Wanneroo Wolves secured their first minor premiership in week nineteen men’s state basketball league after taking out the Mandurah Magic and the second place Lakeside Lightning.

The Wolves survived a 50-35 halftime deficit to take down the Magic 85-83 on Friday night in Mandurah, relegating the Magic to fifth place on the standings.

Wolves captain and Wildcats player Greg Hire starred with 34 points and 17 rebounds while veteran Damian Matacz chipped in with his own 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Forward Thomas Remmerswaal was Mandurahs best finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds while veteran Aaron Trahair hit six out of seven three-pointers to finish with 20 points.

Wanneroo went on to take down the Lightning 82-65 on Saturday night to claim top spot, they were led to victory by Damian Matacz with an impressive 23 points and 21 rebounds performance.

The Lightning defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 106-89 on Friday night, youngster Brad Jackson hit 31 points to lead the Lightning while forward Jarrad Prue stepped up with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

East Perth Eagles moved into fourth spot after an impressive 107-106 victory against the Goldfields Giants, for the Eagles big man Tom Jervis dominated with 31 points and seven rebounds.

Geraldton Buccaneers survived an amazing road trip to jump into the top eight and keep their finals chances alive, defeating Stirling Senators in an overtime victory and claiming a last second win over Perry Lakes.

Daniel Thomas (29 points), Michael Lay (27 points) and Morgan Sabia (19 points, 19 rebounds) pushed the Buccaneers over the line on Saturday night in a 100-95 victory over the Senators.

Backing up less than 15 hours later, Michael Lay hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds to lift the Buccaneers to a 87-85 victory and into a crucial top eight position.

Cockburn Cougars put on a dominant display against the Perry Lakes Hawks, winning 109-70, for the Cougars imports Brian Carlwell (25 points, eight rebounds) and Jeremiah Wilson (24 points, 11 rebounds) were the standouts.

Seventh place Willetton Tigers defeated an undermanned Perth Redbacks 91-56 to strengthen their finals chances, Tigers guard Alex Prince returned to form with 25 points to lead the home side.

The Redbacks were victorious on Friday against the Senators, 94-82, with import Blake Bender putting in a dominant display of 29 points and 20 rebounds, while guard Joel Wagner scored 27.

South West Slammers endured a tough weekend, suffering a 121-109 loss in the bottom of the ladder clash against the Rockingham Flames and a heart breaking 102-96 loss to the Eastern Suns

The Flames ended their 15 game losing streak thanks to imports Percell Coles (28 points), James Booyer (21 points, 17 rebounds) and youngster Beau Samuelson who had 24 points and seven assists.

On Saturday the Slammers led for the first half, however they couldn’t hold off a fast finishing Eastern Suns who were led by Justin Brown who finished with 31 points and 22 rebounds.

Senario Hillman tried valiantly for the Slammers all weekend with 35 points against the Flames and 38 points and six assists against the Eastern Suns.

Article by Hannah Coleman
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)