THE South West Slammers had a big night on Saturday winning both clashes with the East Perth Eagles with the Willetton Tigers beating the Perth Redbacks twice, the Mandurah Magic winning both against the Lakeside Lightning and the Wolfpack Men hitting back strongly.

It was a night of surprising results in Week 15 of the SBL with the in-form Redbacks Men losing at home to the Tigers by 35 points, the Slammers upsetting an Eagles team who needed a win to break into the top eight and Magic Men getting off the bottom of the table beating the Lightning.

The Magic Women also kept their playoff hopes well alive with a win over the Lightning while the Slammers Women got a second win and the Tigers did well to beat the Redbacks on the road.

The three Women's matches saw the Print Sync South West Slammers defeat the Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 77-72, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beat the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 70-55 and the Mandurah Magic down the Lakeside Lightning 77-67.

The corresponding Men's matches saw the Print Sync South West Slammers beat the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 109-97, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers defeat the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 125-90 and Mandurah Magic win a thriller 104-102 over the Lakeside Lightning.

In the Women's clashes, the Tigers remained in touch with top position and hurt the Redbacks' hopes of breaking into the top four with a 15-point victory at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre.

The Tigers dominated the first half to lead 49-31 at half-time and then held on to win by 15 despite scoring just 21 points in the second half, and eight in the fourth quarter.

Willetton ended up shooting 26-of-62 from the field at 41 per cent with Perth going just 22-of-78 at 28 per cent. The Tigers also had 12 more rebounds and weren’t made to pay for 21 turnovers. Willetton dominated inside with 38 points to 24.

Kate Malpass was the star for the Tigers with 28 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals on the back of shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 9-of-12 from the foul line.

Louella Tomlinson contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds and three assists with Zoe Harper adding eight points and eight boards, and Emma Gandini seven points and five rebounds.

Rebecca Benson top-scored for the Redbacks with 22 points including hitting 4-of-9 from downtown. Ashley Gilmore added 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

The Magic moved closer to booking in a playoff spot for 2016 with an important 10-point win over the Lightning at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday night.

The win improves Mandurah to a 7-8 record on the season joining the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on the same mark and moving past the now 7-9 Cockburn Cougars.

Magic coach Randy Miegel backed in his starters to do the job as he used only Rachel Pettit and Bree Klasztorny off the bench for a combined 27 minutes.

The starters did a tremendous job with Emma Klasztorny leading the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds on the back of shooting 8-of-11 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point territory and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Adijat Adams added 17 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for Mandurah, Annette Davis 14 points and six boards, Rachel Halleen nine points and five rebounds, and Casey Mihovilovich nine points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Alison Schwagmeyer top-scored for the Lightning with 18 points and seven rebounds with Ashleigh Grant adding 17 points, five boards, two assists and two blocked shots, Alecia Knowles nine points and Devanny King eight points and six rebounds.

The Slammers and Eagles have been the two strugglers in the Women's SBL this season with both coming into Saturday night's clash at Eaton Recreation Centre with one win apiece.

And it was the home team who prevailed by five points in a clash that went into overtime with the Slammers scoring 11 points to six in the extra period to come away with win No. 2 for 2016.

Dena English had a tremendous night for South West with 26 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals with Rebecca Preston contributing 19 points and 12 boards shooting an efficient 9-of-14 from the floor.

Courtney Bayliss added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Slammers, and Brittany Gliddon six points, six boards and five assists.

Haylee DeSousa top-scored for the Eagles with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals with Jodee Sontay adding 13 points and eight boards, and Gemma Houghton eight points. Nicole Jorre St Jorre also had six points, 11 rebounds and two assists.

Then in the Men's matches, the defending champion Wolves bounced back from a loss to the Stirling Senators on Friday night to beat the Giants by 37 points at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

That was despite coach Ben Ettridge not at the helm due to flying to the United Kingdom with the Australian Rollers team. Luke Brennan took over from him and will also be in charge next week.

The win improves the Wolfpack to a 15-4 record on the season while the loss was a ninth straight for the Giants to see them fall to 6-13 ahead of a Sunday clash with the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Wolves weren’t happy with the way the game ended against Stirling on Friday and took out that frustration on the Giants with 35 points in the first quarter and 39 in the second to lead 74-49 at half-time on the way to the dominant win.

While the Giants didn’t have a bad shooting night going 34-of-70 at 48 per cent the Wolves were superb with 53-of-99 at 53 per cent while nailing 20-of-39 of their threes at 51 per cent. Joondalup also dominated the boards with 51 rebounds to 27.

The Wolves were superb from beyond the arc with Rob Huntington making 4-of-5, Reece Maxwell 4-of-5, Rhys Smyth 3-of-3, Trian Iliadis 3-of-6, Seb Salinas 2-of-5, Greg Hire 2-of-6, Joel Questel 1-of-4 and Sean Easther 1-of-2.

Huntington top-scored in the end with 23 points with Kevin Davis adding 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Damian Matacz 15 points and seven boards, Hire 17 points and 10 rebounds, Maxwell 14 points and Iliadis 13.

Jacob Holmen top-scored for the Giants with 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists with Kenny Manigault contributing 20 points, five boards, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Ezra Nikora added 15 points and three assists, Daniel Forlano 13 points and Russell Hurst 11.

