Image via Perth Wheelcats.
Consolidating their place in the top three on the ladder, the Perth Wheelcats and Kilsyth Cobras have enjoyed success in Round 6.
The Wheelcats claimed three wins over the Red Dust Heelers but were pushed in their second meeting as Red Dust got within 12 points at the final siren.
Following a 20-10 opening term, Perth’s lead was cut to six just prior to half-time but they were able to jump back out to a double-digit lead and hold that for a majority of the second half despite the Heelers finishing strongly.
Jake Kavanagh led the charge with 15 points and seven assists and Thomas McHugh added eight points and three steals but it was not enough to give Red Dust their first win of the season.
Shaun Norris started the weekend with a mammoth triple-double, recording 38 points, 12 rebounds and 19 assists as he helped Perth crack the century mark.
He went on to finish with a double-double average, collecting 28.3 points, eight boards, 12.7 assists and 5.3 steals for the round.
In addition, Michael Auprince was a beast in the paint with 29 points and 14 rebounds per contest while Benjamin Moncrieff chimed in with eight points per game off the bench.
The Heelers had their share of impressive performers through McHugh who notched 21 points and ten rebounds in their first clash alongside Ryan Morich who had 25 points before Rob Pike fell one assist short of a triple-double on Saturday with 21 points, 14 boards and nine assists.
In the other match-up for Round 5, Kilsyth got the better of West Adelaide Thunder in two meetings thanks to Tristan Knowles’ average of 33.5 points, nine rebounds, 9.5 assists and 4.5 steals.
Jontee Brown backed up his Player of the Week award with 16 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while Jeremy Tyndall and Michael D’Amelio both had impactful games off the bench.
West Adelaide were paced by two double-doubles from Adam Roocke as he recorded 16 points and 11.5 boards while Eamon Wood, Jay Dohnt and Phil Stephens all showed that the Thunder have enough depth to cause some trouble as the season heads into the final month.