West Wrap | Men's Round 3

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Sharif Black, Caleb Davis, Taeshon Cherry, Bryce Johnson and Jesse Pollock starred to get Willetton Tigers, Joondalup Wolves and Eastern Suns to 3-0 in NBL1 West while Adelaide 36ers and Perth Wildcats stars lifted Rockingham Flames and East Perth Eagles to wins.

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FRIDAY

Perth Redbacks (115) lost to Willetton Tigers (121)

A Sean Conway buzzer beater got the Perth Redbacks to overtime but the Willetton Tigers had too much firepower once there with imports Taeshon Cherry and Bryce Johnson coming up huge in 121-115 win.

The Redbacks were coming off a first win of the season with the Tigers also yet to lose in 2026 ahead of what would turn out to be quite the exciting 45-minute battle at Belmont Oasis.

Perth were trying for consecutive wins and were leading by as much as 11 points in the second quarter and 16 in the third before the Tigers worked back into it and were even leading by three with the Redbacks having one last possession in regulation.

That led to Conway's buzzer-beating triple just seconds after Johnson had hit one up the other end to give Willetton the three-point advantage.

Then in the extra period, Tim Ibukunoluwa and Johnson nailed back-to-back three balls to put Willetton up five before Cherry sealed the deal with a couple more jumpers to seal his monster night and keep the Tigers undefeated at 4-0.

Cherry finished the night with 36 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks while fellow import Johnson had 29 points, five boards and three assists on 7/13 shooting from downtown.

It was a breakout career-best showing from Ibukunoluwa with 25 points and nine rebounds on 10/12 shooting with Michael Vigor scoring nine points, and Damien Scott having eight points, seven assists and four rebounds.

The Redbacks are now 1-2 with Marshall Nelson returning against a team he led to the 2024 Grand Final with 30 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Conway added 26 points and nine rebounds on 5/13 three-point shooting with Nick Floyd adding 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and Isaac Etter 12 points and seven assists.

South West Slammers (81) lost to Rockingham Flames (116)

The Rockingham Flames' trio from the Adelaide 36ers combined for 79 points, 32 rebounds and 12 assists as the Rockingham Flames were too much for the South West Slammers with the 116-81 win.

While the Flames were missing injured duo Emmett Naar and Tevin Jackson, they added in Isaac White and Michael Harris who had only just finished up their NBL Championship Series on Sunday with the 36ers in front of a record crowd in Sydney.

They backed up at Eaton Recreation Centre on Friday night and the Slammers did their best, but had no match for that firepower even though they were leading 57-51 by half-time.

Rockingham then produced a dominant second half with 65 points to 24 for the 35-point win to improve to 2-1.

Reigning MVP White put up 34 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals on 14/21 shooting with Harris also making his first appearance of the season with 20 points, six steals, three boards and three assists.

Their Sixers development player teammate Blake Jones was a dominant presence with 25 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Mark Burkholder also added 11 points and four rebounds, Peter Thuch 10 points and two board with a thunderous dunk, and Ryan Godfrey seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Slammers are now 1-2 with Jhaylon Martinez finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, Eythan House 13 points and three boards, and Gavin Deacon 10 points, two assists and two steals.

Warwick Senators (75) lost to East Perth Eagles (94)

The shorthanded Warwick Senators put up a brave fight but Perth Wildcats NBL pair Lat Mayen and David Okwera combined for 51 points and 24 rebounds as the East Perth Eagles prevailed 94-75.

The Senators have started the season so far without Ben Henshall, Keegan Phillips, Cody Ellis and their import big man who is fresh off winning a national championship with Michigan, and then George Pearl was added to that list of outs through injury.

They were hosting an Eagles team with no shortage of firepower, but still the Senators showed plenty of fight led by Marshawn Blackmon to be up 15 halfway through the second quarter.

But from there the Eagles took over and would go on an 18-2 run leading into half-time, and stretching that to 27-5 either side of the break. Then with a 28-13 fourth quarter, ran away with the 94-75 win to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Wildcats pair David Okwera and Mayen were outstanding with the former finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists, and the latter with 25 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

Max Rice also chimed in with 17 points, five assists and three steals with 4/7 three-point shooting while fresh off playing for the Australian Gangurrus last week, Antonio returned with nine points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

Once again, Billy McRae and Marshawn Blackmon did all they could for Warwick to keep them competitive combining for 46 of their team's 75 points while shooting 18/35 from the field between them, 4/10 from deep and 6/8 at the free-throw line.

Blackmon finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and three steals while McRae had 20 points and four boards on 8/11 shooting.

Brody England is used to playing a role off the bench behind some gun starters, but he started on Friday night and cramped late but had 15 points and three rebounds.

SATURDAY

Mandurah Magic (76) lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns (99)

Jesse Pollock had the breakout performance of his career with seven three-pointers and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns kept their hot start going with the 99-76 win over the still shorthanded Mandurah Magic.

The Magic were back home at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre still awaiting the arrival of key duo Matt Kenyon and Michael Dupree while the Suns were looking to maintain their perfect record.

