Huge performance from Jamal Poplar not enough as South West Slammers’ men’s side lose to Lakeside Lightning

Another huge performance from Jamal Poplar was not enough to drive South West Slammers’ men’s side to their first victory of the season, with the side going down to Lakeside Lightning by 16 points at Eaton Recreation Centre on Thursday. Despite their star import scoring 33 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out four assists and blocking a pair of shots, the Slammers were on the wrong end of a 100-84 result which saw them suffer their third loss of the NBL1 West season. The side now sit in 13th on the 14-team competition’s ladder, being one of only two teams without a win so far this season. Having struggled in the first two games, Poplar’s fellow import Calvin Whipple headed for half-time with only one point but was able to find some rhythm in the second half to produce a 12-point, five-rebound, four-assist stat-line. Co-captain Devan Craig also continued his strong start to the season, drilling three of his four three-point shots on his way to 21 points. But big performances from Lakeside import Isaiah Lewis (27 points, seven rebounds) and former NBL players Corey Shervill (22 points, seven rebounds) and Joshua Davey (19 points, 13 rebounds) helped the visitors come away with their first win of the campaign. The Slammers led for much of the game’s first three quarters but were ultimately let down by their interior defence, which allowed the visitors to score 56 points inside the keyway. Trailing by only two points in the early stages of the last quarter, the Slammers were made to pay for a sloppy final frame where they threw the ball away eight times while scoring only 11 points. After a see-sawing first half where the Lightning were able to respond any time the hosts threatened to break away, the Slammers took a five-point lead into the main break. Craig scored nine points in the opening term before Poplar did it all in an 18-point second quarter, bullying Lakeside’s defence with sustained attacks on the rim and hitting a three-pointer when they backed off him. A third-quarter highlight came when Craig connected with Pharell Keats (five points, five rebounds, four assists) for an alley-oop dunk, but a pair of massive dunks from AJ Wilson (12 points) saw the Lightning take the lead in the latter stages of the term. As the game threatened to slip away from the Slammers as the quarter came to a close, it was Whipple who stepped up, drilling his third long shot of the term from well beyond the arc and scoring at the basket following a nice in-and-out move on the very next possession.