Lightning on show, make it five in a row (Week 9 Men's Wrap)
Lakeside Lightning passed a stern test of their title credentials with flying colours by extending their Men’s State Basketball League winning streak to five games in round nine.
Andy Stewart’s men were one of eight teams confronted by a double-header schedule on an action-packed weekend, but were the only side to play both games against fresh teams.
The Lightning opened their weekend with a thumping 125-90 win over Perth away from home on Friday.
Brad Jackson (29 points), Ben Beran (24) and Justin Cecil (23) all did plenty of damage on the scoreboard, while Jarrad Prue pulled down 17 rebounds.
Perth Wildcats development player Michael Vigor produced a brilliant performance for the Redbacks with a game-high 31 points (at 72 per cent) and 14 rebounds, but couldn’t lift his team to victory.
Lakeside were then confronted by reigning champions Cockburn on Saturday and came away with a tough 95-92 win.
Beran (28 points), Cecil (27 points) and Prue (19 rebounds) were again amongst the best for the Lightning, while Brian Carlwell had a monster night for the Cougars with 31 points and 22 rebounds.
Cockburn are now struggling in 11th place with a disappointing 3-9 record, while Lakeside sit on top with 12 wins from 13 games.
Challengers Perry Lakes kept pace with the Lightning thanks to a 110-98 win over Goldfields in their only game of the weekend, while third-placed East Perth edged a tight contest against Mandurah, winning 87-84.
Wanneroo moved into fifth place with successive victories over Rockingham (104-82) and Willetton (112-105).
At the foot of the table, Kalamunda sunk further out of play-off contention following defeats to Willetton (106-94) and Perth (110-91).
The Suns’ losses came despite 67 points and 26 rebounds across the two games from NBA hopeful Luke Nevill.
Goldfields enjoyed a pair of wins on their road trip to keep in touch with the top eight, beating South West 109-90 on Saturday before accounting for Stirling 90-74 in the standalone fixture on Sunday.
Article by Shayne Hope
Photo by Mick Cronin
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