Wildcats too good for Kings in the West

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media

Result: Perth Wildcats 81 Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 67

Stats That Matter: Wildcats 13 offensive rebounds; Wildcats 17 second chance points; Wildcats 13 points from turnovers; Wildcats 20/21 FT (95%)

Kings MVP: Jarell Martin toiled hard for most of the night.

Turning Point: A 14-0 Wildcat run in the last four minutes of the second quarter.

The game was over when: Todd Blanchfield made three free throws with 2:15 remaining.

Trending in the right direction: Sydney’s defence held Perth to just 28 second half points.

A crucial second quarter run from the Perth Wildcats has led them to an 81-67 victory over the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings on Thursday night at RAC Arena in Perth.

After controlling most of the action for the opening 15 minutes of the ballgame, Sydney trailed by just two points, 35-33, when Jarell Martin made a hook shot in the lane., and things looked positive for the purple and gold against a Wildcat unit missing superstar guard Bryce Cotton.

But as they have done so often in the closing stages of a first half on their home floor, Perth then turned on the afterburners in a devastating four-minute stretch. They outscored the Kings 14-0, with Todd Blanchfield responsible for eight straight points in the spurt, and gun youngster Luke Travers added six points late in the second quarter to give the home team a 53-38 lead at the half.

Sydney went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats in the third period and fought hard in the fourth, but all the damage was done late in the second quarter. It would become the defining period of the game, as Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Adam Forde admitted afterwards.

“They just got on this run and we couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Coach Forde said.

“We made a couple of rotations, tried to find something different, but that was pretty much the ballgame.”

“We did a great job defensively in the second half to try and work our way back, but credit to Perth, they did a great job.”

Indeed, the defence from the Kings was excellent in the second half, as they held Perth to just 28 points in the final 20 minutes. In the final quarter alone, they held the Wildcats scoreless for nearly seven minutes and reduced what had been a 16-point margin to just nine points with three minutes left.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t find a way to put enough scoreboard pressure on the Wildcats down the stretch, and Perth was able to steady and get a win that again puts the Kings’ playoff hopes in jeopardy as they fall to a 16-17 record with three must-win games remaining, all against fellow playoff aspirants in Melbourne, Illawarra and Brisbane.

Still, the team remained upbeat and defiant despite their tough loss, with Craig Moller declaring they still had the belief to get the job done against United at home this Saturday.

“Absolutely we’ve got the confidence,” Craig stated.

“We know looking at this list about the amount of talent we’ve got, and we’ve played some great basketball throughout the year.”

“Again, today there were some fantastic patches, it was just two or three minutes that were terrible. But we’re absolutely full of confidence that we can come into our home building, in front of our fans, and get a good win.”

Sydney shot the ball at 37% from the field, were just 7 of 25 from three-point range and went 8 of 10 from the foul line in their defeat.

Jarell Martin had 20 points and six rebounds to lead the Kings. Jordan Hunter worked hard for his 14 points and 10 rebounds and Xavier Cooks continued to show good progress with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Casper Ware had a tough night shooting the ball and was kept without a single field goal.

The Wildcats shot the ball at 39% from the field, made seven threes from 19 attempts and were money from the charity stripe, going 20 of 21.

Todd Blanchfield led Perth with 23 points; import forward John Mooney finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Luke Travers had 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals and Mitch Norton produced 11 points and six assists for a Wildcat squad that jumps to 25-9 on the season and keeps their hopes alive of a first-place finish at the end of the regular season.

The Kings will close a tough Round 20 with a game back home to take on Melbourne United at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday 29 May, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00pm AEST.

Rise With Us Sydney.

PERTH WILDCATS 81 (Blanchfield 23, Mooney 19, Travers 16)
BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 67 (Martin 20, Hunter 14, Cooks 10) at RAC Arena, Perth.

BOXSCORE