Top of the table Lakeside Lightning downed the third placed Coburn Cougars on Friday night to post their seventh win for season. The lightning set up the victory over their quality opponent with some great field shooting, particularly from beyond the arc, driving home 55% of their 3's in the third stanza. The win also keeps Lakeside's perfect home record intact for the season. There were valuable contributions across the board for the Lighting, who had four players in double figures. Luke Payne (25 points), Jason Faulknor (21), Brad Jackson (18), and Steven Butler (13) were standouts while Andrew Musulin and Mark Jones were solid for Coburn with 17 and 14 points respectively.

The Mandurah Magic held off a gallant Willetton Tigers outfit by a single field goal, at the Mandurah recreation centre on Friday night. The home team got home by two points, posting their first win for the season and keeping the Tigers one win outside the top ten on the ladder. Andrew Bowman had a near double- double for the magic with 25 points and 9 rebounds, Ben Caporn was valuable with 19 points. Robert Epps carried most of the load with a sublime 30 point and 16 rebound effort. He was strongly supported by Clint Reed (20 points) and Ian Callaghen (14) who were both one rebound shy of double- doubles.

The Wanneroo Wolves outlasted the Rockingham Flames, with a mesmerising 40 point third quarter. The Wolves proving to be a statistical anomaly, managed to post their fifth away win for the year, however their home record is lacking, with just the one W for the season. Wildcat Jeff Dowdell had a game high 26 points while former Cat’s player Damian Matacz had a solid night out, at both ends of the floor contributing 18 points and 10 boards. Travis Moore and Ryan Godfrey were the best for the Flames, notching 23 and 20 points respectively. The Wolves may have run out bigger leaders had their free throw shooting been better, managing only 69% from the charity stripe. However their long range attempts were impressive with 13/ 24 hitting the mark from downtown.

Another thriller was played out at the Ray Owen sport Centre on Friday night, with Eastern Suns eventually falling to the Redbacks by just two points. The win was orchestrated by Aaron Christopher Lynch who simply dominated the contest with 37 points and 11 rebounds, the majority of the Redbacks roster played above 40 mins of game time, due to their diminished line-up, going in to the game with only 8 players. Some areas of concern for Perth were their free throw shooting and turnovers; they were sub 62% from the line and committed 23 turnovers. However they compensated by dominating in the paint and dishing out 26 assists and committing 13 steals. Ex Wildcat Adrian Majstravich was the best for the home team, earning himself a double- double (21 points and 14 rebounds.)

The second placed Geraldton Buccaneers came home comfortable winners against Southwest Slammers on Saturday night, 92- 78. The 14 point win sees Geraldton a game clear of third placed Kalamunda. The Geraldton home crowd were treated to a consummate team win, with 3 players bagging themselves double- doubles. Luke Meyer was the standout for the home team with 32 points and 16 rebounds, as well as contributing 4 steals. He was well supported by Michael Le Blanc (17 and 14) and Matt Wundenberg (14 and 12.) for the Slammers, John Smith was the only player the trouble the Buccaneers considerably, he had a team high 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Willetton's second game of their double header weekend came on Saturday night, when the Tigers met the fourth placed Goldfields Giants. The Willetton faithful saw their chargers go down to the boys from out east by 9 points in end, 97- 88. Ryan Hulme (25 points), Michael Haney (23) and Alonzo Hird (18 points and 12 boards) were prominent for the visitors. Robert Epps backed up strongly from 30 point double- double effort 24 hours earlier, but it wasn't enough to stop the Giants running over the top of the Tigers roster. The depleted Willetton roster of only 8 players succumbed to fatigue, capitalising on only 44% of shots from the free throw line and shooting a woeful 24% from beyond the arc.

Wanneroo brought Mandurah Magic crashing back to earth, after posting their first win of the year only 24 hours earlier. Wanneroo’s dominance in the paint saw them clinch a comfortable 15 point win over the Magic who are currently anchored to the bottom of the SBL ladder. Mandurah failed to have a player exceed the 20 point threshold. Damian Matacz (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Dowdell (25 and 9) backed up strongly from their previous nights encounter with the flames. Tom Remmerswaal was serviceable at the offensive end for the visitors with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Both teams struggled from the stripe, both were sub 60%, but Wanneroo shared the ball better handling 25 assists for the night, nearly double that of the Magic.

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns suffered their second loss of the weekend against the highly fancied Hawks on Saturday night. The Perry Lakes crowd were treated to a 19 point victory and also the return of Peter P.C Crawford, following his commitments during the NBL season. Fellow Wildcat Tom Garlepp was playing like a man possessed with a monster game resulting in 33 points and a staggering 20 rebounds, 14 of which were pulled down at the defensive end, as well as 6 assists. Martin Vahala was also impressive for the home team with 22 points, 6 boards and 2 steals. The Hawks work in the paint and willingness to commit to second chance opportunities was the foundation of the win. Corey Easley was the best for the Suns with 24 points.

The Stirling Senators treated their fans to a close win over the East Perth Eagles on Friday night. The home side edged out East Perth, in what was a close contest for the entire night. The Senators presence in the paint, where they scored 38 points, was a key point of difference. Edward Morris Jr and Chris Dodd had 29 rebounds between them and both contributed strongly on the offensive end, with 20 and 14 points respectively. Jarrod Balcombe fought hard for the visitors with 18 points and Andrew Mclennan was prominent at the defensive end, with 8 rebounds for the night, he also contributed 11 points. The visitors shot a sublime 85% from the stripe, in sharp contrast to the home sides modest 55%.

The last match of round seven, played on Sunday night at Tip Top Stadium and was contested between the Geraldton Buccaneers and the Goldfields Giants, both competing in double header weekends. The extended Buccaneers bench helped Geraldton overcome a tired Giants roster, who went down by 22 points. Luke Meyer capped his stellar weekend with another double- double effort, 33 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Le Blanc was again impressive in the Bridesmaids role with 19 points and 6 boards. Michael Haney had 15 points for the visitors. The result justifies the Buccaneers second place standing, with their stifling defence and ability to hurt their opposition at the offensive end.

In the WSBL the Cougars ran out 11 point winners over Lakeside, Willetton dispensed with the Magic by 11, the Flames remain unbeaten and crushed the Wolves by 22, Kalamunda hold onto fourth spot with a 20 point victory over Perth, the Wolves saw off the Magic by 10 points in Mandurah’s second game in as many days, the Hawks were clinical in a 20 point victory over the Suns in another double header and the Senators saw off the Eagles by 7 points in the final match of the round.

Article Courtesy Perth Wildcats