WEEK 16 of men's SBL action featured the Lightning, Slammers and Senators record thrilling wins on Friday night while on Saturday the Wolves bounced back to celebrate Doug Gates' 350th match to return to eighth position.

The three tremendous men's contests on Friday night saw the Lakeside Lightning beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 98-96 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers down the Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 101-100 at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Stirling Senators defeat the Joondalup Wolves 96-95 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

Saturday night also saw the East Perth Eagles show it is still a championship force beating the Rockingham Flames while the Mandurah Magic, Joondalup Wolves, Perth Redbacks and South West Slammers were among the important winners.

The men's action saw the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers take out a 95-91 thriller against the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium, the Perth Redbacks down the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 102-95 at Belmont Oasis and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers record a big 119-98 win over the Willetton Tigers at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The Joondalup Wolves thumped the Lakeside Lightning 120-91 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium, the Mandurah Magic downed the Stirling Senators 112-81 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles defeated the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 112-95 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The weekend's results leave the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers clear by two games on top of the standings with a 17-4 record to be ahead of the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames on 15-7.

The defending champion Lakeside Lightning (14-8) are just behind followed by the Perth Redbacks (12-9), Mandurah Magic (12-9), Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles (12-10), Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers (12-10) and the Joondalup Wolves (11-10).

The Stirling Senators (11-10) are just outside the top eight in ninth position followed by the Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars (9-13), Perry Lakes Hawks (8-12), Willetton Tigers (7-12), Kalamunda Eastern Suns (5-16) and Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants (3-18).

There were again plenty of standout individual performances across the course of Friday and Saturday nights as well.

On Friday night, Caleb Palkert led the way for the Lightning with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots with his night including 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range.

Darrel Morgan added 16 points and five rebounds for Lakeside while Brad Jackson scored 12 points, Jesse Dixon 11 and Jarrad Prue 10 to go with 28 rebounds and four blocks.

Ben Purser led the way for the Hawks with 30 points, six rebounds and five assists with Justin Cecil adding 27 points, nine boards and six assists. Corey Easley contributed 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals as well.

New import Markus Monroe was outstanding for the Slammers with 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals on the back of shooting 13-of-22 from the field.

Clive Weeden also contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds, Trent Worthington 21 points and six boards, and playing-coach Ty Harrelson 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Gavin Field worked hard for the Cougars with 30 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots with Damien Scott contributing 18 points, 12 boards, five assists and three steals.

Cory Cooperwood was the top-scorer for the Senators but it was a strong team performance with five players scoring in double-figures.

Cooperwood led the way, though, with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists with Cody Ellis adding 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Josh Throns also finished with 18 points for Stirling, Jordan Wild 15 and 14 rebounds, and Tom Witts 11 points.

Seb Salinas was again the star for the Wolves with 24 points and six rebounds with Ephrem Davis contributing 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Then on Saturday night, Aaron Ralph top-scored for the Buccaneers with 26 points and seven rebounds while hitting 5-of-11 from three-point territory.

New import Jerrah Young contributed 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Buccs on the back of shooting 8-of-15 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.

Bennie Lewis also contributed 15 points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks for Geraldton with Carter Cook adding 12 points and Matt Wundenberg 11 to go with 19 rebounds.

Adrian Majstrovich had a huge night for the Giants finishing with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals while hitting 5-of-8 from three-point range and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line.

Duran Blue also worked hard for Goldfields with 26 points and 10 rebounds with Matthew Leske adding 15 points and Miles Tierney 12 before fouling out.

Stan Okoye led the way for the Redbacks with 26 points and 19 rebounds with Joel Wagner scoring 25 points and Lee Roberts 16 to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Jarrad Jackson and Dennis Tawhiti both scored 14 points apiece as well.

Luke Nevill was instrumental in Kalamunda's impressive wins last weekend over Rockingham and Cockburn, but he wasn’t there on Saturday night. However, Ben Smith worked hard for 20 points while Louis Timms did well with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Adhar Mayen also scored 18 points for the Eastern Suns with Kerrod Horn adding 15.

New import Markus Monroe was again terrific for the Slammers with 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while shooting 11-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-6 from downtown and 8-of-9 from the foul line.

Clive Weeden added 28 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a massive night also for the Slammers with Wade Hitchcock adding 19 points and Ty Harrelson 12.

Quinn McDowell scored 27 points and pulled in 13 rebounds for the Tigers with Jacob Reed scoring 12 points and Mitch Clarke 10.

Seb Salinas had another remarkable night for the Wolves continuing his terrific season finishing with 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists on the back of shooting 13-of-22 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Trian Iliadis added 23 points for the Wolves, Ephrem Davis 19 and Rob Huntington 16.

Brad Tinsley top-scored for the Lightning with 24 points and seven assists with Caleb Palkert contributing 19 points and 13 boards, Jarrad Prue 14 points and 24 rebounds, and Chris Sofoulis 10 points.

Paul Hafford finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and four steals for the Magic with Rhett Della Maddalena contributing 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Captain Taylor Mullenax added 23 points and seven boards for the Magic as well with Trent Gerovich finishing with 15 points.

Cory Cooperwood top-scored for the Senators with 19 points with Cody Ellis adding 15.

Tom Jervis had a big night for the Eagles with 30 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and three assists while shooting 10-of-18 from the field including hitting a rare three.

His Perth Wildcats NBL teammate Mathiang Muo was also impressive with 22 points and nine rebounds on the back of shooting 8-of-18 from the floor.

Kyle Armour also contributed 19 points and 10 boards for the Eagles with Nikola Donlagic scoring 12 points and Drew Williamson 11.

Cooper Land finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Flames with Ryan Godfrey contributing 22 points, Andrew Bowman 15 and Tom Remmerswaal 10.

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 98 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 96
Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 100 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 101
Stirling Senators 96 defeated Joondalup Wolves 95

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 91 lost to Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 95
Perth Redbacks 102 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 95
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 119 defeated Willetton Tigers 98
Joondalup Wolves 120 defeated Lakeside Lightning 91
Mandurah Magic 112 defeated Stirling Senators 81
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 112 defeated Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 95

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Steve Brooks