Lakeside Lightning top SBL men's table
Lakeside Lightning finished on top of the men’s State Basketball League ladder after Perth Redbacks beat previous top team Willetton Tigers 115-106 on the last day of the season.
Lakeside overtook Willetton on the head-to-head tie breaker and will meet East Perth Eagles in the quarterfinals, while Willetton play Goldfields Giants, Geraldton Buccaneers battle Perry Lakes Hawks and Perth face Wanneroo Wolves.
The quarterfinals are best-of-three, with the lower-placed side hosting game one this weekend and the higher-ranked team at home for games two and three the following weekend.
Willetton needed to beat Perth to secure top spot, but couldn't contain Ryan Neill (29 points) or Jon Meriweather (27 points) as the Tigers again struggled without NBL centre Daniel Johnson.
Cam Tovey, Alex Prince and Ty Shaw combined for 90 of Willetton's points, with Tovey leading the way with 41.
Lakeside ensured Willetton needed to beat Perth to finish first by beating Southwest Slammers 115-75 the night before, led by Luke Payne (27 points).
Willetton had beaten Stirling Senators 96-81 on Friday night to keep their hopes alive, again led by Tovey (35 points).
Wanneroo earned fifth place by beating Goldfields 96-87, continuing the Giants' poor form.
Greg Hire had 21 points for the Wolves while John Vaudreuil's 23 points wasn't enough to prevent the Giants finishing sixth.
Perry Lakes beat Mandurah Magic 103-101 and Rockingham Flames 111-92 to help it finish seventh, with Robert Kempf (34 points) top-scoring against Mandurah and Peter Crawford hitting a game-high 23 against the Flames.
East Perth nearly came back to upset Geraldton but lost 91-89 after taking the lead in the final two minutes.
Steven Weigh had 37 points for the Eagles, while Ryan Zamroz had five points in the final two minutes to lead the Buccaneers to victory, finishing with 30 for the match.
Southwest picked up its first win at the final chance, beating Cockburn Cougars 81-68, led by Jason Miller (26 points, 18 rebounds, six assists).
Elsewhere, Rockingham beat Kalamunda Eastern Suns 113-110, with Perth Wildcats recruit Matthew Knight averaging 17 points over Rockingham's two games this weekend, and Mandurah defeated Stirling 77-74.
SCOREBOARD
FRIDAY
Rockingham Flames 113 (R. Della Maddalena; M. Deric 20; M. Knight 18) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 110 (A. Majstrovich 38; A. Bruton 19; J. Brown 16)
Mandurah Magic 101 (A. Bowman 25; T. Mullenax 23; J. Della-Santina 14) lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 103 (R. Kempf 34; B. Purser 24; P. Crawford 17)
Willetton Tigers 96 (C. Tovey 35; A. Prince 33; A. Dunnell 8) defeated Stirling Senators 81 (E. Morris Jr 29; C. Olowoyo 13; W. Foster 11)
Lakeside Lightning 115 (L. Payne 27; B. Jackson 24; B. Beran 23) defeated Southwest Slammers 75 (J. Hickert 24; J. Miller 18; J. Paull 12)
SATURDAY
Geraldton Buccaneers 91 (R. Zamroz 30; D. Thomas 15; B. Pepper 13) defeated East Perth Eagles 89 (S. Weigh 37; S. Harris 26; P. Rogers 10)
Goldfields Giants 87 (J. Vaudreuil 23; M. Haney 22; R. Hulme 11) lost to Wanneroo Wolves 96 (G. Hire 21; S. Salinas 19; Z. Coverstone 13)
Perry Lakes Hawks 109 (P. Crawford 23; M. Vahala 22; J. Garlepp 16) defeated Rockingham Flames 91 (M. Knight; R. Della Maddalena 17; J. Griffin 14)
Perth Redbacks 115 (R. Neill 29; J. Meriweather 27; D. Maddox 23) defeated Willetton Tigers 106 (C. Tovey 41; T. Shaw 25; A. Prince 24)
Stirling Senators 74 (C. Olowoyo 39; E. Morris Jr 20; J. Moon 4) lost to Mandurah Magic 77 (T. Remmerwaal 17; C. Crevelone; A. Bowman 16)
Southwest Slammers 81 (J. Miller 26; J. Hickert 15; D. Clarkson 10) defeated Cockburn Cougars 68 (S. McIntyre 23; W. Hannah 13; G. Davey 10)
QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
Saturday July 24, game one (at home of lower-ranked team):
Lakeside (1) v East Perth (8), 8pm Morley.
Willetton (2) v Goldfields (7), 7.30pm Kalgoorlie.
Geraldton (3) v Perry Lakes (6), 7.30pm, WA Basketball Centre.
Perth (4) v Wanneroo (5), 8pm Joondalup.
