West Wrap | Men's Round 1

Featured image: Travis Anderson | @andmediaphoto

The South West Slammers had a spirited win to open NBL1 West season with George Pearl, Marshawn Blackmon, Josh Hunt, Ryan Godfrey, Emmett Naar, Blake Jones, Marley Sam, Joe Cook-Green, Bryce Johnson, Sharif Black and CJ Turnage the Round 1 stars.

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THURSDAY

Warwick Senators (92) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (82)

Cameron Huefner shot out of his shooting slump to give the Perry Lakes Hawks a sniff with 18 fourth quarter points, but the Warwick Senators had all the answers to open the NBL1 West season winning 92-82.

It turned into a fascinating game where the Senators were in control most of the way but then after going 1/12 from deep up to that point, Huefner caught fire for the Hawks to get them back within two with 10 rapid-fire points including four triples as part of 18 fourth quarter points.

Warwick had the answers, though, to secure the 10-point win on the back of standout performances from former Lakeside import Marshawn Blackmon and 118-gamer George Pearl.

Blackmon produced 30 points, six rebounds and two assists on 11/19 shooting while being +24 with Pearl ending up with 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds on 11/17 and being +21.

Brody England added nine points, six rebounds and three assists, Marcus Inu seven points, two rebounds and five fouls in 10 minutes, and Tyler Shand six points, six boards, three blocks and two assists.

Huefner ended the night with 36 points, six rebounds and four assists with 13/29 shooting from the field, 5/18 from downtown and 5/8 at the foul line.

Jack Kingswood put up 14 points with five rebounds while Andreas Grubisa added 12 points and four rebounds, and Kiwi guard Darcy Knox five points, six assists and five rebounds despite 1/9 shooting.

FRIDAY

Perth Redbacks (84) lost to Cockburn Cougars (106)

Josh Hunt was brilliant with 28 points and Joseph Bradshaw impressed on debut as the Cockburn Cougars sent an early season message with the 106-84 win over the Perth Redbacks.

Both the Redbacks and Cougars won just six games in 2025 so are looking to be big improvers in 2026 and started off against one another at Belmont Oasis.

Cockburn are still awaiting Johny Narkle to be available after being released from his Geraldton contract while Lakeside recruit Rowan Mackenzie is injured, but still the Cougars put in a tremendous performance.

The Cougars dominated the second half with 54 points to 31 for the 22-point win with Hunt showing the way with 28 points and two assists on 8/12 shooting from the floor, 4/5 from deep and 8/13 at the free-throw line.

New import Bradshaw produced 19 points, 11 rebounds and three steals with Harrison Fitzgerald delivering 17 points and four boards, Seva Chan 12 points and six assists, Austin Crow-St Jack 11 points and four rebounds, and Nathan Pond 10 points and three boards.

It wasn’t the first up showing the Redbacks were hoping for under new coach Luke Sunderland with Marshall Nelson having 19 points and seven rebounds, Isaac Etter 15 points and four assists, Luke Phillips 12 points and five rebounds, and Nick Floyd 10 points, nine boards, four assists and four steals.

Mandurah Magic (87) lost to Rockingham Flames (101)

Ryan Godfrey hit eight threes, Emmett Naar delivered 15 assists and Blake Jones pulled down 15 rebounds as the Rockingham Flames overcame the absence of their Adelaide 36ers NBL guns to beat the Mandurah Magic 101-87.

The Flames were unstoppable with their trio of Godfrey, Naar and Jones brilliant as they combined for 65 points, 18 rebounds and 22 assists as Rockingham built a 24-point first half lead on the way to the eventual 14-point victory.

He might be 352 games into his career with Rockingham, but Godfrey started the new season off with a bang knocking down 8/16 from behind the arc for 31 points with four assists.

Naar is in his second season at the Flames and ran the show expertly with 15 assists along with 11 points while Jones made an immediate mark after Tevin Jackson injured a calf just over a minute into the game.

He made his NBL1 West debut with 23 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks on 10/15 field goal shooting.

With plenty of stars still not yet with the Magic, Lachlan Bertram did his best to keep them in the contest with 29 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and two steals on 11/28 shooting from the field, 1/9 from deep and 6/9 from the foul line despite the nine turnovers.

Ryan Blanchett has returned closer to home after winning two championships at the Geraldton Buccaneers and made his Mandurah debut with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists as he resumes playing under former Eastern Suns coach Mark Utley.

Former Tasmania JackJumpers NBL giant Jock Perry, who last played in the NBL1 at the Diamond Valley Eagles in the South in 2024, made his West debut with the Magic too for 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks with 3/6 three-point shooting.

