Giants stay alive; Lewis hits 50 for Buccaneers (Week 15 Saturday night SBL wrap)

THE Goldfields Giants kept their men's SBL playoff hopes alive on the back of 39 points from Jacob Holmen on Saturday night while Bennie Lewis hit 50 for the Geraldton Buccaneers, and the Willetton Tigers' women put an end to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns' hot winning streak.

There were four women's matches in the SBL on Saturday night with the Schweigen East Perth Eagles beating the Perth Redbacks 68-53 and the Perry Lakes Hawks defeating the Lakeside Lightning 71-58 at Bendat Basketball Centre.

The Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers also beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 63-50 at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves downing the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 100-57 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

There were then six men's matches on Saturday night with the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Mandurah Magic 128-116 at Active West Stadium, the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants defeating the Bethanie Stirling Senators 94-89 at Neils Hansen Basketball Centre and the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles downing the Perth Redbacks 101-97 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Perry Lakes Hawks also scored a big win over the Lakeside Lightning 107-54 at Bendat Basketball Centre, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 97-86 at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves defeating the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 106-81 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

Starting with the women's action, the Eagles recorded their fifth win for the season to remain in the playoff mix and to beat their combined win tally from the last two seasons.

East Perth beat the Redbacks at home by 15 points to improve to a 5-11 record and having now won three of their last five games while Perth has slipped to 3-13 with a fourth consecutive loss.

Kelsey Maffin continued her impressive form with the Eagles leading the way in the victory over the Redbacks with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Nicole Jorre St Jorre added 10 points, eight boards and three assists, and Dannielle Devenny 10 points.

Gaby Clayton finished with 17 points and three rebounds for the Redbacks with Jess Jakens contributing 13 points and 10 boards, and Alix Hayward eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks then returned to the winner's list after a six-game losing streak beating the Lightning by 13 points with Perry Lakes consolidating its place in the top eight at 7-8 while Lakeside falls to 1-17 having now lost eight consecutive matches.

Danika Pisconeri led the way for the Hawks in the win with 17 points, 19 rebounds and three assists while shooting 8-of-14 from the field.

Kassi Conditt also contributed 12 points, five boards, five assists and three blocked shots for Perry Lakes while Lauren Jeffers added 10 points and Sarah Donovan 10 points and eight rebounds.

Ashleigh Grant top-scored for the Lightning continuing her breakout season with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots while Tia Ucich contributed 14 points, six boards and three assists, and Courtney Byrnes eight points, eight assists and four rebounds.

The Tigers then ended the Suns' impressive nine-game winning run recording a 13-point win at home on Saturday night to move further clear in second spot and maintain pace with the league-leading Flames.

Willetton has now won five consecutive matches to improve to a 15-2 record to be just behind the 15-1 Rockingham while Kalamunda remains well clear in fifth spot, but two games behind the fourth placed Mandurah Magic at 10-6 following the defeat.

Kate Malpass again top-scored for the Tigers with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals with Lisa Wallbutton adding 10 points and seven boards and Ebony Antonio 10 points and six rebounds.

Louella Tomlinson again had a significant impact for Willetton with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and two steals with Zoe Harper adding five points and nine boards.

Abbey Duinker led the way for the Suns with 18 points, six rebounds, five steals, two blocks and two assists with Melissa Moyle adding eight points and Jessie Edwards seven points and eight boards.

The Wolves maintained touch with the teams in the top two as well with a 43-point thumping of the Slammers at home on Saturday night.

Joondalup improved to a 14-4 record as a result and despite having played three more games, sit two wins ahead of the Magic and just one win behind both the Flames and Tigers. South West, meanwhile, has now lost four of its last five games to just be clinging to eighth spot at 6-9.

Rebecca Mercer led the way for the Wolves with 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals on the back of shooting 9-of-16 shooting from the field, and 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc.

Nikita-Lee Martin added 15 points for the Lady Wolfpack with Ellyce Ironmonger contributing 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals, Antonia Edmondson 11 points and Chelsea Burns 10 points, 10 boards, seven assists, four steals and two blocked shots.

Kate Fielding ended up top-scoring for the Slammers with 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals with Patricia Bright adding 15 points, six boards and two blocked shots and Deonica McCormick nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

And then in the men's contests on Saturday night, the Buccaneers beat the Magic by 12 points at home with Geraldton further consolidating second spot on the table at 17-3 while Mandurah slipped to 11-8 having now lost three of its last four matches.

Bennie Lewis had a stunning night for the Buccaneers finishing with 50 points, four assists and three rebounds on the back of shooting 16-of-33 from the field, 7-of-18 from three-point land and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Carter Cook added 15 points and eight rebounds for Geraldton, Cory Cooperwood 13 points and 11 boards, Luke Wrensted 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Mat Wundenberg nine points, eight boards and four assists.

Daniel Thomas also had 16 points and six assists off the bench while hitting a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown. Aaron Ralph also had 11 points and nine boards from the bench.