The Eastern Suns made the trip to Geraldton having beaten the Buccaneers at home earlier in the season and coming off two wins last weekend to the Magic and Slammers, but on this occasion the Buccs were too strong winning by 36 points at Active West Stadium.

The Suns kept fighting and won the fourth quarter but the Buccaneers had caught fire before that with 113 points in the first three quarters to open up 43-point lead at three quarter-time.

Geraldton had an outstanding shooting night going 54 per cent from the field with 53-of-97. The Suns ended up shooting 32-of-101 at 31 per cent. The Buccs also had a monster 74 points in the paint to just 34 from the Eastern Suns.

Matthew Adekponya top-scored for the Buccaneers with 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 3-of-5 from downtown.

Maurice Barrow added 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots for the Buccs, and Jackson Hussey 22 points, nine boards and six assists on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Aaron Ralph also had 16 points and five rebounds off the bench including 4-of-6 from long range. Mat Wundenberg finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Carter Cook 10 points, six boards and six assists.

Courtney Belger top-scored for a Suns team that was missing Brandon McGill, Tim Squire and Jarrad Prior. Belger finished with 21 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals.

Ryan Blanchett contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, Travis McIlroy 13 points, three boards and two steals, Jake Correia 11 points and five rebounds and James Pado 10 points and 12 boards.

The Slammers lost to the Flames on Friday night but bounced back on Saturday with a 12-point win over the Eagles at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The win keeps South West's outside playoff hopes alive at 6-13 while East Perth missed a chance to overtake Perry Lakes in eighth spot slipping to 8-13. The Eagles struggled to cover the absence of Tom Jervis and Drew Williamson.

South West had a good shooting night going 44-of-91 from the floor at 48 per cent including 15-of-36 from three at 41 per cent. The Eagles shot 41 per cent from the field despite 12-of-26 at 46 per cent from three-point range.

Tre Nichols had a stunning night for the Slammers finishing with 48 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals shooting 20-of-30 from the field and 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Corey Easley added 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists for South West, Teny Puot 15 points, Wade Hitchcock 10 points and Clive Weeden six to go with 16 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Sunday Dech top-scored for the Eagles with 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists with Rhys Vague contributing 24 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, and Nikola Donlagic 17 points and five boards.

Perhaps the surprise result of the night took place at Belmont Oasis not so much with the Tigers beating the Redbacks, but with the final margin of 35 points.

The Redbacks had been in outstanding form coming into the game on a five-game winning streak, but that came to an end with a thud in the absence of Joel Wagner with an ankle injury.

Willetton's win sees the Tigers improve to a 13-6 record in fourth spot while the Redbacks missed a chance to close in on a top four spot now at 11-8.

The Redbacks actually led the match at half-time 59-51 but it was all the Tigers after the break with 38 points to 20 in the third period, and 36 to 11 in the fourth.

The Tigers shot 46-of-100 from the field and 17-of-41 from three with the Redbacks going 30-of-70 from the floor at 42 per cent. Willetton dominated the boards as well with 55 rebounds to 36 while forcing the Redbacks into 24 turnovers and scoring 29 points from those.

Willetton's starters were outstanding led by 31 points, 12 rebounds and five steals from Jay Bowie on 12-of-22 shooting from the field, 4-of-8 from three and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.

Kyle Armour added 24 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals for the Tigers, Charles Funches 20 points and nine boards, Damien Scott 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Nic Cody 13 points, nine boards and two assists.

Jourdan DeMuynck finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds three assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Redbacks on 12-of-22 shooting from the floor, 5-of-8 from deep and 12-of-13 at the line. But he did have 10 turnovers having picked up the majority of the point guard duties.

Michael Vigor added 17 points and six rebounds for Perth and Lewis Thomas 13 points, eight boards, three assists and three steals.

The Magic and Lightning entered Saturday's clash at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on significant losing runs and it was Mandurah who prevailed in a thriller by two points for its fifth win of 2016.

The Magic had lost their last seven games coming into the clash and the Lightning their last 11. Lakeside has now lost 12 straight with Mandurah snapping its losing run improving to 5-14 while the Lightning are 4-15.

Trevor Setty was the star for Mandurah with 45 points and 12 rebounds shooting 17-of-30 from the floor and 7-of-13 from downtown.

Tom Remmerswaal added 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Magic, Jordan Barlow 12 points and Chad Simpson 11. Daniel Florance also had eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Lakeside's imports had big nights with Daniel Alexander finishing with 38 points, 20 rebounds, four assists and two blocks shooting 16-of-37 from the floor. TJ Hallice added 34 points and 15 rebounds on 13-of-22 from the field, 2-of-5 from deep and 6-of-6 at the line.

Daniel Grida also had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Lakeside.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Print Sync South West Slammers 77 defeated Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 72
Texture WA Perth Redbacks 55 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 70
Mandurah Magic 77 defeated Lakeside Lightning 67

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 137 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 101
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 135 defeated Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 98
Print Sync South West Slammers 109 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 97
Texture WA Perth Redbacks 90 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 125
Mandurah Magic 104 defeated Lakeside Lightning 102

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography