The Willetton Tigers started off the season with an 8 point win when they travelled to Morley Recreation for the opener against the East Perth Eagles.

The match up of Jay Bowie for Willetton, and the debut of Thomas Korf for East Perth didn’t disappoint with both players leading their sides in scoring. However it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Korf who found himself in foul trouble in the first 45 seconds of the game.

Willetton got off to an early start with an 11 point lead at the halfway point of the first quarter when Jay Bowie drilled a 3 point shot to get Tigers up 21-10.  But it was Nikola Donlagic off the bench that kept East Perth within touch scoring 10 points himself in the first quarter.

The second quarter was all East Perth when they held the Tigers to just 14 points with the change up defenses. Switching between man and zone, the Eagles took a 2 points lead at the half, 46-44.

Jay Bowie still caused East Perth headaches scoring 9 of the Tigers 14 second quarter points, which include two possessions in which Bowie grabbed his own missed shot and finished with an uncontested basket.

That unfortunately was the downfall for East Perth all night as Willetton continued to crash the offensive glass and record 23 second-chance points off of 18 offensive rebounds for the game.

6’7 Canadian forward Amen Osayande, who arrived the night before, could only watch from the sideline as his East Perth teammates at times look disinterested even challenging the rebound. This was never more evident than in the third quarter getting outscored 28-13.

Missed shots by East Perth turned into transition points for Willetton who looked dangerous in the open court. Even though Kyle Armour didn’t fill up the stat sheet, he showed why he is still one of the best point guards in the league driving to the basket creating opportunities for his teammates

East Perth made a late run in the fourth quarter, when Thomas Korf took a charge on Kyle Armour. This resulted in a possession down the other end when Rhys Vague found a wide-open Nikola Donlagic who drilled a 3-point shot to bring the deficit within 5 points.

Thomas Korf recovered from his slow start to record 12 fourth quarter points, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Jay Bowie led all scorers with 36 points off of 59% field goal shooting. Nic Cody and Josh Joshson both recorded 12 points for the Tigers.

Thomas Korf was the best for the Eagles with 24 points off of 57% field goal shooting, while Rhys Vague disappointed in his performance still recorded 20 points and Nikola Donlagic resisted 18 points off the bench.

Willetton back up tonight when they host the Rockingham Flames, while the Eagles can take the week to bounce back and prepare for Giants next weekend.

Article by Adam Forde (co-host of SBL Slam Radio)
Photo by Grant Lauterbach