THE Perth Wildcats continue to hum as they comfortably saw off the Tasmania JackJumpers in a 32-point belting on Sunday. 

It was the Bryce Cotton show once again, as he continues his incredible season that has him the firm favourite for his fifth NBL MVP award. In just three quarters of action, Cotton knocked down seven three-pointers and scored 32 points to go along with nine assists and two steals. Perth’s superstar was efficient from the field and did his work early in the game to set his side up for the victory. 

Cotton had 15 points in the opening eight minutes of hoops, nailing three of his first four attempts from downtown, including one four-point play. Cotton then rejoined the floor early in the second quarter before pouring in another 11 points to give his team a 22-point advantage going into the main break. 

The defence shifted to shutting Cotton down in the second half, but plenty more Wildcats stepped up to deliver another 10 points to the lead, as Ben Henshall, Dylan Windler, Hyrum Harris and Keanu Pinder all scored in double-figures as well.

Henshall, Cotton’s backcourt running mate, posted a balanced stat line as he controlled the ball more in the second half. He scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists. Windler contributed a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while putting on a defensive clinic with two steals and four blocks.

Pinder continues to come off the bench and this has been a recipe for success for John Rillie’s side of late, while his replacement starter Izan Almansa put up another solid outing with seven points and seven rebounds. Harris took advantage of his most minutes since Round 11, with a perfect performance from the field, shooting 6/6 for his 12 points and pulled in five rebounds. 

Kristian Doolittle returned from injury for Perth and was eased back into the rotation with 14 minutes off the bench. David Okwera once again got the start and though he was efficient in his 13 minutes, that experiment may be nearing its conclusion with Doolittle the likely starter down the stretch of the regular season. 

Perth completely shut Tasmania down offensively with the home side shooting a woeful 35 per cent from the field and just 7/26 from deep. The Wildcats significantly outrebounded the JackJumpers, who scored no more than 22 points in any single quarter. 

Milton Doyle’s shooting struggles continued, though he along with Anthony Drmic and Jordan Crawford combined to score 35 of their 73 points. Tasmania, missing Sean Macdonald (for the rest of the season) and Will Magnay gave some increased opportunity to the likes of Ian Hummer and Nicholas Stoddart.

Stoddart went 0/6 from the field but did collect five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 21 minutes, while Hummer went 1/8 but grabbed eight rebounds in an eye to the future of Tasmanian basketball. Gorjok Gak played 15 minutes off the bench and dropped eight points, six rebounds and two steals.

The win for the Wildcats takes them to 14-9 for the season, and an impressive 5-1 during their current extended road stretch. They are within reach of Melbourne United in second spot on the NBL25 ladder with Melbourne playing the New Zealand Breakers on Monday. Perth next travels to Brisbane on Wednesday to take on the Bullets in the final game of Round 16 action, while Tasmania will kick off Round 17 with a lone Thursday clash against the Breakers.