Eagles stunned by lowly Buccs (Saturday Night Wrap)
East Perth Eagles' rise up the men's State Basketball League ladder has been halted by a shock 92-88 loss to Geraldton Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers had won just three of their past 11 games, a streak which killed their finals hopes, while the Eagles had climbed to sixth spot with wins in seven of their previous eight matches, but Geraldton import Todd Brown sparked the upset.
Brown had 20 points and 19 rebounds to help the Buccaneers overcome another strong performance from East Perth's Tom Jervis (28 points).
Defending champions Willetton Tigers got back into form with a surprise 90-81 win against local rivals Cockburn Cougars.
Willetton got its top four chances back on track with the shock victory, which was fourth-placed Cockburn's third-consecutive loss. Robert Kampman led the Tigers with 33 points.
Goldfields Giants' finals hopes were dealt a major blow with their 113-83 to Wanneroo Wolves.
The Giants may have to win as many as three of their last four to make the finals after Greg Hire's triple-double (24 points, 22 rebounds and 12 assists) led the second-placed Wolves to victory.
And Perth Redbacks took advantage of Goldfields' slipup with a 125-86 win against Mandurah Magic in Albany.
Adrian Majstrovich had 27 points to help the eighth-placed Redbacks move one game clear of the Giants.
Stirling Senators had to come from behind to avoid an upset loss to the winless Southwest Slammers.
The Slammers looked on track for just their second win from their 47 games since the end of the 2009 season when they led at three-quarter-time, but Lee Roberts (24 points) helped Stirling come back for a 86-80 victory, its third-straight triumph.
League leaders Lakeside Lightning extended its incredible winning streak to 12 games with a 101-89 win against Kalamunda Eastern Suns, who will need to win at least three of their final five games to make the finals.
In women's action, Perth caused a major upset with a 59-49 win over Mandurah, which got its top eight hopes back on track.
Elsewhere, Kalamunda Eastern Suns consolidated its spot in the top eight with a 70-66 victory against Lakeside Lightning, Kate Malpass (30 points) led Willetton to a 95-77 win against Cockburn and Stirling beat the Slammers 72-59.
Article by Jacob Kagi
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