West Wrap | Men's Round 4

Featured image: Michael Farnell @sportsimageryau

Liam Hunt ensured the Geraldton Buccaneers stayed unbeaten after an NBL1 West road double with Taeshon Cherry and Isaiah Lewis hitting winners for Willetton Tigers and Lakeside Lightning, and Cam Huefner had 42 in first win for Perry Lakes Hawks.

>> WEST SPOTLIGHT | BUCCS STAY UNBEATEN, MAGIC WINLESS

> WEST SPOTLIGHT | CHERRY, BRYCE JUST OVERCOME PERRY, LACHY

>> WEST SPOTLIGHT | EAGLES DO IT AGAIN AT JOONDALUP

>> LISTEN HERE TO NBL1 WEST RADIO SHOW, THE HOOP HOUR ON 91.3 SPORTFM

>> EMBRACING MOMENT LEADS BLACK TO BIGGER THINGS

FRIDAY

Perth Redbacks (93) defeated Warwick Senators (76)

The Perth Redbacks made it two wins in their last three games by beating the shorthanded Warwick Senators 93-76 at Belmont Oasis.

The Redbacks were back at home trying to build some momentum while the Senators arrived welcoming back Cody Ellis but still without Ben Henshall, new import Will Tschetter, George Pearl and Keegan Phillips.

Perth then started well to be leading 23-19 by quarter-time but Warwick responded with 21 points to 16 in the second to take the narrow 40-39 lead into half-time.

The Redbacks then took charge in the third period with 28 points to 13 which set them on the path to building a 20-point lead and securing the 17-point win.

It's now two wins in the last three games for the Redbacks with Luke Phillips finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Sean Conway 15 points, eight boards and four assists, and Nick Floyd 14 points, 16 rebounds and five assists.

Malakye Cunningham also had 13 points and four rebounds, and Marshall Nelson 12 points, four boards and three assists.

The Senators are now 1-3 on the season with Marshawn Blackmon producing another 25 points and 10 rebounds with Billy McRae adding 11 points, five boards and four assists, Brody England nine points and two rebounds, and Cody Ellis seven points, five boards and two steals in his first appearance of 2026.

Joondalup Wolves (86) lost to East Perth Eagles (94)

Back at the same venue they won a first finals game last year in a decade, the East Perth Eagles handed the Joondalup Wolves a first loss of 2026 with their NBL trio of Jonah Antonio, Lat Mayen and David Okwera proving unstoppable.

For whatever motivation you wanted to look at it as a fascinating game whether it was the Wolves trying to stay unbeaten, the Eagles looking for a third straight win or that it was a rematch from last year's finals when East Perth beat the Wolfpack also at Arena Joondalup to end their season and win a first final since 2014, then there was no shortage of it.

Throw in that former Eagles captain Taylor Young was playing against his old team with the Wolves for the first time and it was always going to be an intriguing match up.

And it did prove to be, but the Eagles maintained a degree of control most of the way to end up winning by eight points with their NBL26 trio of Mayen, Antonio and Okwera combining for 56 points, 27 rebounds, 12 assists, eight steals and five blocked shots.

That trio proved the major difference and the Eagles were able to win despite 24 turnovers and going 5/21 from three-point range.

Okwera finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks while fresh off asking for a release from the Perth Wildcats to explore other opportunities, Mayen put up 18 points, 13 rebounds and two steals with 7/11 shooting.

Antonio also showed that he can do a bit of everything ending up with 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals with Max Rice contributing 11 points, six boards and four assists, and former Wolf Ioannis Dimakopoulos 11 points.

Sharif Black is playing his first NBL1 West season having originally come to Australia to play Big V Division 2 before moving up to State Championships of the Big V, and then playing in the NBL1 Central the past two seasons.

He has been in blistering form to start life with the Wolves and kept that going despite the result with another 30 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists including going 7/10 at the foul line despite 1/10 from three-point territory.

CJ Turnage also finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals, Caleb Davis 14 points, seven boards and two assists, Taylor Young 10 points, five rebounds and five assists against the team he was captain of last season, and Ben Geel seven points, four boards and three steals.

Lakeside Lightning (73) defeated Cockburn Cougars (72)

Rowan Mackenzie looked like making a dream return to play his former team on debut for the Cockburn Cougars before former teammate Isaiah Lewis hit the walk off floater to give the Lakeside Lightning the 73-72 win.

Mackenzie played 126 games with the Lightning before joining the Cougars in the off-season and after missing the first four matches of 2026 with injury, he was right to go against his old team at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Friday night.

It was Lakeside with the fast start, though, with 30 points to 20 in the first quarter and then the Lightning built a 16-point lead in the second term and went into half-time leading 48-33.

The Cougars responded in the third term with 20 points to eight and then hit the lead in the final period, and were leading 72-68 with 45 seconds left when Mackenzie knocked down a massive three-pointer.

Yahui Sun responded with three free throws for Lakeside before Mackenzie had a good look at what would have been the clincher but his three-point attempt wouldn’t go.

