Seven goggle-worthy threes from Jason Cadee helped men’s favourites West Adelaide to an expected victory over Southern, but not before a torrid late fight back from the Tigers.

Cadee hit five of his threes in the first half, benefitting from the extra attention given to Daniel Johnson. Johnson experienced swarming defence of both the man-to-man and zone varieties, which helped to create opportunities for Cadee on the perimeter.

A great battle between State Under 20 teammates Patrick Thomas and Sam Johns started early, with Thomas blocking Johns in the post, then Johns scoring over Thomas from a similar position. Both players struggled to score for most of the game, but both stepped up in the last quarter when the game was on the line.

Blake Truslove was physical at both ends, first getting tangled up with Aciek Mayen, then committing a hard foul on Michael Florance.

Daniel Johnson showed his versatility, scoring inside and out, then breaking free for a two handed dunk. However, it was Cadee that did most of the damage, his 19 first half points creating a 41-29 buffer for West.

The third quarter was a block party at both ends.  It started with Sam McDaniel pinning the ball on the backboard, then West responding with blocks from Josh Knight and Johnson, the latter prompting a technical foul on Kenny Brunner. When Cadee hit his 6^th and 7^th threes, the lead blew out to 16 and West looked comfortable.

Michael Florance scored in traffic, triggering a Southern run which included a banked shot and a three pointer from Tim Smyth and a three point play from McDaniel. Johnson weathered the storm, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul then hitting an off-balance runner to end the quarter, the margin back to 12.

Brunner provided a highlight with a no look pass to Michael Florance on transition but a three from Tristan Braithwaite kept the margin at 10 with 7 minutes to play.

Southern chose this time to make their run.

It started with McDaniel hitting a 3 and when Smyth scored again the tide had turned. Johns  scored from long range with 4 minutes to go to put the margin at 3 and Southern had all the momentum. 

Both teams struggled to capitalize in the next few minutes and it took a dagger three from Thomas to give West some breathing space. A late layup from Adam Pearce sent the final margin to 8.

Cadee was West’s best, finishing with 31 including 7 3s. For Southern, 17 year old McDaniel had a break out game, scoring 19, including critical baskets in the Tigers’ fourth quarter run.

West Adelaide Bearcats 81 (Jason Cadee 32, Daniel Johnson 22, Blake Truslove 7)
Southern Tigers 73 (Samuel McDaniel, Codey Ellison 13, Timothy Smyth 12)

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By Paul Arnott