Paul Hafford top-scored for the Magic with 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists with Brendan Della contributing 22 points and six boards, Ben Smith 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Taylor Mullenax 20 points, eight boards, five blocked shots and three assists.

The Giants then kept in touch with a playoff position beating the Senators by five points on the road on Saturday night with Goldfields now improving to an 8-11 record to be knocking on the door of the eighth spot behind the Lightning who are just on 9-11.

Meanwhile, it was a weekend for the Senators that could have ended their playoff hopes with a loss on Friday night to the Lakeside Lightning and now the loss on Saturday to the Giants leaving them losing touch at 6-13.

Once again it was the Giants' three stars who had big nights in the win led by Jacob Holmen finishing with 39 points and nine rebounds while shooting 17-of-28 from the field.

Jay Bowie contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists as well for Goldfields with Mathiang Muo adding 16 points and eight boards. Russell Hurst finished with six points, 10 rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Cody Ellis did all he could for the Senators with 27 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 10-of-18 from the floor.

Kyle Lindbergh added 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Stirling while Nikolas Iliadis finished with 11 points and four boards, Jonah Antonio 10 points and Josh Throns 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Eagles then continued their improved form winning a fourth game in their last five games as the defending champions beat the Redbacks at home by four points on Saturday night to leave Perth sitting on a 6-13 record to be losing touch with the top eight teams.

Sunday Dech top-scored for the Eagles with 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists on the back of shooting 9-of-19 from the field, and 7-of-13 from three-point range.

Jamie Barnett added 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals for East Perth with Rhys Vague contributing 16 points and 10 boards, Joe-Alan Tupaea 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Brendan Dinardo 15 points, six boards, three assists and two steals.

Ray Turner top-scored for the Redbacks with 17 points and 10 rebounds with Dennis Tawhiti contributing 15 points and nine boards.

Marshall Nelson also had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Raphiael Putney 12 points and 10 boards, Ben Smith 12 points, Joel Wagner 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Adam Johnston 10 points, four boards and four dimes.

The Hawks also continued their improved form coinciding with the return from injury of star import guard Bryton Hobbs, smashing the Lightning by 53 points despite Lakeside coming off a win on Friday night over the Senators.

Perry Lakes kept its slim playoff hopes alive as a result improving to 6-12 while Lakeside missed a chance to move two games clear in eighth position with the heavy loss.

Hobbs again led the way for the Hawks with 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists while shooting 9-of-24 from the floor, and 6-of-14 from three-point range.

Ryan Smith also had 21 points, six boards and four assists off the bench for Perry Lakes on the back of shooting 7-of-13 from the field, and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Mike Krumel contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists as well for the Hawks with Rob Cassir adding nine points and seven assists, and Ben Purser eight points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Jordan Swing was the only Lightning play to score in double-figures with 12 points while Luke Thomas added nine points and 14 rebounds, Tom Parkinson eight points and nine boards, and Jarrad Prue five points and 10 rebounds.

The Tigers then ended their three-match losing run to consolidate their playoff position with an 11-point win over the Eastern Suns with Willetton improving to 11-9 while Kalamunda slipped to 2-18 having now lost nine consecutive matches.

Ephrem Davis top-scored for the Tigers with 27 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 11-of-17 from the field.

Damien Scott contributed 18 points for Willetton with Mitch Clarke adding 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Kyle Armour 15 points, five boards and five assists, and Andrew Black 12 points.

Lien Phillip top-scored for the Suns with 29 points and 15 rebounds with Jaarod Holmes adding 23 points and five boards, Kevin Anthony 16 points and Seva Chan 13 points, four assists and three rebounds.

The Wolves then consolidated their position on top of the men's SBL with a 25-point win over the Slammers at home on Saturday night with the Wolfpack improving to 18-3 ahead of the Buccaneers, while South West has now slipped to 13-6 to be fourth and be four games out of the top two now.

Train Iliadis led the way for the Wolves with 25 points and nine rebounds while Kevin Davis contributed 24 points, 13 boards, six blocked shots and three assists while shooting 9-of-11 from the field.

Captain Seb Salinas also added 18 points, six assists and four rebounds with Damian Matacz finishing with 12 points and Louis Timms 11.

Tre Nichols top-scored for the Slammers with 26 points while Brian Voelkel added 18 points, 15 boards, five assists and two steals on the back of shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-2 from three-point territory. Clive Weeden also added 13 points and five rebounds.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Schweigen East Perth Eagles 68 defeated Perth Redbacks 53
Perry Lakes Hawks 71 defeated Lakeside Lightning 58
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 63 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 50
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 100 defeated Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 57

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 128 defeated Mandurah Magic 116
Bethanie Stirling Senators 89 lost to Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 94
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 101 defeated Perth Redbacks 97
Perry Lakes Hawks 107 defeated Lakeside Lightning 54
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 97 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 86
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 106 defeated Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 81

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography




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