Lightning strike to eliminate Eagles (Friday Night Wrap)
Minor premiers Lakeside Lightning have clinched their men's State Basketball League quarter-finals series against East Perth Eagles after coming from behind to win game two 97-90.
The Lightning trailed by nine points early in the final quarter but rallied with a 26-15 run over the last nine minutes, which saw them clinch the best-of-three series 2-0.
American star Luke Payne recovered from a quiet night in game one to lead Lakeside to victory with 33 points, while fellow import Ben Beran continued his stellar form with 29 points and 16 rebounds.
“It wasn’t our best performance (of the season), but we kept fighting,” Lakeside coach Andy Stewart said. “We stuck with our game plan that we had and it eventually worked for us."
Centre Tom Jervis was held to just eight points and six rebounds, while Perth Wildcats guard Drew Williamson had 26 points as East Perth were knocked out in the quarter-finals for the second-consecutive year.
The Lightning will face the winner of the series between Perry Lakes and Stirling in the semi-finals, with the Hawks holding a one-nil lead in that match-up.
In women's action, East Perth held on for a thrilling 61-58 against Kalamunda Eastern Suns to keep their quarter-finals match-up alive.
The Eagles were on the brink of elimination when they trailed with two minutes left, but rallied to force the series to a deciding third game.
Kate Fielding led East Perth with 22 points, while youngster Adrienne Jones starred for the Suns with 19 points.
And Mandurah Magic also forced their series against Wanneroo Wolves to game three after a comprehensive 68-42 win.
The Magic jumped out to a 20-4 advantage at quarter-time and victory was never truly in doubt from there.
Tarsha Fletcher top-scored for Mandurah with 25 points and Hailey Dunham added 16.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Grant Lauterbach
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