NBL Wrap - Week Ten
Perth Wildcats staged a stunning comeback to beat Sydney Kings 87-84 in round ten of the National Basketball League.
The defending champions trailed by 10 points heading into the last quarter but dominated the boards and forced seven Sydney turnovers in the final period to claim an unlikely victory.
But Perth’s win was soured by an injury to Southside Mitsubishi Perth Redbacks forward Jesse Wagstaff (14 points) late in the game. Wagstaff had been promoted to a starting role in the absence of Rockingham Flames centre Matthew Knight.
Fellow State Basketball League player Stephen Weigh, of the Australian Central East Perth Eagles, had 14 points, Eagles teammate Damian Martin finished with two points, three assists and three steals and Southlands Willetton Tigers forward Cameron Tovey had three points and eight rebounds.
Redbacks point guard Joel Wagner was impressive for Sydney, scoring six points with four assists from 19 minutes.
Wagner was quieter against Adelaide 36ers the previous day, going scoreless from nine minutes with zero assists, two rebounds and a turnover as the Kings lost 81-77.
36ers and Willetton big man Daniel Johnson was again solid with 10 points and two rebounds from 14 minutes.
Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks guard Peter Crawford scored 13 points and had four steals but it wasn’t enough to lead Townsville Crocodiles past Cairns Taipans.
Crawford is averaging 16.6 points per game from his last five, but the Taipans outscored the Crocs 14-5 in the last quarter to improve to 6-0 at home this season with a 56-51 victory.
The former Wildcats star was also impressive against Gold Coast Blaze on Friday night, scoring 15 points with five rebounds in Townsville 91-83 loss.
WA junior Mark Worthington scored 10 points for the Blaze, but former Wildcats development player Chris Goulding (20 points) was the star for the south Queensland side.
New Zealand Breakers moved to the top of the league with an 89-85 road win over Wollongong Hawks and a 90-80 win over Melbourne Tigers the next night.
New Zealand has won five straight and is a game clear of second-placed Wollongong, after they held off a late comeback from the Hawks on Friday night, with former NBA player Kirk Penney (22 points) leading the way for the Breakers.
WA junior Luke Nevill had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Melbourne against the Breakers, but Penney’s 25 points led the visitors to victory.
Article by Jacob Kagi
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