The South West Slammers men’s side sit fifth on 2017 State Basketball League ladder with just one game to play in the regular season after back-to-back round 19 wins.
First up, the Slammers faced the Perry Lakes Hawks in Perth on Friday night and claimed a thrilling victory in overtime.
The sides traded blows early on with the Hawks up by one point at the first change. With plenty of aggression and determination on show in the second term, the two sides finished the half locked together on 51 points each.
Every time the Hawks opened up a lead in the third term, the Slammers shut it down with Brian Voelkel (18 points, 19 rebounds, 20 assists) and Michael Lay (35 points) leading from the front in the absence of Tre Nichols.
The sides were evenly matched at the final change 70-all and ended the match tied on 94 points apiece.
The lead changed seven times during the five minutes of overtime with the Slammers scoring the last four points to finish on top 105-102.
The Slammers then returned to the Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night to face the Goldfields Giants.
Nichols was back but Chris Douglas remained unavailable through injury.
The Slammers scored the first five points of the game but the Giants pushed hard to open up a six point advantage late in the term. A three point jump shot from Nichols four seconds before the first buzzer had the Slammers trailing 24-21.
The arm wrestle continued in the second term as the Slammers trimmed the margin to one at the half.
The clash continued in the same fashion in what was a lackluster third term, with both sides playing defensively to see the scores locked together at 67 points all heading into the final term.
With the home crowd willing them forwards, the Slammers found a new gear that the Giants did not have an answer for.
Teny Puot had the home bench and supporters up and cheering with four three-pointers spurring the Slammers on to a 92-79 point victory.
An even spread of contributions saw Puot finish with 23 points, Nichols score 18, Voelkel score 15, Michael Lay score 14 and Clive Weeden score 13.
Jacob Holmen top scored for Goldfield’s side with 21 points.
The South West Slammers women’s side also took to the court on Friday night in Perth against the league-leading Perry Lakes Hawks.
The Slammers showed plenty of fight, especially given they were missing star import Brittany Hodges and guard Raya Thompson but, as they have done so many times this season, the Hawks proved too strong to prevail 64-53.
Slammers captain Courtney Bayliss led from the front with 27 points.
Bunbury fans will have one last chance to see the South West side in action before the finals series with the Slammers to host Joondalup in Eaton on Saturday with the ladies tipping off at 6.30pm and the men squaring off at 8.30pm.