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (92) defeated Lakeside Lightning (87)

The dynamic back court of Joe Cook-Green and Marley Sam combined for 22 points and 12 assists to lead the Kalamunda Eastern Suns to a first up 92-87 home win over the Lakeside Lightning.

Both teams are looking to put themselves back in the finals hunt in 2026 and started their new seasons at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday night with the Suns on top most of the way.

Kalamunda built a five-point lead by quarter-time and stretched that to six at the half before completing the five-point victory on their home floor on the back of a clinching 7-0 fourth quarter run.

Cook-Green led the way for the Suns in the win with 22 points and seven assists while emerging young, small star Sam put up 22 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.

New import Terrandus Smith, who stood out with Cockburn in 2025, put up 15 points, five rebounds and three steals with Jordan Simpson chiming in with seven points and 11 boards, and Seb Salinas six points with a couple of threes in game No. 549.

It was a first up loss for Lakeside with Corey Shervill producing 26 points and six rebounds with Isaiah Lewis adding 22 points and four boards, and Josh Davey nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

SATURDAY

Willetton Tigers (96) defeated East Perth Eagles (82)

New arrival Bryce Johnson teamed with Taeshon Cherry, Damien Scott, Michael Vigor and Tom Gerovich to lead the Willetton Tigers to a season opening 96-82 win over David Okwera and the East Perth Eagles.

Willetton had opened up a 12-point lead by the end of the first quarter before East Perth closed the gap with momentum going into half-time only for the Tigers to open up the second half with a 15-2 run to set up the eventual 14-point victory.

New import Johnson was a handful for East Perth and delivered 19 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals for Willetton with 10/11 free-throw shooting.

Then there was the usual sources of strong contributors for Willetton to lead to the win with Taeshon Cherry providing 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Michael Vigor 16 points and four boards.

Damien Scott also had 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals in his 376th game while Tom Gerovich contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and Tom Musumeci five points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Coming off the best season of his NBL career with the Perth Wildcats, David Okwera kept that form going with East Perth by putting up 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocks on 11/20 shooting from the floor.

Max Rice had 18 points to half-time and finished with 22 with five assists and four rebounds with 2/8 three-point shooting.

One new face for the Eagles in 2026 is former Boise State guard Bing Huang and he had 14 points, four rebounds and two steals with 5/7 shooting from the field and 4/6 at the free-throw line.

Lakeside Lightning (82) lost to Joondalup Wolves (109)

Sharif Black and CJ Turnage combined for 56 points as the Joondalup Wolves produced a standout first up showing for 2026 spoiling the milestone and retirement on night Tom Parkinson with the Lakeside Lightning.

The Lightning were looking to bounce back fro their Friday night loss as they opened their season at home at the Lakeside Recreation Centre with Parkinson reaching his 300-game milestone while retiring at the same time.

The Wolfpack didn’t arrive in a charitable mood and Lakeside's cause wasn’t helped with an early injury to import guard Isaiah Lewis.

The Wolves took charge to be leading 62-46 after a blistering opening half showing on the way to the eventual 27-point win thanks to outscoring Lakeside 25 points to eight in the fourth frame.

New import guard Sharif Black was superb for Joondalup with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals with CJ Turnage adding 26 points, four boards, four steals and three assists.

Gabe Chadinha also had 17 points on 4/4 three-point shooting with Taylor Young also on debut with the Wolves for 16 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Tyson Kelly top-scored for the Lightning with 15 points and four assists with Corey Shervill adding 13 points and six rebounds, Ben Lee 12 points with 3/7 three-point shooting, Ben Fairclough 11 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Davey eight points, 10 boards and three assists.

Goldfields Giants (74) lost to South West Slammers (78)

The Goldfields Giants threw everything at a big comeback but it wasn’t quite enough with the South West Slammers snapping their losing slide to open the new season with the 78-74 road win.

The Slammers won just one game in 2025 and finished on an eight-game losing run as they arrived at Kalgoorlie's Evolution Mining Stadium on Saturday night to take on a Giants team coming off back-to-back finals appearances.

The Slammers managed to open up a 15-point lead by half-time, though, and still led by as much as 18 in the second half before the Giants did get back within striking distance late only to fall four points short on their home floor.

It's a first win for South West since June 20 last year with Dante Matakatea impressive with 18 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks with 3/6 three-point shooting.

Jack Flynn added 15 points and three rebounds, Jhaylon Martinez 14 points and eight boards, and Philmon Gebrewhit 11 points and 15 rebounds.

It wasn’t the start Goldfields were hoping for with Sam Vinson threatening a triple-double with 25 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Danny Pippen added 21 points and nine rebounds, and Michael Jok 14 points, eight boards and four assists.