THE PERTH Wildcats have set up a blockbuster matchup with Melbourne United after taking down the SEM Phoenix at the Perth High Performance Centre.

Forced to play at an unfamiliar venue due to scheduling issues at RAC Arena, the Wildcats showed no signs of it bothering them early as they quickly surged to an early 20-4 lead. Some important shots from reserve Angus Glover brought South East Melbourne back into the game as they established a 14-0 run. Two Nathan Sobey free throws with 57 seconds remaining in the first term gave the Phoenix the lead, before Perth hit back to head into quarter time with a one-point advantage.

In the second quarter the visitors continued to roll, as Matt Hurt (13 points) and Sobey (11 points) led the way. The Phoenix headed into the main break with a five-point lead, having quieted the already smaller crowd. 

In the second half, however, it was all Wildcats. They outscored the visiting side by 11 points in the third period on the back of Keanu Pinder’s 14-point quarter. Pinder has been in excellent form of late, dating back to when he re-entered the starting lineup, and his best quarter of the season turned the game around for Perth as they swapped a five-point deficit for a six-point advantage. 

The final term was the exact same story, Perth outscoring the Phoenix by 11 again. All the starters took turns impacting the fourth quarter, as Ben Henshall (two), Keanu Pinder and Bryce Cotton all knocked down triples to begin the quarter and put the game to bed. The home team opened the term on a 22-5 run and the last few minutes were played by the deep bench players as South East Melbourne waved the white flag.

Perth shot 39 per cent from deep for the night, and while both sides had an enormous number of free throws, the Wildcats made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, shooting 39/42 from the line. The main difference in the second half was on the boards, as Perth outrebounded their opponents by a whopping 24 for the game. The Phoenix were boosted by 42 bench points but were unable to contain the Wildcats starters.

Pinder led the way for the home side, posting a huge 35-point and 11 rebound double-double along with two blocks. He shot 11/13 from the field and knocked down all three of his tries from long range, in an extremely efficient performance. Pinder made history as he became the first player in the 40-minute NBL era to have a post-season 35-point double-double. Cotton was his usual consistent best as well, scoring 27 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. 

Kristian Doolittle’s run of form showed no signs of ending as he put up 20 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double of his own, while Dylan Windler and Henshall stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with a combined 24 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks. 

For the away side, Matt Hurt and Nathan Sobey led the way as has been the case for a lot of the season, but they each did most of their work in the second quarter. Hurt finished with 24 points and three steals, while Sobey contributed 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists.

Big man Jordan Hunter added 10 points and six rebounds, while Owen Foxwell had six points, four assists and three steals. Joe Wieskamp was uncharacteristically poor in this game, scoring just a single point and shooting 0/10 from the field. He was -26 in this outing. The Phoenix were boosted by Glover’s six threes as he put up 25 points from the bench, while Next Star Malique Lewis added 12 points and five rebounds. 

South East Melbourne now face elimination against the winner of the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers on Thursday evening, while Perth will travel to Melbourne to take on Chris Goulding, Matthew Dellavedova, Jack White and the United squad, where the winner will advance to the Championship Series.