double-figures early in the fourth term when Tevin Jackson knocked down a three ball, but Matt Leary was warming up for the Hawks and he responded in kind.

When Ryan Smith converted a three-point play with five minutes on the clock Perry Lakes were back within a point setting the stage for a grandstand finish.

It was the time for big plays from the big guns on either team and Louis Timms hit a triple for the Redbacks to put them back up six, but then Andrew Ferguson responded for Perry Lakes with an and-one.

Leary then drained another three ball with three minutes to play to tie scores up. Jerami Grace and Jack Isenbarger then traded triples as well with scores still level with two minutes to go.

Grace then found Zac Gattorna for the long-range jumper to put Perth back on top before the biggest play of the night happened at the foul line.

With only seconds left on the clock, Gattorna made one at the foul line but when he missed the second, Timms was able to gather the massive offensive rebounds. He then also made 1/2 at the line to give Perth the 76-73 lead.

Perry Lakes still had a couple of seconds left to execute an attempt at the levelling basket coming out of a timeout to force overtime. Thomas took the inbounds pass and went looking inside for Ferguson, but the pass didn’t connect and the Redbacks held on for the crucial 76-73 win.

The result means the Redbacks move ahead of the Hawks in eighth spot at 10-9 with the Hawks 9-10.

Tevin Jackson put together a standout performance as the leader of the Redbacks in the continued absence of the injured Joel Wagner. He finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Zac Gattorna produced another spectacular performance as he tries to earn an NBL contract somewhere with 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block – although his recent aggressiveness to be a rim intimidator was again significant.

Jerami Grace added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Louis Timms 14 points and eight boards, and Michael Riley six points with two three-pointers.

Matt Leary ended up top-scoring for Perry Lakes with 18 points while shooting 6/8 from the field and 3/5 from downtown.

Andrew Ferguson added 15 points and 12 rebounds, Jack Isenbarger 13 points and four assists, Lewis Thomas 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Ryan Smith nine points and four boards.

WARWICK SENATORS 89 lost to COCKBURN COUGARS 108

The Cockburn Cougars kept their top four prospects in the NBL1 West alive with a strong performance on the road with the Warwick Senators struggling for the second straight week without three key players, especially their leader Cody Ellis.

Both teams entered the clash at Warwick Stadium to open Round 16 in the NBL1 West season looking to remain in touch of a top four position heightening the stakes between two teams who have threatened to be championship threats at different points so far in 2022.

It was an entertaining opening from both teams with Kyle Zunic catching fire early for the Senators as he gears up for his first season with a full contract for the Perth Wildcats, but with Carter Skaggs hitting four threes, and Paschal Chukwu a strong defensive presence, Cockburn led 30-28 after one.

The Cougars managed to stretch that lead out to 57-50 by half-time but the Senators were still close enough. However, the longer the game went the more the absence of their heart and soul leader Cody Ellis along with Corban Wroe and Byran Michaels continued to standout.

Cockburn dominated the third quarter with Josh Hunt finding the best shooting form from beyond the arc of his 64-game career across three clubs. With Skaggs continuing to be a threat, the Cougars put up 32 points to 15 in the third quarter and led 89-65 by three quarter-time.

Warwick might have won the last quarter but still the Cougars cruised to the impressive 108-89 victory.

The win keeps Cockburn in the top four hunt with a 12-7 record on the season on the heels of the Goldfields Giants who are 13-5 in that fourth spot. The Senators are now 12-7 having lost three in-a-row.

Josh Hunt had the best game of his career to date for Cockburn finishing with 28 points, three rebounds and three assists on the back of shooting 4/7 from three-point land.

Carter Skaggs added 26 points and eight rebounds while hitting 8/17 from three-point land for Cockburn with Luke Phillips adding 15 points and three boards, Seva Chan 10 points and six assists, and Hayden Bell 10 points.

Kyle Zunic produced his best performance of the season for the Senators with 28 points, five rebounds and three assists with Caleb Davis contributing 16 points and three boards.

George Pearl added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for Warwick, and Ash Litterick 12 points, three boards and two assists.