His teammate Joseph Bradshaw grabbed the offensive rebound but lost possession giving Lakeside one more chance.

Having already hit one game winner this season thanks to Josh Davey against Rockingham, this time it was Isaiah Lewis with the floater to win the game and the Lightning walked off with the one-point win to improve to 2-3.

Lewis had 13 points, three assists and three steals as well for the game with Corey Shervill adding 17 points, three boards and two assists, Liam Patterson 11 points and three rebounds, Michael Garbellini 10 points, three boards and two steals, Ben Fairclough eight points and 15 rebounds, and Josh Davey eight points, 15 boards, three assists and three steals.

The Cougars are now 1-3 and still awaiting the unveiling of Johny Narkle while welcoming in Mackenzie who had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes.

Josh Hunt delivered 24 points and three rebounds for Cockburn with Bradshaw adding 19 points and 10 boards, and Seva Chan eight assists.

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (91) defeated South West Slammers (76)

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns continued their undefeated start to the season with the 91-76 home victory against the South West Slammers.

The Suns had won their opening three matches of the season ahead of hosting the Slammers at Ray Owen Sports Centre, and the home team managed to open up a 20-15 advantage by the end of the first quarter.

The Eastern Suns would continue to gradually build on that lead the rest of the night to lead by as much as 15 points in the second quarter, 16 in the third and 20 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 15-point victory to improve to 4-0.

Jordan Simpson came up big for the Suns with 20 points, three rebounds and three steals on 9/12 shooting with Jesse Pollock adding 14 points and two assists with 3/4 three-point shooting, and Joe Cook-Green 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Colin Howells added 11 points with 3/6 shooting from downtown, Hayden Price 11 points and nine rebounds, and captain Lewis Thomas had nine rebounds to go with six assists, three blocked shots and two points.

The Slammers are now 1-3 following the defeat with Jhaylon Martinez finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds, Eythan House 13 points and two assists, Dante Matakatea 11 points and eight rebounds, and Gavin Deacon 10 points and four boards.

SATURDAY

Willetton Tigers (97) defeated Mandurah Magic (96)

Jock Perry and Lachlan Bertram again did all they could to get Mandurah Magic a first win but Bryce Johnson and Taeshon Cherry fired again with the latter hitting the game winner as Willetton Tigers prevailed 97-96.

Both teams have had mixed fortunes so far in 2026 with Willetton back home on Saturday night at Willetton Basketball Stadium yet to lose while Mandurah are yet to win while awaiting the arrival of Adelaide 36ers NBL guard Matt Kenyon and former Tigers import combo guard Michael Dupree.

Willetton then looked on target for the win for most of the night leading by 15 in the second quarter and still 11 in the fourth with just four minutes left in the game.

But Mandurah went on an 11-0 scoring run to be within two and then Perry tied scores up but it was Cherry who hit the biggest shot of the night with a huge three to beat the shot clock to be the hero for Willetton to go 4-0 and send Mandurah to 0-4.

Bryce Johnson started on fire for the Tigers with 14 points in the first quarter and ended the night with 28 to go with five rebounds and five assists on 4/7 three-point shooting.

On top of his huge late three, Cherry ended up with 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.

Lachlan Burnett had the night of his four-game career with the teenager putting up 18 points, five rebounds and five assists with Tom Gerovich contributing 10 points, 10 boards and four assists, and Tom Musumeci seven points and three assists.

Mandurah might be 0-4 now but there's a lot to like especially with what Perry and Bertram are giving, and with Kenyon and Dupree to come.

Bertram top-scored with 29 points, seven rebounds, six steals and five assists with 12/21 field goal shooting while Perry ended up with 26 points, 15 boards and six assists.

Ryan Blanchett put up 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals with Joseph MacDonald contributing nine points and two assists, and Jayden Crudeli eight points and four assists.

Perry Lakes Hawks (95) defeated Lakeside Lightning (77)

The Perry Lakes Hawks scored their first win of the season with Perth Wildcats NBL forward Cam Huefner leading them to the 95-77 victory over the Lakeside Lightning by delivering 42 points.

The Hawks had lost their opening three games of the season with Huefner only shooting 38 per cent from the field and 29 per cent from deep, but until their reinforcements arrive he needs to keep shooting.

That's exactly what he did at Bendat Basketball Centre as they hosted a Lightning team fresh off a buzzer-beating win on Friday at home to the Cockburn Cougars.

It was still a tight battle through three quarters with Perry Lakes up five at quarter-time and then Lakeside on top 41-38 at the half before the Lightning went into the fourth on top 60-59.

It was then all the Hawks the rest of the way with the Lightning losing Isaiah Lewis and Josh Davey to injury with Perry Lakes piling on 36 points to 17 in the fourth quarter to win by 18 and open their account.

Huefner produced a match-winning performance with 42 points, five rebounds and two assists on shooting 14/23 from the field, 6/13 from downtown and 8/12 at the free-throw line.

Andreas Grubisa added 18 points, five boards and three assists for the Hawks, Max Bucknell 14 points and four boards, and Darcy Knox 11 points and six rebounds.

