Game Review by James Woite

In a game of two halves, with plenty of momentum swings and numerous missed opportunities, the West Adelaide Bearcats have continued their resurgence with a 73-65 road win over Forestville at Wayville. The hero was Anthony Spadavecchia, who gave West a 71-65 lead with 33 seconds remaining, after connecting on a three-pointer with only one second remaining on the shot clock. Spadavecchia had a huge last quarter in total, and finished with 14 points, 4 steals, and 4 assists, whilst former 36ers Chris Molitor and Brad Davidson also had very good games. Molitor finished with a double-double that included 18 points and 11 rebounds, whilst Davidson had 8 points and 8 assists. Riley Luettgerodt was the game high-scorer with 21 points, but shot only 36 per cent from the floor.

The Eagles made one change to their starting line-up, with forward Doug MacDonald-Taylor given the nod in his 200th game, in place of guard Brad Sullivan. However, star guard Harri Harvey remained on the bench, whilst Luke Hoban was absent due to injury. The game was tight early, with the scores tied at 7-7 after the first 4 and a half minutes. Forestville appeared to be set on quelling the influence of Chris Molitor (20.8 points per game), whilst West were attempting to do the same with Riley Luettgerodt (25.5 points per game, 36 in the teams' last meeting back in March), with neither able to get going. The Eagles, however, had the better supporting cast, and were able to break out to a 16-9 advantage following 6 points from Scott Arnold and some great work on the boards from MacDonald-Taylor. This advantage was not here to stay, with West back-up big man Steve Watts providing some strong play late in the quarter, cutting the gap to two at quarter-time.

The start of the second period saw Luettgerodt provide his best play of the night. With Davidson and Molitor resting, Luettgerodt scored seven of Forestville's first nine points of the quarter as the Eagles raced away to a 25-17 advantage. Despite the insertion of Davidson and Molitor back into the game, along with a switch to a zone defence, the Eagles continued their dominance, and when Harvey knocked down a three-pointer with 3.45 to go in the half, the Eagles' lead was out to 12 points. Based on general play, the margin should have been a lot greater, and the Eagles' failure to make the most of their opportunities was exposed in the final third of the quarter, as West went on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to three at half-time.

The third quarter was the exact opposite of the first two, with the Bearcats carrying on their momentum from late in the second quarter to burst out of the blocks to start the half. Three-pointers from Davidson and Molitor, either side of a three from Forestville guard Adam Doyle, got West level on two occasions, before a Davidson free throw gave the Bearcats their first lead since the opening minutes. Forestville were having great trouble getting into their offence quickly, with West's full court trapping defence taking time off the shot clock each play down the court. Still, the game remained tight, and when Brad Sullivan connected on a three with 5.09 remaining in the quarter, the Eagles had regained the lead. This lead was only momentary, however, as some strong play from Molitor and a long jumper from Spadavecchia forced a Forestville time-out with 1.55 to go and trailing by 5 points. Unlike the first and second quarters, the Eagles finished the quarter strongly, with Riley Luettgerodt missing two free throws that would have regained the lead for Forestville. This meant the Bearcats would head into three-quarter time leading 53-54.

Eagles super-sub Nick Blair got Forestville off to a flyer to start the fourth, pulling down an offensive board before knocking down two free throws to regain the lead. The teams traded baskets, but West looked the more likely to score, with Brad Davidson and another former 36er, Blake Truslove, combining for some easy layups. The Eagles had to make something out of nothing, as leading scorers Luettgerodt and Blair went ice cold, but their persistence on the o-boards ensured the game was set for a thrilling finish. West led by three with just 37 seconds remaining and with one second left on the shot clock. Following a time-out, Anthony Spadavecchia stepped up to knock down a three from the right corner, sealing a sensational win for the Bearcats.

Following their victory, West now sit in second position, behind Sturt only on head-to-head. After finishing fourth last season, the Bearcats are in a great position to challenge for a championship, having now beaten three of the top five teams. They have the sixth placed Mavs at Port Adelaide next week. The Eagles, meanwhile, have dropped to fifth, one game behind North Adelaide. The Eagles have been dominant against the bottom teams, but their failure to succeed against the rest of the top five (one win from five matches) is a major problem for them right now. It is evident that the Eagles lack ball movement when the game gets tight - Forestville finished with had 14 assists and 17 turnovers, whilst West had 21 assists and 14 turnovers. This should be one focus area for the Eagles in their upcoming game against Woodville at Wayville on Saturday night.