THE Joondalup Wolves and Perth Redbacks consolidated their positions inside the Men's SBL top four on Friday night with strong victories over the Stirling Senators and Rockingham Flames.

There were two Men's SBL matches on Friday night to open Week 8 with the Joondalup Wolves improving to 7-1 on the season with a 103-87 victory over the Stirling Senators.

The Perth Redbacks regained Michael Vigor but his impact was limited because of foul trouble. Again it was their young brigade standing tall led by the veterans in a 90-73 victory over the Rockingham Flames.

Week 8 Men's SBL Preview 
Wolfpack not afraid to change up to stay ahead of curve 
Senators need to maintain same high energy when full strength 

The Senators were coming off three straight wins over the Willetton Tigers, Perry Lakes Hawks and Goldfields Giants heading into the clash at Warwick Stadium with the Wolves as they tried to claim another scalp.

Despite parting ways with import Richard Ross during the week, the Wolves weren’t in the mood for taking their foot off the pedal though.

It was an impressive and emphatic performance by a team who has played in the last two grand finals with the Wolves opening a seven-point quarter-time lead.

The Senators had managed to close within two points by half-time but the Wolfpack pulled away in the second half to lead by 10 at three quarter-time and to win by 16.

Jordan Wellsteed came up big for Joondalup with 17 points to go with six steals and five rebounds.

Trian Iliadis also had 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Wolfpack with Reece Maxwell contributing 16 points, six boards and four assists and Rob Huntington 14 points.

But it was Ben Ironmonger who was the real star for the Wolves in his second game back from a knee reconstruction. He delivered 18 points and four rebounds in just under 20 minutes of court time shooting 7-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep.

Jayden Coburn didn’t start for the Senators but did top-score with 21 points while Corban Wroe finished with 16 points and five assists, Ash Litterick 12 points and 10 rebounds, Rhys Vague 10 points and Cody Ellis nine to go with seven boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

Import big man Drew Naymick was finally cleared to play for Stirling and in 18 minutes had five points, three rebounds and two assists.

Then at Belmont Oasis, the Flames had a big job ahead of them to attempt to stop their four-game losing slide up against a Redbacks team who continues to win despite still missing a host of key players and with teenagers filling important roles.

With Michael Vigor back for Perth following the conclusion of his British Basketball League season, the home team opened an eight-point lead by quarter-time.

But if the Flames have one trait, it is their ability to fight and compete, and they did that strongly in the second quarter to trail by just three at the main break.

However, the Redbacks had another level to go to in the second half and with a host of players stepping up, young and old alike, cruised to the 17-point victory to improve to 8-2 on the season and hand Rockingham a fifth consecutive defeat.

Despite Vigor restricted to 18 minutes and seven points and five rebounds because of foul trouble, Shawn Redhage led the way for the Redbacks with 33 points and 11 rebounds.

Ben Smith added 23 points, three rebounds and three assists on 9-of-15 shooting from the field despite going 2-of-7 from deep. Joel Wagner also had two points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

But just as impressive were the Redbacks youngsters with Riley Chappell moving into the starting line-up following Jayden Stone's departure for college. He finished with nine points and three rebounds.

Kyle Bowen again played starters minutes with Vigor's foul trouble and had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Redbacks coach Nik Lackovic was again especially delighted with the efforts of his teenagers, particularly Bowen and Chappell.

"I thought we started well and then we didn’t adjust to how the game was getting called, and how it was playing. Give them credit, they have improved and they have fought through the course of their games this year and they are starting to get some strong contributions from key people," Lackovic said.

"There's no one in this league that you can take lightly and if you don’t prepare properly and make adjustments, and play with great energy anyone can beat anyone. We did that at half-time and we spoke about some key areas that we needed to improve on, and I was satisfied with the defensive effort of holding them to 29 points in the second half.

"That's with Mike fouling out early and only giving us 18 minutes. We are getting some great stuff from kids that are 16 years of age and so forth, and who have played eight or 10 games now. It's pleasing to get a win but I'm more pleased with how we're doing it when it matters."

The Flames might have lost by 17 points in the finish, but the effort and fight shown certainly couldn’t be questioned.

Rockingham's import bigs delivered strong performances with Donovan Jack finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots while Vinny Zollo delivered likely his best game of the season with 20 points and eight boards.

Ryan Godfrey added 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Flames with Beau Samuelson adding eight points.

Week 8 will feature five matches on Saturday night with the Geraldton Buccaneers playing the Lakeside Lightning, the South West Slammers hosting the Perry Lakes Hawks, the East Perth Eagles taking on the Mandurah Magic, the Cockburn Cougars facing the Willetton Tigers and the Rockingham Flames doing battle with the Goldfields Giants.

Then on Sunday, the Cockburn Cougars face off with the Goldfields Giants and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns take on the South West Slammers.

FRIDAY NIGHT ROUND 8 MEN'S SBL RESULTS
Stirling Senators 87 lost to Joondalup Wolves 103
Perth Redbacks 90 defeated Rockingham Flames 73

SATURDAY NIGHT ROUND 8 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
Geraldton Buccaneers v Lakeside Lightning – Active West Stadium 8pm
South West Slammers v Perry Lakes Hawks – Eaton Recreation Centre 8pm
East Perth Eagles v Mandurah Magic – Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 8pm
Cockburn Cougars v Willetton Tigers – Wally Hagan Stadium 8pm
Rockingham Flames v Goldfields Giants – Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm

SUNDAY ROUND 8 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
Cockburn Cougars v Goldfields Giants – Wally Hagan Stadium 12pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v South West Slammers – Ray Owen Sports Centre 2pm

Photo by Vikki Hile