Bryce Cotton steers Wildcats past Taipans as Hawks stun 36ers

Perth Wildcats returned to full strength and the winners’ list in their NBL clash against the Cairns Taipans.

Bryce Cotton of the Wildcats puts a shot up against Cairns Taipans at RAC Arena in Perth. Picture: Getty Images

Perth Wildcats returned to full strength and the winners’ list in their NBL clash against the Cairns Taipans at RAC Arena.

The Cats shrugged off Friday night’s loss to the Sydney Kings to record a convincing 94-72 win over the Taipans.

They took control early, shooting at better than 60 per cent and opened up a 31-17 lead at the first break.

Bryce Cotton returned after two games on the sidelines with a thumb injury. It took him a while find his rhythm as he was held scoreless in the opening term but eventually he found his range.

Cotton had four points on the board by halftime and the Cats led 52-38. He then added 10 in the third term and finished with a game-high 21 points.

Terrico White chimed in with 15 as all 12 Wildcats made the scoreboard, including 17-year-old Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, who scored with less than one second left in the game.

Until Cotton emerged, Nick Kay kept things ticking over for the home side with 11 of his 15 points tallied in the first half.

Cairns were able to narrow the margin to 13 points at the final break, as DJ Newbill matched Cotton’s 10 points for the term.

But scoring dried up for the Taipans as they could only add 14 points for the last quarter.

The loss sees the Taipans slump to a 1-10 record after winning their first game of the season.

In Adelaide, a stunning last-second basket from Illawarra’s crowd villain Jordair Jett pushed the Hawks to a gripping 87-86 win over the 36ers.

The strong-bodied Jett (16 points, six rebounds), drove hard, split two defenders and flipped in the winner on the buzzer, which was given the green light after the referees checked the video footage.

He had copped boos all match for his role in an altercation with the 36ers’ Harry Froling when the Hawks last came to town.

The Sixers led by seven points with less than two minutes to play but were undermined by a couple of misses, Todd Blanchfield’s two and three, Nathan Sobey’s double-dribble violation and Jett’s last-ditch heroics.

Sobey (24 points) was the standout for the 36ers who skipped to a 20-6 advantage early before going to sleep mid-quarter and allowing the Hawks to pounce.

Illawarra outscored the home side 20-5 for the term and led 26-25 at quarter-time before Adelaide wrested back control thanks to unsung Adam Doyle. The reserve guard had nine points for the quarter including back-to-back three-pointers, three assists and took a charge from Hawks import Cedric Jackson to steer the 36ers to a 54-48 halftime buffer.

Illawarra sliced the margin to one point before a 10-0 run late in the third stanza gave the Sixers a 74-67 cushion at three-quarter time.

Adelaide looked to be home with a seven-point buffer late on but Jett had other ideas, as the Hawks surged to their third-straight win in nailbiting style.

“Sometimes you need luck and tonight was our lucky night — it’s as simple as that,” said Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge.

“They came out and I thought ‘geez, we’re in trouble here, they’re going to smash us by 40’ so it’s a sensational win.”

Adelaide coach Joey Wright felt his team’s hard work was undone by a self-inflicted combination of missed free throws and turnovers.

“It’s disappointing. Not just because it was Illawarra and they had the same record as us but we had the opportunity to win that game,” Wright said. “(We had) too many turnovers (20 to the Hawks’ 15) and missed free throws … 18 from 32 from the line is not like us.”

And Sydney Kings have bulldozed back into the regular-season race in week eight with an abrasive double triumph. Ex-NBA weapon Andrew Bogut sent another warning to rivals with his league-best return of 23 points and 16 rebounds as the third-placed Kings held off the New Zealand Breakers 71-70 in Auckland on Saturday.

The haul came three days after Bogut made a nuisance of himself in other ways when Sydney toppled Perth 77-72, handing the league leaders their first loss in eight games.

Frustrated Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson was fined $500 for shoving Bogut, who was trying to listen into a Perth team discussion.

Breakers captain Tom Abercrombie conceded every team would need to find a way to combat Bogut, the league’s leading rebounder and shot blocker.

“We made him make some tough post moves and he still finished pretty well. Usually, that’s not his game but he came out aggressive and he was good,” Abercrombie said.

AAP