West Wrap | Men's Round 7

Featured image: Travis Anderson | @andmediaphoto

Johny Narkle sparked Cockburn Cougars on debut, Cooper Creek and Josh Keyes lifted Geraldton Buccaneers to two NBL1 West road wins, Michael Harris put up 45 for Rockingham Flames, Jack Browder had another 42 for Perry Lakes Hawks and Perth Redbacks delivered a huge fightback.

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>> WEST SPOTLIGHT | NARKLE DEBUTS AND COUGARS DOWN MAGIC

FRIDAY

Mandurah Magic (87) lost to Cockburn Cougars (94)

There was star power everywhere you looked on either side and the Cockburn Cougars' Johny Narkle debut saw the two-time Grand Final MVP play a key role in their 94-87 road win over the Mandurah Magic.

Both teams have put together loaded up rosters for 2026 that have taken some time to come together with Michael Christmas, Michael Dupree and Matt Kenyon all on deck for the Magic as they scored a first win of the season last week in Geraldton.

Gun recruits Rowan Mackenzie and Narkle were then available together for the first time for Cockburn on Friday night at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre along with Buccaneers championship winning import Akeem Springs.

The Cougars were still missing import big Joseph Bradshaw for a second straight game and what the two teams put on was quite the spectacle that shows that they are going to provide must-watch viewing for the rest of 2026.

Neither team had a double-figure lead the entire match highlighting how tight the contest was but in the end the Cougars had the answers late to secure the seven-point win and improve to 4-3 on the season in the process with three straight wins.

Mandurah are now 1-7 with 23 turnovers proving costly even though they somewhat made up for that with 18 offensive rebounds of which Jock Perry collected seven of.

On the back of winning two Grand Final MVP's in the past three seasons with Geraldton and then playing an NBL season with the Illawarra Hawks, Johny Narkle was finally able to debut for the Cougars on Friday night.

He stepped up when it mattered too finishing with 20 points, four steals, three rebounds and two blocks in his 26 minutes off the bench.

While he only shot 2/9 from three-point range for the game, they were at important times with one going into half-time and then another at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter.

Rowan Mackenzie also delivered another 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Cockburn while shooting a supremely efficient 9/13 from the floor and 4/4 at the free-throw line.

Akeem Springs added 16 points and five rebounds, Nathan Pond 12 points and three boards, Josh Hunt nine points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Jonah Palelei eight points, four boards and two steals.

Michael Christmas was playing his first home game with the Magic and produced a standout performance made up of 24 points, five assists and three rebounds with 14 of those points in the second half while shooting 4/8 from three-point territory.

Michael Dupree was also playing his first home game for his third club having previously played with the Goldfields Giants and Willetton Tigers. He ended up with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Lachlan Bertram had another 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals with 4/8 shooting from behind the three-point line but all 19 of his points came in the first three quarters.

Jock Perry also contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, Matt Kenyon five points, eight boards, three assists and two steals, and Ryan Blanchett eight points and two boards on 4/4 shooting in his 14 minutes.

Warwick Senators (90) lost to Willetton Tigers (110)

Taeshon Cherry put up another 35 points and was supremely efficient to do so to keep the Willetton Tigers undefeated with the 110-90 road win against the Warwick Senators.

The Senators are still trying to pull everything together this season with some initial signings not coming off and not being at full strength at any point ahead of hosting the undefeated Tigers at Warwick Stadium.

Willetton made a good start away from home with 25 points to 19 in the first quarter before another 33 to 25 in the second to go into half-time well in control leading 58-44.

The Tigers continued to build on that advantage through the second half with the lead growing to 20 points in the third quarter and 23 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 20-point victory.

The win keeps Willetton perfect at 8-0 with Cherry brilliant on his way to 35 points and two blocks with 13/18 field goal shooting, 3/5 from downtown and 6/7 at the foul line.

