South West basketball player Tre Nichols channelled his inner Kobe Bryant on Friday night when he equalled the best individual score in the Bunbury Basketball Association in the last decade, leading Bulls Gold to an emphatic victory.
Although he finished 10 points shy of Bryant’s historic 81-point performance for the LA Lakers against the Toronto Raptors, Nichols was not to be denied on Friday night as he stunned Tornadoes Grey with 71 points, including 17 three pointers.
Nichols’ 71 teamed with 17 from Craig Kamocha and 12 from Cohen Thompson saw Bulls Gold defeat Tornadoes Grey 112 – 89.
Nichols’ performance received a huge amount of praise and attention, mainly coming in the form of social media.
After the win, Bulls Basketball Club posted of Nichols’ enormous night on Facebook, where it received more than 400 likes, 190 shares and 70 comments.
To put that in contrast, the club’s page has only 163 followers.
Nichols, 26, began playing basketball in the South West in 2015, after being recruited as an American import by State Basketball League side South West Slammers from his hometown of Killeen, Texas.
In his first season, Nichols was a key cog in the Slammers’ backcourt.
He was picked as a starter in the league’s first ever North v South All-Star match and led the Slammers to a grand final appearance against the Joondalup Wolves.
He averaged 28.8 points per game and averaged 35.8 per cent from beyond the three-point line.
The high-energy guard also averaged 3.2 assists and four rebounds per game.
Nichols capped off his season by winning the Slammers’ club MVP award, ahead of fellow import Brian Voelkel and player/coach Ty Harrelson.