The Lightning are now 2-4 on the season with Lewis finishing with 20 points, two assists and two steals in just 24 minutes before going off hurt.

Liam Patterson delivered 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, Corey Shervill 14 points, eight boards and two assists, and Yahui Sun seven points, two assists and two steals.

Goldfields Giants (67) lost to Rockingham Flames (112)

The Goldfields Giants are still trying to get their feet under them this season but the Rockingham Flames aren’t the team to try and do that against with their powered up line-up going to Kalgoorlie and coming away with the 112-67 win.

The Giants have been at home for all three of their matches so far having split their first two at Evolution Mining Stadium ahead of hosting the Flames who had a full squad available for the first time with Emmett Naar and Tevin Jackson back into the line-up.

That was after Adelaide 36ers pair Michael Harris and Isaac White came in the week prior and they had already pushed out to a 26-16 lead by quarter-time.

It was another 27 points to 17 in the second quarter in favour of Rockingham, 33 to 14 in the third and 26 to 20 in the last and the Flames romped to the 45-point victory to improve to a 3-1 record.

White finished with 23 points, four assists and three rebounds with 5/11 three-point shooting while Harris contributed 19 points, five boards, five assists and three steals on going 4/11 from downtown.

Ryan Godfrey put up 18 points with 4/5 three-point shooting with Blake Jones contributing 12 points and 11 rebounds, Mark Burkholder 14 points and nine boards, and Emmett Naar 10 assists with five points, three rebounds and two steals.

The Giants are now 1-2 as they prepare for their first road double of 2026 with Sam Vinson finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, Danny Pippen 14 points, three boards and two assists, Jerome Reid 11 points and three rebounds, and Michael Jok nine points and three boards.

South West Slammers (83) lost to Geraldton Buccaneers (87)

The Geraldton Buccaneers found themselves nine points down on the road to the South West Slammers in the second quarter and still trailed in the last term, but new captain Liam Hunt wouldn’t let them lose and led them to the 87-83 win.

It was a first road game of the season for the Buccs on Saturday night against the Slammers at Eaton Recreation Centre and the reigning champs are still awaiting the arrivals of Joshua Keyes and Cooper Creek, and are without injured import Josh Banks.

The Slammers threw the gauntlet down to them and got out to a nine-point advantage in the second quarter and the home team was still leading 45-38 at half-time on the back of 32 points to 23 in that period.

Geraldton did score nine straight points to reclaim the lead in the third quarter but by three quarter-time South West were still in front by a point.

The Slammers were back up four again early in the last quarter but the Buccaneers showed their championship mettle down the stretch on the way to the four-point win to improve to 2-0 to begin their title defence.

New Buccs captain and three-time champion Hunt was a workhorse once more for 26 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals including seven offensive boards.

Devondrick Walker is also warming back nicely with 28 points, seven rebounds and three steals including a monster throwdown dunk with Verle Williams adding 15 points, seven assists, five boards and two steals, and Will Galvin six points and seven rebounds in his 159th appearance.

South West are now 1-4 following a double loss weekend against two undefeated teams with Dante Matakatea delivering 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Rhys Barrett also had 16 points and four rebounds, Philmon Gebrhiwet 13 points on 3/7 three-point shooting, Jhaylon Martinez 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Eythan House nine points, 10 boards and two blocked shots.

SUNDAY

Mandurah Magic (68) lost to Geraldton Buccaneers (78)

It was the battle of the last two NBL1 West champions and the Geraldton Buccaneers stayed unbeaten and kept the Mandurah Magic winless with the 78-68 victory on another huge performance from Liam Hunt.

Both teams came into the Sunday match up at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre after thrillers the previous night as well.

Jock Perry, Lachlan Bertram and Ryan Blanchett have continued to hold down the fort for the Magic as they await the arrival of Matt Kenyon and Michael Dupree. They did so again but the Buccs proved too strong with Hunt outstanding all afternoon and Devondrick Walker having 17 third quarter points.

While Mandurah are still awaiting the arrival of some key pieces, Geraldton also were without injured import Josh Banks with championship winner Josh Keyes also not yet having arrived for the 2026 season along with Cooper Creek.

But still the Buccs stayed undefeated to improve to 4-0 to start the season and completed their first road trip double successfully with three-time championship winner and 2019 Grand Final MVP Hunt continuing to embrace the captaincy he's taken over from Aaron Ralph.

He finished with another 19 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks while playing over 38 minutes.

Former MVP Walker had 17 points in the third quarter alone and 23 for the game with three rebounds, three assists and two steals with 6/13 three-point shooting.

Verle Williams added 16 points and nine assists, and 546-game triple championship winner Mat Wundenberg continuing to play a big role to start the season with another 28 minutes for seven points and 10 rebounds.

Bertram played all 40 minutes of the game for the Magic for 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 5/22 shooting while Perry played all but 1:04 for 20 points, 14 boards and five assists.

Blanchett was coming up against the team he won the 2023 and 2025 championships with for the first time and had 19 points and six rebounds on 6/10 shooting, but that trio just didn’t have enough help.