Knight stars for Tigers (Friday Night Wrap)
Perth Wildcats star Matt Knight has led defending men's State Basketball League champions Willetton Tigers to a vital 102-96 away win against Perth Redbacks.
Knight had 26 points and 14 rebounds to help the Tigers overcome an impressive performance from Redbacks and Wildcats forward Jesse Wagstaff (28 points) and claim their 10th win of the season.
Willetton trailed by six points with eight minutes left but held Perth to just five points from there to give the Tigers' top four aspirations a major boost.
Robert Kampman also had 26 points for Willetton, while guard Ryan Neill had 21 points for the Redbacks, who barely stayed in the top eight after their sixth loss from nine home games this year.
Stirling Senators' run of improved form came to a halt with a shock 97-91 home loss to Mandurah Magic.
The sixth-placed Senators had won three-straight coming in and Mandurah was in the bottom two, but Ben Smith (31 points and 14 rebounds) sparked the upset result.
The Magic were up by just two points heading into the second half but dominated the third quarter to take a double-digit lead just before the final break and held on for the win.
Lee Roberts had 26 points for Stirling, which fell to two games outside the top four with the loss.
In women's action, Willetton barely avoided its second loss of the season, beating Perth 80-78 in overtime after Jasmine Hooper hit a pair of free-throws in the final seconds to give the league leaders their fourth-straight win.
Zoe Harper (23 points) top-scored for the Tigers, while Brooke Hiddlestone also had 23 for eighth-placed Perth.
And Mandurah put a huge dent in Stirling's finals hopes with a 79-53 win, as Casey Mihovilovich (18 points) led the Magic to their fifth-consecutive victory.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)
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