Buccs make statement in men's SBL

Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Rockingham Flames on Saturday night to close the gap between the top two men's SBL teams while the South West Slammers had their best weekend of the 2014 season to date.

Following the eight matches over the weekend, the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames (9-3) remain on top of the standings but only just ahead of the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers (8-3).

Below them are the Joondalup Wolves (6-3), Mandurah Magic (6-3), Lakeside Lightning (6-4), Perth Redbacks (6-4), Perry Lakes Hawks (5-4) and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers (5-5).

Outside the top-eight are the Stirling Senators (4-4), Willetton Tigers (4-5), Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles (4-8), Cockburn Cougars (3-7), Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants (2-8) and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns (2-9).

It was a huge weekend for individuals to shine as well with two players recording games of 40-plus points, another six scoring at least 30 points and a host of others coming up big.

On Friday night, Jonathan Todd Hendley was the star for the Slammers with 31 points and 11 rebounds and Clive Weeden finishing with 29 points, 22 boards and three blocked shots.

Ty Harrelson also added 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Import Stan Okoye had a big night for the Redbacks finishing with 34 points and 19 rebounds.

Gavin Field led the way for the Cougars with 34 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots and Damien Scott added 28 points on the back of shooting 12-of-23 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point territory.

Caleb Palkert again had a good game for Lakeside with 26 points and nine rebounds while shooting 11-of-21 from the field.

Brad Tinsley also added 24 points for the Lightning with Jarrad Prue having another huge night with 17 points and 24 rebounds.

On Saturday night, Odartey Blankson put in a terrific performance for the Buccaneers with 26 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 2-of-3 from long range.

Bennie Lewis shook off a minor injury from last week to score 19 points and play 41 minutes with Carter Cook finishing with 18 points, Matt Wundenberg 11 (16 rebounds) and Shamus Ballantyne 10.

Cooper Land did all he could for the Flames with 32 points and 10 rebounds with Andrew Bowman contributing 16 points, Tom Remmerswaal 15 and Taylor Land 11 to go with six rebounds and five assists.

Sunday Dech starred for East Perth with 26 points and 10 rebounds despite shooting just 8-of-23 from the field. He did nail 5-of-10 from downtown though.

Nikola Donlagic also added 18 points and six rebounds for the Eagles with Kyle Armour contributing 17 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

Lordan Franich tried hard for the Giants with 25 points, 15 rebounds and four steals with Duran Blue adding 17 points and seven assists, and Tommy Hannon 16 points and nine boards.

Seb Salinas again starred for the Wolves with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while shooting 12-of-22 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point territory.

Rob Huntington also scored 18 points to go with seven rebounds for Joondalup with Sean Easther adding 15 points and Brendan Tucek 12.

Gavin Field again top-scored for the Cougars with 21 points to go with 13 rebounds with Damien Scott adding 20 points and seven rebounds.

Corey Easley top-scored for Perry Lakes with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists with Ben Purser adding 15 points, Josh Garlepp 15, Justin Cecil 12, Rob Cassir 10 and Rory Pekin 10.

Jordan Wild did all he could for the Senators with 30 points and 16 rebounds but was the only player to reach double-figures in any category.

Willetton's imports Quinn McDowell and John Dickson once again had massive nights with Quinn McDowell finishing with 43 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 14-of-28 from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.

Dickson also finished with 41 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and two steals while shooting 17-of-29 from the floor, 2-of-5 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Mitchell Clarke also added 22 points and eight rebounds for Willetton with Jacob Reed scoring 17 points and Jake Burston 10.

Taylor Mullenax top-scored for the Magic with 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals with Paul Hafford also scoring 27 points to go with seven assists even though he hit just 2-of-13 from three-point range.

Brendan Maddalena added 20 points while Rhett Della Maddalena also scored 17 points for the Magic with Trent Gerovich adding 15 points and Ben Smith 12.

Playing-coach Ty Harrelson led the way for the Slammers with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists while shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range.

Jonathan Todd Hendley added 24 points and 10 rebounds for South West with Clive Weeden also contributing 21 points and 10 boards.

Adhar Mayen top-scored for Kalamunda with 17 points while Kerrod Horn scored 15 points, Ben Smith 13 and Joel Questel 10.

FRIDAY RESULTS

Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 104 defeated Perth Redbacks 95

Cockburn Cougars 102 defeated Lakeside Lightning 95

SATURDAY

Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 112 defeated Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 95

Silver Lakes Resources Goldfields Giants 71 lost to Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 95

Joondalup Wolves 98 defeated Cockburn Cougars 74

Stirling Senators 69 lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 103

Willetton Tigers 139 defeated Mandurah Magic 123

Kalamunda Eastern Suns 83 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 93