THERE is a new team sitting atop the men's SBL standings after Week 11 with the Joondalup Wolves rewarded for their two wins on the weekend to just slip ahead of the Geraldton Buccaneers while the East Perth Eagles finally snapped their 13-game losing run on Friday night.

The Wolfpack beat the Stirling Senators on Saturday night and then the Lakeside Lightning on Sunday to rise to the top of the men's SBL standings but the Buccaneers are only narrowly behind with the South West Slammers still in touch despite losing to the Mandurah Magic.

And the defending champion East Perth Eagles finally ended their 13-game losing streak and got their second win of the season on the board by beating the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night.

In the four men's matches on Friday night, the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 124-105 at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles downed the Lakeside Lightning 100-90 at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames won a thriller 100-98 over the Perth Redbacks at Curtin Stadium and the Mandurah Magic won another tight contest 109-106 over the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Eaton Recreation Centre.

And then in the only men's fixture in Perth on Saturday night, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves defeated the Bethanie Stirling Senators 106-98 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

There were two regional fixtures as well with the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 105-88 at Active West Stadium and the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants defeating the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 104-99 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium.

There was then the men's clash to close out the weekend's action on Sunday with the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves defeating the Lakeside Lightning 119-105 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium to move to the top of the standings.

Following the Week 11 action the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves (13-2) sit atop the men's SBL standings ahead of the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers (13-2), Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers (12-3) and Mandurah Magic (10-5).

The Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars (9-6), Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers (9-6), Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames (8-6) and Lakeside Lightning (5-9) then round out the top eight.

The Bethanie Stirling Senators (5-9), Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants (5-9), Perth Redbacks (5-10), Perry Lakes Hawks (4-10), Kalamunda Eastern Suns (2-12) and Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles (2-13) then sit outside the top eight.

While the results had some big ramifications across the weekend, there was again some outstanding individual performances as well.

Beginning on Friday night, the Cougars' three guns Eric Millam, Gavin Field and Najee Lane all had outstanding games with Millam finishing with 34 points and seven rebounds on the back of shooting 14-of-22 from the field.

Field added 33 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots in a terrific all-round performance while Lane finished with 29 points, 15 boards, seven assists and five steals as well.

Steven Van Lit contributed 15 points as well for Cockburn with Sheldon McIntyre adding seven points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Jaarod Holmes led the way for the Eastern Suns with 23 points and four rebounds while shooting 11-of-17 from the floor.

Seva Chan added 18 points, seven assists, five boards and three steals while Lien Phillip contributed 17 points and 17 rebounds, Kevin Anthony 15 points and five assists, and James Dech 12 points, four boards and four assists.

Sunday Dech led the way for the Eagles in the breakthrough win finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals while Rhys Vague added 20 points, nine boards and four assists.

Drew Williamson also added 16 points and five steals for East Perth, Jamie Barnett 12 points and Keanu Pinder nine to go with 12 rebounds and six assists.

Jordan Swing battled hard all night for the Lightning ending up with 23 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals with Luke Thomas contributing 21 points, seven boards and six assists as well.

Captain Jesse Dixon added 16 points for Lakeside while Tom Parkinson scored 11 points, Corey Martin had 11 points seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks, and Jarrad Prue eight points and 14 boards.

The Land brothers were again major factors in the win for Rockingham with Taylor finishing the night with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Ryan Godfrey 23 points and five boards.

Tom Remmerswaal contributed 19 points as well for the Flames with Travis Moore adding nine points and five rebounds off the bench.

Ray Turner once again did all he possibly could for the Redbacks continuing his remarkable form with another 39 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots on the back of shooting a phenomenal 17-of-24 from the field.

Joel Wagner added 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds as well for Perth while Ben Smith contributed 16 points, Marshall Brown 11 and Marshall Nelson 10.

Paul Hafford top-scored for the Magic with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while Taylor Mullenax contributed 20 points and 10 boards.

Ben Smith also finished with 15 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists for Mandurah with Rhett Della contributing 14 points and six boards, Daniel Florance 14 points and Jarrad Jackson 10.

Tre Nicholls did all he could to inspire the Slammers to the win and finished with 41 points, five assists and four steals with Ty Harrelson contributing 26 points, seven boards and six assists.

Wade Hitchcock also finished with 10 points for South West, Clive Weeden eight and 18 rebounds, and Brian Voelkel eight to go with 12 boards and six assists.

And on Saturday night, Trian Iliadis finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for Joondalup with captain Seb Salinas adding 23 points, 11 boards and three assists.

Rob Huntington also added 19 points for the Wolves with Damian Matacz contributing 18 points and five boards off the bench. Kevin Davis added 14 points and nine boards while shooting a supremely efficient 7-of-9 from the field.

Jordan Wild did all he could for the Senators finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds while shooting 8-of-14 from the floor, and 3-of-4 from three-point territory.

Ryan Woodbury contributed 20 points to go with three boards, three steals and two assists for Stirling while Kyle Lindbergh finished with 18 points, nine boards, seven assists and three blocked shots. Sean Gilmore also finished 11 points for the Senators and Jayden Coburn 10.

Bennie Lewis was again the star of the night for the Buccaneers finishing with 33 points, six rebounds and six assists while Carter Cook was also impressive with 28 points, six boards and six assists while shooting 11-of-18 from the field, and 3-of-4 from three-point land.

Aaron Ralph added 13 points and five rebounds as well for the Buccs with Mat Wundenberg contributing eight points, 14 boards and six assists, Daniel Thomas eight points and seven assists, and Cory Cooperwood eight points, eight boards and two steals.

Ben Purser top-scored for the Hawks with 27 points and 14 rebounds with Josh Garlepp adding 24 points and nine boards and Ryan O'Sullivan 11 points and six rebounds but Perry Lakes dearly missed in-form import Bryton Hobbs who didn’t suit up due to an ankle injury.

Once again it was the Giants' three stars who were all outstanding with Jay Bowie finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Mathiang Muo also scored 24 points to go with nine rebounds for Goldfields with Jacob Holmen contributing 20 points, eight boards, two steals and two blocked shots.

Russell Hurst added 12 points, seven boards and two steals from the bench while Shamus Ballantyne celebrated his 350th SBL appearance with four points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

Corey Easley top-scored off the bench for the Tigers with 25 points and seven rebounds while Damien Scott contributed 23 points, six boards and six assists while shooting well going 10-of-14 from the field, and 2-of-3 from downtown.

Kyle Armour contributed 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Willetton with Ephrem Davis adding 12 points and 14 boards, and Nic Cody nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

And finally on Sunday, Trian Iliadis was outstanding again for the Wolves finishing the afternoon with 42 points and six rebounds on the back of shooting 15-of-29 from the field, 4-of-11 from three-point territory and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Captain Seb Salinas added 21 points, five assists and four rebounds as well for the Wolfpack with Kevin Davis contributing 20 points, 19 rebounds, five blocked shots, two assists and two steals.

Ben Ironmonger also finished with 16 points and five assists for Joondalup and Damian Matacz 10 points along with five boards and three assists.

Jordan Swing did all he could to try and lift the Lightning over the line ending up with 35 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Luke Thomas added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Lakeside while Corey Martin contributed 17 points, six boards, three assists and two blocks, Tom Parkinson 13 points and Jarrad Prue 12 along with 18 rebounds.

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 124 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 105
Lakeside Lightning 90 lost to Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 100
Perth Redbacks 98 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 100
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 106 lost to Mandurah Magic 109

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 105 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 88
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 104 defeated Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 99
Bethanie Stirling Senators 98 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 106

SUNDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 119 defeated Lakeside Lightning 105

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Grant Lauterbach