The Suns continued to build on their lead all night up by four at quarter-time before then turning that into the 12-point advantage at half-time, 17 at three quarter-time and eventually the 23-point win as they improve to 3-0.

In the 30th appearance of his career that has mostly been with the East Perth Eagles, Pollock had a night to remember for the Eastern Suns with 7/11 three-point shooting for 29 points.

Terrandus Smith added 19 points, five rebounds and three steals, Marley Sam 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Joe Cook-Green 16 points, eight assists and three steals.

Mandurah are now 0-3 to start the season with Lachlan Bertram finishing with 21 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, Jock Perry 17 points, 10 boards, two assists and two blocks, and Ryan Blanchett 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Joondalup Wolves (102) defeated Cockburn Cougars (80)

The depth of the Joondalup Wolves was fully on show as they stayed perfect to start the season with the 102-80 home win over the Cockburn Cougars.

The Wolfpack had won their first two games of the season on the road under new coach Lucas Allen before a first home match against the Cougars at Arena Joondalup.

It's a Cockburn team still awaiting Rowan Mackenzie to get healthy and Johny Narkle to be available, but they had no match for Joondalup who were leading by eight at quarter-time and six at the half.

The Wolfpack then outscored the Cougars 46 to 30 in the second half to score the 22-point win and improve to 3-0 with Caleb Davis top-scoring with 18 points and four rebounds with 4/7 three-point shooting.

Sharif Black continues to impress with another 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while CJ Turnage had 14 points, eight boards, six assists and two steals.

Damon Ballantyne also h ad 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, Hayden Collier 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, Ben Geel 10 points, two assists and two steals, and Taylor Young seven points and five assists.

The Cougars are now 1-2 to start the season with import big man Joseph Bradshaw providing 20 points, 12 rebounds and three steals after Nathan Pond fouled out in just 11 minutes.

Josh Hunt had 11 points and two rebounds, Austin Crowe-St Jack 11 points, four steals, three boards and three assists, and Seva Chan eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Geraldton Buccaneers (101) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (91)

An injury scare to Josh Banks wasn’t ideal, but Liam Hunt, Verle Williams and Devondrick Walker gave the Geraldton Buccaneers a winning start despite Cam Huefner continuing to get up plenty of shots for Perry Lakes Hawks.

The Buccs were scheduled to open the season back in Round 1 at Active West Stadium to unfurl their NBL1 West 2025 championship banner ahead of a Grand Final rematch with the Warwick Senators.

That was put on hold when Cyclone Narelle intervened meaning they had to wait until Round 3 to join the season and do the celebrations with the banner ahead of hosting the winless Hawks.

The Buccs did open up a 15-point lead in the third quarter before Huefner caught fire to give the Hawks a sniff only for Geraldton to pull away again to lead by 19 in the fourth and win by 10.

Josh Banks had an impressive first half to start his NBL1 career with 15 points on 3/5 three-point shooting but his night was soon over with a knee injury.

Liam Hunt had 25 points, nine assists, three rebounds, three steals and three blocks with the dynamic Verle Williams delivering 21 points and nine assists.

Former MVP Devondrick Walker marked his Geraldton debut and return to the court with 20 points and seven rebounds with 4/9 three-point shooting.

Mat Wundenberg played the 544th game of his career and put up 28 minutes for eight points and six rebounds.

Perth Wildcats development player Cam Huefner once again wasn’t shy getting up plenty of shots for the Hawks. The big man ended up going 9/22 from the field and 6/14 from long-range for 29 points and nine rebounds.

It was in the third quarter he got hot, though, going 5/6 from the floor and 3/4 from deep. The rest of the night he went just 4/16 and 3/10.

Andreas Grubisa also had 23 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Apiok Dau 17 points, nine boards, three steals and two assists while Darcy Knox added seven points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Goldfields Giants (82) defeated Lakeside Lightning (73)

The Goldfields Giants had to come from behind but import pair Danny Pippen and Sam Vinson combined for 41 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists as they got the job done at home to beat the Lakeside Lightning 82-73.

The Giants remained at home at Evolution Mining Stadium hunting a first win of 2026 after Lakeside got theirs last week and were powered up with Corey Shervill and Isaiah Lewis returning, and Michael Imariagbe in for the first time.

The Lightning were able to build an eight-point lead through the second and third quarters, and were still on top by seven at three quarter-time before Goldfields took over in the last 10 minutes.

The Giants had 26 points to 10 in the final quarter to come from seven down to win by nine and improve to 1-1 on the season.

Pippen delivered 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the home team with Vinson providing 17 points, nine boards, nine assists, five steals and two blocked shots.

Michael Jok also had 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Sam Morrow 15 points and four boards.

The Lightning are now 1-3 with Shervill putting up 20 points, five rebounds and two assists, Liam Patterson 19 points, six boards and five assists, Ben Fairclough five points, 10 rebounds and two steals, and last week's hero Josh Davey four points, 11 boards and two blocks.