Tim Ibukunoluwa continued his standout form too for a teenager with 19 points and 10 rebounds on 8/10 shooting with Michael Vigor adding 14 points, eight boards and five assists, Tom Gerovich 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Bryce Johnson 10 points, three boards and three assists.

The Senators now slip to a 2-6 record having lost their past three with Will Tschetter putting up another 27 points and nine rebounds with 10/13 foul shooting as a presence inside.

Marshawn Blackmon added 13 point, four rebounds and two steals, Tyler Shand 10 points, four boards, four steals and three assists, Daniel Christou 10 points on 4/4 shooting, and Trey Sandon 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Lakeside Lightning (73) lost to Perry Lakes Hawks (95)

The stunning start to the NBL1 West career of Jack Browder as he put up 42 points to lead the Perry Lakes Hawks to the 95-73 road win over the Lakeside Lightning.

Still less than two months ago and Browder was still finishing his college career before joining the Hawks where he led them to the win over the East Perth Eagles on Anzac Day.

He has continued his blistering start while still aged just 21 since and helped Pery Lakes to a 28-22 start in the first quarter against the Lightning at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

It was still a close game, though, by half-time with Perry Lakes only clinging to the 48-45 lead before the Hawks dominated from there.

They outscored Lakeside 23 points to 17 in the third frame and 24 to 11 in the fourth on the way to the 22-point victory to improve to 4-4 and having won four of five since the arrival of both Browder and fellow import Isaiah Moses.

Browder finished with 42 points, six rebounds and three blocks with 16/25 field goal shooting, 3/7 from deep and 7/7 at the foul line.

Moses also had another 19 points and seven assists with 3/5 three-point shooting while Cam Huefner provided 25 points and 11 rebounds with 5/13 shooting from deep, and Max Bucknell chimed in with six points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Lakeside are now 2-7 having lost four in-a-row with Michael Imariagbe adding 21 points, 16 rebounds and three assists.

Corey Shervill added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, Tim Hollick nine points and four assists, and Tyson Kelly seven points, three boards and two steals.

SATURDAY

South West Slammers (83) lost to Mandurah Magic (106)

All five big-game Mandurah Magic starters delivered strong performances as they bounced back from their Friday night home loss to beat the South West Slammers 106-83 on Saturday.

The Magic played their first home game on Friday night with Michael Christmas, Michael Dupree, Matt Kenyon, Lachlan Bertram and Jock Perry all together, but they lost a thriller to the Cockburn Cougars.

They backed up against the Slammers at Eaton Recreation Centre but it was the home team who ended up leading 26-24 by the end of the first quarter.

It was then 29 points each in the second frame so by half-time it was South West still leading 55-53.

The Magic then dominated the third quarter by putting up 31 points to 10 and then their lead got out to as much as 29 in the fourth quarter on the way to the eventual 23-point victory.

The win sees Mandurah improve to a 2-7 record with Bertram delivering 22 points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds with Perry also providing 21 points, seven boards and four assists on 7/11 shooting.

Kenyon also finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals, Dupree 18 points, five assists and three boards, and Christmas 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

The Slammers slip to a 1-8 record with the loss at home where they've now lost all five times in 2026 with Eythan House finishing with 19 points and three rebounds with Philmon Gebrhiwet adding 18 points, eight boards and two assists, Jhaylon Martinez 10 points and six rebounds, and Devan Craig nine points, seven boards and three assists.

Willetton Tigers (85) lost to Geraldton Buccaneers (93)

Josh Keyes and Cooper Creek were on board and the Geraldton Buccaneers ended the unbeaten run to start 2026 of the Willetton Tigers with the 93-85 Saturday night victory.

It was back to the scene of last year's preliminary final where the Buccs overran the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium to give the home team another heartbreaking finals exit before they went on to win a championship a week later at RAC Arena.

