Purser leads Hawks past Willetton (Friday night wrap)
Perth Wildcats development player Ben Purser's fantastic performance helped Perry Lakes Hawks overturn a big deficit to beat Willetton Tigers in the men's State Basketball League.
Last year's runner-up trailed by as many as 19 points early in the game but gradually chipped away until Purser hit the game-winning shot with 12 seconds left.
That gave the youngster 26 points for the game to go with nine rebounds and five assists, which helped Perry Lakes win for the third time in four games and climb to fourth spot.
Import Rob Kampman had 25 points and Mark Jones added 24 points for the Tigers, who dropped out of the top eight with their second consecutive loss.
East Perth was denied its first win of the season as Stirling Senators overcame a gallant Eagles effort to win 103-92.
The visitors stayed with their more fancied opponent for most of the match and led with less than six minutes left, but Stirling earned its second win from four games after finishing on a 21-10 run.
Adhar Mayen top-scored for the Senators with 25 points while Corey Easley also had 25 for East Perth, which is now winless from four games.
East Perth's women's side was finally able to break its losing run though, beating Stirling 81-58.
The Eagles had lost their first three games of the season in the absence of WNBL forward Samantha Norwood but picked up the vital victory thanks to Kelsey Maffin's 21 points.
And Willetton, the side which beat East Perth in last year's Grand Final, continued its unbeaten start to the campaign with an 82-61 triumph over the Hawks.
Melissa Marsh led the Tigers to the dominant win with 24 points while West Coast Waves teammate Jasmine Hooper had 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and seven steals.
Click here to watch the winning shot on YouTube.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)
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