Lakeside bounce back with win over Eagles
Lakeside Lightning have bounced back from their first loss of the season to record a comfortable 118-97 home victory over Australian Central East Perth Eagles in the men’s State Basketball League.
The Lightning’s perfect start was broken in round three by defending champions Willetton in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final, but Luke Payne’s 35 points ensured Lakeside’s win was never in doubt.
Victory saw the home side move into second spot with a 4-1 record, just one game behind league leaders Cockburn, while the Eagles slumped to their second straight loss despite the best efforts of Wildcats training squad member Tom Jervis, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
In a rematch of the quarter-final series Lakeside swept last season, East Perth were never in front and trailed from every point beyond the opening minute of the match, despite the continued absence of star Lightning forward Ben Beran, who is expected to miss up to two months with a back injury.
Lakeside took a 10-point lead into quarter-time and extended it to 18 after the first half and 24 at the final break as the Eagles struggled to cope with the Lightning’s dominant outside shooting.
The home side were successful on 17 of its 37 three-point attempts while the Eagles made just eight of their 23 shots from long range.
Corey Easley had 17 points for East Perth while Wildcats development player Jarrod Balcombe had 13, but they were unable to match the contributions of Lakeside guards Ryan Sofoulis (23 points) and Brad Jackson (19 points).
But East Perth’s women survived a late scare to beat the Lightning 60-56.
The Eagles had led by as many as 13 points midway through the third period and nine points early in the fourth quarter before Lakeside cut the margin to two with two minutes remaining, but the visitors held on for their second win of the season.
West Coast Waves forward Samantha Norwood starred for East Perth with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Denielle Lipscombe added 12 points.
Import forward Heidi McNeill had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Lightning, but it wasn’t enough to prevent her side falling to its fifth straight loss to begin the season.
Article by Jacob Kagi at Lakeside Recreation Centre
Photo by Grant Lauterbach
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