Eagles tall timber strikes against Wolves
The Eagles moved to second place with a 4-1 record, having already reached half of its win total from all of last season after just three rounds.
Former Perth Wildcats captain Paul Rogers, playing his second game for East Perth, showed he is still fit enough to have an impact with six points, seven rebounds and four assists in limited minutes.
Rogers combined with Tom Jervis and fellow former Wildcats centre Sam Harris to dominate inside, with the Eagles outscoring Wanneroo 36-8 in the paint.
The Eagles led by six points at the first break but extended that with a 10-0 run to start the second quarter and was unchallenged from that point.
Wanneroo was led by Doug Gates (12 points) but was plagued by poor shooting, making just 25 percent of its field goal attempts as a team.
The Wolves finished third last season with an 18-8 record but have not reached that level this year, sitting in 11th at 1-3.
Jervis had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks for the Eagles while Matthew Schmechtig also scored 17. East Perth coach Damien Chalk said he is pleased with the way his side is improving.
“We’re just trying to get the chemistry right because at this point we’re not quite there but we’re starting to take steps forward,” he said.
“But to put it in perspective they were coming off a tough game last night whereas we had a night off. Wanneroo still played really hard and they’re going to be a good side by the end of the season.”
Earlier, in the women’s match, East Perth moved to the top of the ladder with an 88-74 win over Glasscraft Wanneroo Wolves.
The Eagles move to 4-1, ahead of previous leaders Rockingham Flames while Wanneroo has only one win from its three games.
East Perth had to fight off a second half comeback from the Wolves, who brought a large margin back to one point in the final quarter, before the Eagles ran away with the match.
Perth Lynx duo Ashley Gilmore and Samantha Norwood were the stars behind East Perth’s victory, with Gilmore contributing 23 points and 20 boards while Norwood added 19 points and 14 rebounds, with their effort seeing the Eagles outrebound the Wolves 59-32.
For Wanneroo, Rebecca Mercer performed admirably with 25 points, while young guard Meghan D’Aarcy had 20.
Article by Jacob Kagi
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