Perth's bite too strong for Slammers (Friday Night Wrap)
Perth Redbacks have moved into second spot on the men's State Basketball League ladder with a 113-103 victory over Southwest Slammers.
The Redbacks survived a scare to improve to a 5-2 record with their third win from their last four games and their fourth straight away victory.
Southwest appeared a chance to claim its first win of the season when it tied the score late in the third quarter, but the Redbacks triumphed thanks to veteran guard Ryan Neill's 42 points.
Neill made eight of his 13 three-point attempts in his stunning performance, while Michael Vigor added 24 points and NBL point guard Joel Wagner had 14 points and 12 assists for Perth.
Import Nick Freer had 26 points for the Slammers, who are the only side without a victory this season, while Matthew Smith and Tyler Hickert had 21 points each.
Perth's women also climbed to second place with a 60-50 win over Southwest.
The Slammers cut a big Perth lead to five points late in the third quarter, but former league MVP Brooke Hiddlestone saw Perth to its second straight win with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Lavesa Glover had 21 points and 14 rebounds in Southwest's fourth straight loss.
Meanwhile, Rockingham Flames' home match against Kalamunda Eastern Suns had to be postponed to a later round because no adequate venues were available.
Rockingham were forced to move their first two home games from the venue because of Mike Barnett Sports Complex's unsuitable scoring system, which also couldn't be fixed in time for Friday's scheduled game against Kalamunda.
The Flames' clash against Goldfields Giants next Friday will also have to be moved from Rockingham.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Marg Prior
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