Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers have held on for a thrilling 94-89 victory to send their men's State Basketball League quarter-finals series against Wanneroo Wolves to a deciding third game.

The Tigers recovered from a game one loss at home to take the second match and set up a thrilling finale to the best-of-three match-up at Joondalup Basketball Stadium at midday on Sunday.

The defending champions held a seven-point lead with less than three minutes left in game two, before that difference was cut to one with 11 seconds left.

After a pair of free-throws made the difference three again, Wanneroo and Wildcats guard Brad Robbins had the chance to send the game to overtime, but his three-point attempt bounced off the rim with two seconds left.

Robbins starred for the Wolves with 26 points and five assists, but Willetton import Rob Kampman was the best on the court, finishing with 31 points and 14 rebounds.

Both teams were sloppy early and struggled with turnovers in a mistake-riddled opening quarter, with the Wolves taking a one-point lead to the first break, even though captain Greg Hire was forced to the bench after picking up his third foul just nine minutes into the game.

Wanneroo had no answer in the first half to Willetton veteran Mark Jones, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds at half-time, but the hosts still went into the second half up by one.

The Wolves threatened to break away early in the third quarter but the Tigers continued to hit the key baskets and remained close before taking the lead midway through the period with an 11-4 run.

The Tigers kept the momentum even after swingman Rob Cassir was forced to the bench due to picking up his fifth foul and they extended their lead to six late in the third.

Wanneroo grabbed the lead back early in the fourth but the visitors again rallied and, after a clutch three-pointer from Alex Prince, had an eight-point advantage with five minutes remaining.

But the Wolves rallied once again and when the margin was cut to three with less than a minute left, Doug Gates missed two long-range attempts on one possession which would have tied the game.

But Robbins drove to the basket and hit the lay-up to cut the margin to one and was unlucky not to also get the foul call for the chance to tie the game from the free-throw line.

The Tigers had been held scoreless for more than three minutes before Kampman was fouled and hit both his free-throws to give his side a three-point lead with 10.9 seconds left and Robbins missed the chance to tie the game in the final seconds, allowing Willetton to hold on.

Willetton assistant coach Shamus Ballantyne said he was delighted with his side's intensity.

"It was a great game from our boys. We showed some great grit, played hard and stuck to the game plan, so I'm so proud of them," he said.

"Tonight we came out with the right energy levels and played a smart game, most importantly."

Article by Jacob Kagi at Joondalup Basketball Stadium
Photo by Grant Lauterbach

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