In the first round of the men's best-of-three State Basketball League quarter finals the fifth placed Mandurah Magic have taken down the fourth placed East Perth Eagles 99-91 to gain a crucial series advantage.

Mandurah were led by star import Taylor Mullenax who finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds, forward Thomas Remmerswaal (19 points) and veteran Aaron Trahair (18 points) were strong in support.

Tom Jervis was the Eagles best with a standout 33 points and 18 rebounds while former Wildcat Drew Williamson managed 21 points for the visitors.

The favourites reigned supreme in the rest of the quarter finals with the second placed Lakeside Lightning taking down the seventh placed Goldfields Giants 96-82 in Kalgoorlie.

The Giants produced some fight in the second half, however the Lightning were too good down the stretch connecting on five of seven three point attempts as opposed to the Giants zero of five.

Guard Luke Payne was the best for Lakeside with a massive 37 point effort, while the Giants were led by former Lightning forward Lordan Franich with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Third place Cockburn Cougars registered a 106-74 victory over the seventh place Redbacks outfit, the Cougars exploited their height advantage to win the rebound count 68-43.

Cockburn were led to victory by forward Jeremiah Wilson (24 points, 19 rebounds), point guard Grant Davey (21 points) and star import Brian Carlwell with 18 points and 25 rebounds.

Perth also had some dominant players on the court with Blake Bender (19 points), Joel Wagner (18 points) and Jake Burston (14 points) all stepping up in the absence of Adrian Majstrovich and Michael Vigor.

Top of the ladder Wanneroo Wolves defeated the eighth placed Kalamunda Eastern Suns 108-99, the Wolves led by as much as 25 points in the last quarter however the home side made a late charge to close the gap.

Wolves import Jordan Wild finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while AIS graduate Jackson Hussey had 24 points and Wildcats forward Greg Hire chipped in with 20 points and eight rebounds for his junior club.

The Eastern Suns were led by imports Greg Palmer (27 points) and Lee Roberts (27 points, eight rebounds), with Justin Brown (14 points, ten rebounds) and Nebojsha Franich (16 points, 13 rebounds) providing support.

The Kickz101 Women’s State Basketball League Grand Final is on Friday 31 August at the WA Basketball Centre.

Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster, click here to purchase tickets online or call Ticketmaster on 1300 136 122 or visit your nearest Ticketmaster outlet.

Article by Hannah Coleman
Photo by Darren Speedie (Vision Inspired Photography)