Keyes and Creek were both there in that Grand Final with the former a key part of the Buccaneers championship triumph while the latter was playing with the Warwick Senators having hit the game winner in the preliminary final to get them there against the Rockingham Flames.

The Buccs might have lost their past two games at home but with Keyes and Creek into the line-up even if they were still without Devondrick Walker, they got off to the hot start with 28 points to 17 in the first quarter.

The unbeaten Willetton responded in the second term with 24 points to 18 and that cut the Geraldton lead to 46-41 by half-time.

The Buccs took back over in the second half to lead by nine in the third quarter and then 13 in the fourth before the Tigers threw everything at a big comeback but it wasn’t to be with Geraldton holding on to win by eight and hand Willetton a first loss of 2026.

The Buccaneers improve to 4-2 as a result of the win with Keyes delivering 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks with 12/17 field goal shooting along with 4/5 from downtown.

Matthew Norman also had 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals with 5/10 shooting form deep with Verle Williams contributing 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Creek 14 points, eight boards and four assists, and Liam Hunt 13 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Tigers are now 8-1 following the first loss with Taeshon Cherry again top scoring with 21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Damien Scott had another 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Tom Gerovich 12 points and eight boards, Bryce Johnson 11 points and three assists, Tim Ibukunoluwa 11 points and six rebounds, and Tom Musumeci 10 points, boards two assists and two steals.

Rockingham Flames (114) defeated Joondalup Wolves (93)

The Rockingham Flames put on a show at home to the Joondalup Wolves with Michael Harris putting up 45 points with nine three-pointers while Isaac White almost had a triple double in the 114-93 thumping win.

The Flames were back home at Mike Barnett Sports Complex coming off a 32-point win against the Warwick Senators while the Wolfpack arrived also having won their past two.

Rockingham was leading 31-26 by quarter-time before Joondalup had 29 points to 23 in the second term to go into half-time leading 55-54.

It was all the Flames from there with 34 points to 15 in the second quarter and 26 to 23 in the fourth on the way to the 21-point victory where their full firepower was again on display.

Rockingham is now 6-2 on the season after the win with Michael Harris catching fire hitting 9/15 from behind the arc on his way to 45 points, eight rebounds and five assists while also making all five shots inside the arc and going 8/9 at the free-throw line.

Isaac White might not have top-scored but was still outstanding with 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists with Emmett Naar adding 10 points, nine assists and five boards, Blake Jones 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Tevin Jackson eight points, eight boards and two assists.

Joondalup slip to a 5-3 record with Sharif Black tremendous again with 34 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals on 5/13 shooting from beyond the three-point line and 9/12 at the charity stripe.

Ben Geel added 14 points and five rebounds, Gabe Chadinha 12 points, three boards and two assists, Damon Ballantyne 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Caleb Davis 11 points and three rebounds in his 199th game.

Goldfields Giants (103) lost to Perth Redbacks (107)

The Perth Redbacks produced a monstrous fourth quarter in Kalgoorlie to come from 14 points down to beat the Goldfields Giants 107-103 even without Marshall Nelson.

The Giants were back home at Evolution Mining Stadium trying to hit back from two road losses last weekend while the Redbacks arrived fresh off beating the Perry Lakes Hawks in another high-scoring thriller.

The scores were all tied at quarter-time before the Giants put up 36 points to 28 in the second term to go into half-time leading 58-50.

Goldfields pushed out to a 14-point lead in the third quarter and were still on top by 11 at three quarter-time but then the Redbacks took control.

Perth put up 35 points to 20 in the last 10 minutes to that turn 11-point deficit into the four-point win to improve to 4-3 in the process.

Isaac Etter had a monstrous performance for the Redbacks with 34 points and eight assists with 7/12 three-point shooting with Nick Floyd adding 24 points and 11 boards on 11/14 shooting.

Sean Conway also had 21 points, four rebounds and four assists, Josh Brabazon 10 points and five boards, and Connor Mincherton nine points and four assists.

