THERE were some big individual performances in Round 6 of the NBL1 West Men’s competition, but none stood out more than Devondrick Walker‘s scoring masterclass.

Walker’s Rockingham Flames came up against the Mandurah Magic at Mike Barnett Sports Complex in the first game of the round on Friday night.

Both sides have enjoyed extremely different starts to the season, with the Flames sitting at the top of the table with seven wins from as many games, while the Magic were still searching for their first victory.

Although it would have been an impressive upset for Mandurah, the ladder-leaders were simply too good at home, delivering another solid performance.

The Magic started the game red-hot from the offensive end, but the Flames were able to match it, and took over the game in the second and third quarters on their way to their eighth win of the 2023 fixture.

Although it was another strong showing from a team perspective, the biggest talking point of the match was Walker’s performance. He had already been enjoying an outstanding start to the year, the former Brisbane Bullet took things to another level with a blistering offensive showing.

Rockingham Flames (108) def. Mandurah Magic (97)

Devondrick Walker – 50 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block

Walker’s numbers told the story of his dominance from a scoring perspective, registering nearly half of his team’s points in a memorable showing with ball in hand.

As has been the case all season, Walker was given the license to shoot the ball on the offensive end, with the coaching staff well aware of his capabilities. He rewarded the team with one of the best individual outings of the season, completely taking over the match.

Obviously, no player topped his points total of 50 for the round, let alone the match. Walker was clear in his demonstration as the best scorer on either side, and single-handedly got the Flames to a winning score.

He shot a terrific 18/28 from the field, ensuring the volume of his attempts were not overshadowed by a bout of inaccuracy. The opposition tried to press and get in his face whenever he got the ball to try and prevent as many field goal attempts as possible, but it was to no avail.

Walker’s performance was boosted by an outstanding showing from behind the arc, draining a whopping 10 three-pointers on just 14 attempts. It was a genuine sharpshooting performance, and once he got his rhythm going, there was not much Mandurah could do.

It was as dominant a performance as we have seen in the NBL1 this year across all states, with Walker showing he still can put a game to bed from his own hand. He put the team’s offence on his back and was the most crucial factor in Rockingham’s win.