IN A remarkably tense match, the Wildcats fell to the Taipans in a double overtime thriller at RAC Arena in the National Basketball League (NBL) over the weekend.

The Wildcats trailed in the first half, allowing Rob Edwards to get to wherever he wanted for his shots. They were unable to contain the two-man combo of he and Sam Waardenburg, while Kyle Adnam also provided the Taipans with a solid first half of production. Defensively, Perth committed fouls far too often early in the game and gave the visiting side free points at the free throw line.

Thankfully for Perth, Keanu Pinder had his best quarter of basketball for the year, scoring 12 second term points for the home team to keep them in the game. Bryce Cotton had also contributed nicely for Perth, but they struggled for offensive production outside of those two. Trailing by nine points at the main break, something had to click for Perth quickly, and that they did.

Perth outscored Cairns by 18 in the third period, on the back of some stellar efforts from Ben Henshall, Pinder and Cotton. Henshall scored 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter as the Wildcats held the Taipans to just 17 points themselves as a team. Pinder continued to produce at the rim, while Cotton added another 11 points to his tally. Over a five-minute span, Perth went on a 23-7 run to completely flip the game on its head.

In the Final term, Perth led by nine points with less than nine minutes remaining, before Cairns went on a 9-0 run to tie the game. The Wildcats then immediately answered with an 8-0 run of their own, and Cairns matched it with a 7-0 run. An Edwards miss with 12 seconds left spelt trouble for the Taipans, but a huge offensive rebound and putback layup from Pedro Bradshaw tied the game with eight seconds to go. Perth could not make a go-ahead basket and the game went to overtime. 

Overtime started poorly for the home side as a Tanner Groves three shot the lead out to five with two minutes remaining, and an Adnam three ball that extended the lead to six points with 53 seconds on the clock put it almost out of reach.

Enter Cotton. The MVP favourite refused to let this game slip away, nailing a three from a scrappy possession that began with Kristian Doolittle diving on the floor to get it to Cotton.

On the Wildcats’ next possession Cotton then produced an incredible play, using his shifty dribble moves to put Groves on the floor, before knocking down the three with contact leading to a four-point play opportunity. With the home crowd in hysterics, Cotton could not convert the free-throw and no further score would be had in overtime, resulting in an extra five minutes.

In the second overtime period it was all Taipans as they quickly shot out to a seven-point advantage. Perth was never able to chip into the deficit and in the end it was the visitors who got the victory by nine points.

Kyrin Galloway and Adnam were solid off the bench for Cairns, combining for 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but it was the production from the Taipans’ starting lineup, sans Taran Armstrong, that once again held them in good stead at RAC Arena.

Waardenburg finished just shy of a triple-double, scoring 24 points along with nine rebounds and nine assists. He also added two steals and two blocks in a monster performance. Edwards’ scoring prowess was on show as he dropped 30 points to go with six rebounds, while Groves was a force in the paint, adding 22 points and six rebounds.

Bradshaw had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Alex Higgins-Titsha filled in admirably for Armstrong with 12 points and five rebounds. Cairns shot the ball at a high clip and despite losing the turnover battle, was able to capitalise on their fewer possessions. 

For Perth, Cotton ended with another near 40-point night, scoring 38 to go with eight rebounds. Henshall scored 15 of his 17 points in the third term, while Doolittle ended the night with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Pinder had his best outing of the year, finishing with an impressive 29-point, 11 rebound double-double, whilst blocking three shots. The Wildcats simply were not efficient enough, outside of one spectacular quarter.

Cairns has now won two in a row as it looks for moral victories to finish the season, while Perth has dropped from second to fifth in less than two weeks.

The Wildcats will now find it difficult to stay above the play-in spots, but will seek to bounce back against the in-form SEM Phoenix on Thursday night. Cairns next visit the New Zealand Breakers, where a win could give them a faint chance of getting off the bottom of the NBL ladder by season’s end.