Goldfields are now 2-5 after three consecutive defeats with Michael Jok finishing with 33 points, eight assists and seven rebounds with 6/11 from behind the arc.

Sam Vinson also had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on 10/15 shooting from the floor and 8/10 at the foul line with Danny Pippen contributing 18 points, five boards and three assists, and Lino Manhom 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (79) lost to East Perth Eagles (104)

David Okwera showed that he's at the peak of his powers right now and delivered a match-winning performance as the East Perth Eagles put in a strong all-round showing to beat the Eastern Suns 104-79.

The Eastern Suns were back home at Ray Owen Sports Centre after last Friday night's stunning buzzer-beating win over the Rockingham Flames while the Eagles were also coming off a big win over the Warwick Senators.

Both teams have started the season in impressive form and were looking to continue that but the Suns were without Joe Cook-Green while the Eagles regained Lat Mayen, and it was a blistering start from the visitors.

East Perth put up 31 points in the first quarter and then were leading 53-42 by half-time with Mayen and Okwera combining for 22 points and six three-pointers.

The Eagles then saw off the challenge of the Eastern Suns with 30 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the 25-point win to improve to 5-2 on the season with the Suns now 6-2.

Okwera was the star of the show with 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four blocks on 11/15 shooting from the field and 3/4 from three-point territory.

It was far from a one man show for East Perth, though, with Lat Mayen also delivering 16 points, nine rebound and five assists with 3/4 three-point shooting.

Max Rice also had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals while hitting 4/8 from deep with Jonath Antonio going 2/3 for 12 points, five rebounds and three steals with Jermaine Malie back on his old home floor and having 11 points and a steal.

The Eastern Suns were right in the game most of the night but in the end the absence of Joe Cook-Green and with Travis Fee playing his first game back and Jordan Simpson working back from injury was tough to overcome against the powerful Eagles.

Joel Vaiangina again started with Simpson just playing his first game back and the 122-game big man finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks on 6/7 shooting.

Marley Sam had another 13 points, six assists, three steals and two rebounds while Terrandus Smith added 13 points, five boards and two assists, Lewis Thomas 10 points, nine rebounds and five steals, and Jesse Pollock seven points against his former team.

SUNDAY

East Perth Eagles (74) lost to Geraldton Buccaneers (102)

Triple championship winning legend Mat Wundenberg was out there to start in his 550th NBL1 West game before his Geraldton Buccaneers took charge with Cooper Creek and Josh Keyes unstoppable in the eventual 102-74 win over the East Perth Eagles.

Both teams came into the Sunday match up at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre having won the night before with the Eagles beating the Eastern Suns while the Buccs started their road double handing the Willetton Tigers a first loss of 2026.

A sore achilles coming into the weekend after playing nearly 30 minutes a game so far this season meant Wundenberg was never going to be out there long, but he started his 550th appearance and then left the rest to his teammates.

The Buccs were still without Devondrick Walker, but the additions this weekend of Creek and Keyes have been massive and they combined for 60 points and 24 rebounds.

Geraldton ended up leading East Perth by as much as 30 points too before winning by 28 as they now head home at 5-2 as defending champions with the Eagles 5-3 having split their weekend.

Creek finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and two steals on 10/14 field goal shooting along with 5/7 from three-point range while Keyes delivered 28 points, 10 boards and five assists.

Liam Hunt appreciated the help in the front court but still had 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists with Matthew Norman hitting 3/7 from deep for 14 points, five rebounds and two assist, and Verle Williams delivering 11 points, 10 assists and five boards.

Lat Mayen ended up top-scoring with 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals for East Perth with David Okwera adding 16 points and five assists but the pair only managed to shoot 11/33 from the field.

Jonah Antonio was the only other Eagles player to reach double-figures for 11 points and five rebounds with Max Rice ending up with nine points on 3/4 three-point shooting but he didn’t get up another attempt the entire second half.