BASKETBALL: The South West Slammers men’s put themselves back in the winning column on Friday night after a high scoring game saw them clinch a 123 – 106 victory over the Rockingham Flames.
After suffering their first loss of the season the week before against the Joondalup Wolves, the Slammers put on a dominant second half outscoring the Flames 62 – 47 to take the win.
After a somewhat lacklustre first half that saw Rockingham go on multiple runs to claw the lead back, the Slammers came out firing in the second half.
Tre Nichols and Ty Harrelson were moving the ball well while Brian Voelkel once again made his presence known on the rebounding category.
Nichols finished with 29 points on the night, knocking down 13 of his 25 field goal attempts while Harrelson notched a big double-double, pouring in 26 points to go with 12 assists.
Voelkel finished the night just one assist shy of his third triple-double for the season, tallying 12 points, nine assists and a huge 20 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive end.
Clive Weeden was also damaging for the South West with 24 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Productivity from the bench players also helped the Slammers on their way to the victory.
Mitch Keller was especially impressive with his perfect field goal percentage of 100 per cent on five attempts.
He finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time.
Wade Hitchcock also affected the game from the bench, banking four of his eight attempts from beyond the arch and finishing with 15 points.
The Slammers’ women’s side was not as fortunate on the night, going down to the Flames 64 – 95 in a dismal performance.
Something seemed off for the women as they gave up 22 turnovers en route to their loss.
Captain Kate Fielding was the most impressive for the Slammers with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but even she could not stop Rockingham’s Samantha Whitcomb, who amassed 24 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Tonight the South West Slammers take on the Perry Lakes Hawks at the WA Basketball Centre.