Two wins in less than 24 hours saw the Lakeside Lightning further consolidate top spot in the men's State Basketball League while the defending champion Cockburn Cougars continued their late season emergence.

The weekend's action began on Friday night with three big matches highlighted by the Lakeside Lightning beating the People's Choice Eagles 107-88 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Rockingham Flames won their eighth game of the season downing the BOQ Perth Redbacks 99-81 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers closing out the night's action with a 113-104 win over the bottom-placed Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Eaton Recreation Centre.

It was an early start to Saturday's action with a clash in the afternoon between Lakeside and the Perry Lakes Hawks with the Lightning running out 101-98 winners in a thriller to improve to an 18-3 record on the season.

The win means that Lakeside is now 11-0 at home this season and holds a four-game advantage atop the standings. The Hawks remain in second spot, though, at 14-6.

Defending men's champion Cockburn then continued their charge with a fifth straight victory downing the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants on Saturday night 85-79 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium.

The win improves the Cougars to a 9-12 record in 10th position on the ladder while the Giants remain struggling at 5-16 in 13th.

The Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers consolidated third spot with a 114-93 win over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday night.

The Australian Belt Scrapers Wanneroo Wolves improved to an 11-10 record in seventh position with a 105-95 win over the Rockingham Flames at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

Saturday night's final match saw the Mandurah Magic beat the Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers 89-81 at Willetton Basketball Stadium. The Magic now sit in fourth spot in the standings at 12-8 with the win.

The weekend then concluded on Sunday afternoon with the Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Stirling Senators 118-101 at Warwick Leisure Centre. The Buccaneers have now won four straight matches to improve to a 13-7 record.

Individual performances on Friday night was highlighted by Cooper Land scoring 29 points to go with 11 rebounds and six steals for Rockingham against Perth with Steven Bennett adding a triple-double with 25 points, 13 boards and 11 assists.

Bennie Lewis had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Redbacks.

The South West Slammers beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 113-104 at Eaton Recreation Centre to move up to ninth spot at 10-10.

Jamahr Warren led the way for the Slammers with 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals against the Suns with Clive Weeden adding 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Ben Smith had a big game for the Suns in the absence of Luke Nevill finishing with 33 points.

Ben Beran led the way for the Lightning against the Eagles with 25 points and eight rebounds. Tom Jervis had 32 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for East Perth.

Beran once again led the way for the Lightning with a massive game of 31 points, 20 rebounds and five assists against Perry Lakes on Saturday. Adrian Majstrovich had 25 points and 16 boards for the Hawks.

David Reichel had a big night for the Cougars with 33 points against the Giants with Jaycen Herring hitting 26 points for Goldfields with Markhuri Sanders-Frison adding 19 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Carter Cook finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Buccaneers against the Suns with Rob Kampman adding 28 points and eight boards with Aaron Ralph scoring 22 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Luke Nevill missed Kalamunda's loss to South West on Friday but played against Geraldton on Saturday and had 27 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and three blocked shots.

Rob Huntington finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves against the Flames with Trian Iliadis adding 23 points, seven boards and five assists.

Cooper Land led the way for the Flames with 31 points while hitting 5-of-8 from three-point territory.

Taylor Mullenax led the way for the Magic against the Tigers with 34 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Rhett Della Maddalena added 16 points and 12 boards with Taylor Land finishing with 11 points and 10 assists, and Andrew Bowman 11 points and six rebounds.

Quinn McDowell hit 33 points and eight rebounds for Willetton with Brandon Adams adding 20 points and 13 boards.

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin