IT WAS a night of upsets in men's SBL action on Friday with East Perth beating Rockingham and Cockburn downing Lakeside while Stirling and Perry Lakes played out an incredible double overtime thriller.

The night's action began with three women's SBL matches, though, as the Flames remained unbeaten on top of the standings.

The Lakeside Lightning beat the Soprano Lady Cougars 70-48 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames downed the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 77-54 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Stirling Senators thrashed the Perry Lakes Hawks 96-68 at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Lightning's win over the Cougars was a real statement that Lakeside is a genuine championship threat in the women's SBL this season and that Cockburn has plenty of work to do if it wants to be.

The win improves the Lightning to a 10-2 record on the season in second place while the Cougars fall to 6-5 in sixth position.

Kari Pickens led the way for Lakeside finishing with 23 points and eight rebounds with Krystal Stoneking, Ashleigh Grant and Emily Fielding all adding 12 points apiece.

Marita Payne and Emma Pass both scored 14 points each for Cockburn.

The Flames then extended their unbeaten start to the season to 13 matches with a comfortable 23-point win at home over the Eagles.

Samantha Whitcomb put in a remarkable performance for the Flames with 34 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals on the back of shooting 10-of-24 from the field, 4-of-12 from downtown and 10-of-11 from the foul line.

Tarsha Fletcher added 10 points for Rockingham with Kate Williams adding nine points, Darcee Garbin nine and Jacinta Bourne 16 rebounds.

Nicole Jorre St Jorre led the way for the Eagles with 16 points and nine rebounds with Amy Chinnery adding 10 points.

Meanwhile, the Senators also scored an emphatic 28-point win over the Hawks with Stirling now improving to a 6-3 record while Perry Lakes slips to 4-7.

Six Stirling players scored in double-figures with Taylor Wild leading the way with 18 points and eight assists.

Amber Land, Lyndal Gardner and Emma Berryman all scored 13 points for the Senators with Tegan Walker scoring 12 points and Taylor Bestry 10.

Kate Anthony finished with 18 points and five rebounds for Perry Lakes with Sarah Donovan working hard to add 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.

Then the three men's matches saw the Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars upset the Lakeside Lightning 101-79, the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles down the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 104-101 and then the Perry Lakes Hawks beating the Stirling Senators 138-134 in incredible double overtime contest.

The Cougars showed that they are still a team to be reckoned with in 2014 by beating the defending champions Lakeside on Friday emphatically by 22 points.

The win improves Cockburn to a 5-9 record while the loss sees the Lightning slip to 8-6.

Gavin Field led the way for the Cougars with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Anthony Borden also stepped up with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots with Damien Scott contributing 14 points, Steven Van Lit 12 points and Jaarod Holmes 10.

Brad Tinsley finished with 22 points and seven assists for the Lightning with Caleb Palkert adding 18 points.

Brad Jackson finished with nine points and four rebounds in his 200th SBL match.

The Eagles then showed that they also can't be forgotten and moved into the top-eight by beating the Flames on Friday by three points.

The win improves East Perth to an 8-8 record in eighth spot while Rockingham drops top spot to the Geraldton Buccaneers with a 12-4 record.

In just his second game back from his ruptured Achilles, Mathiang Muo starred for the Eagles in the absence of Tom Jervis with 25 points, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

Sunday Dech also contributed 19 points for the Eagles with Kyle Armour contributing 19 points, Joe-Alan Tupaea 16 and Nikola Donlagic 12.

Cooper Land did all he could for Rockingham finishing with 41 points and 10 rebounds with Ryan Godfrey contributing 16 points, Taylor Land 15 and Travis Moore 10.

The game of the night then took place at the WA Basketball Centre with the Hawks prevailing over the Senators by three points in the finish after two overtime periods.

The win improves Perry Lakes to a 6-7 record while Stirling falls to 5-6.

Justin Cecil led the way for the Hawks with 39 points and 12 rebounds while hitting 6-of-11 from three-point territory and 13-of-16 from the free-throw line.

Corey Easley also had a terrific game for Perry Lakes with 34 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

Ben Purser also added 28 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a massive triple-double for the Hawks with Ben Dixon contributing 18 points and Ryan O'Sullivan 10 to go with 11 rebounds.

Jordan Wild did all he could for the Senators with 46 points, 14 rebounds and four assists with Austin Bruton adding 16 points, Ryan Woodbury 16, Josh Throns 14 and Cory Cooperwood 13.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 70 defeated Soprano Lady Cougars 48
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 77 defeated Schweigen East Perth Eagles 54
Perry Lakes Hawks 68 lost to Stirling Senators 96

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 79 lost to Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 101
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 101 lost to Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 104
Perry Lakes Hawks 138 defeated Stirling Senators 134

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebastian Komatsu