The South West Slammers powered through another topsy-turvy weekend of State Basketball League action.
On a wild Saturday night, the men’s side hosted the league’s top team, Geraldton Buccaneers, at Eaton Recreation Centre.
Buccaneers Colter Lasher (16) and Marcus Alipate (12) put the visitors in front soon after the opening tip-off.
Refusing to let the game slip from their grasp, Slammer Travis Durnin clinched a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
He and Brian Voelkel (10) spurred on their teammates and the home crowd.
After running out to an eight point lead at quarter time, Geraldton’s Gokul Natesan (22), Liam Hunt (20), and Aaron Ralph (17) ran circles around their opposition.
The Buccaneers’ 30-point haul in the second term put them ahead 59 to 40 at the main break.
The game went from bad to worse for the Slammers, as Geraldton widened the margin to 27 by three-quarter time.
The Buccaneers made themselves known with a 110 to 78 win.
In Sunday’s clash against the Stirling Senators, the Slammers regained their form and ran out to an early lead.
In his second commendable performance of the weekend, Voelkel collected a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Soon after, however, the Slammers squandered their quarter-time lead and went neck-and-neck with Stirling throughout the second term.
After taking a four-point lead at half time, Senators Caleb Davis (26 points, 11 rebounds), Justin King (24), and Robert Anshila (16 points, 11 rebounds) overpowered the home side.
Stirling held a narrow margin during the fourth quarter, doing just enough to score a 102 to 96 victory.
The Slammers women’s side got the job done, claiming an 85 to 82 win against Stirling in overtime.
After giving the Slammers a run for their money in the first term, the Senators edged in front by five at quarter time.
Despite miraculous performances from Jasmine Martin (36, shooting 12 field goals from 16 attempts) and Jaimee Johnson (16), Stirling failed to stop a Slammers’ comeback.
Aided by stars Georgia Denehey (22), Charlotte van Kleef (22), and Tori Fisher (13), the Slammers were hot on Stirling’s trail during the third term.
Stirling then managed to level the scores at 76-all just before the final buzzer.
As overtime drew to a close, late free-throws from Denehey helped the Slammers to cross the line in front.
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