South West Slammers men’s side push defending champions Geraldton Buccaneers all the way in 94-86 loss

The South West Slammers men’s side pushed the Geraldton Buccaneers all the way at Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night, but the defending NBL1 West champions had the quality to pull out a 94-86 victory. Shane Goff’s side drop to to a 1-3 win-loss record in the wake of the defeat but their sharp improvement can be encapsulated by the 53-point turnaround from last year’s 61-point thrashing at the hands of the same opponents. The loss leaves the Slammers sitting 10th on the competition’s ladder but all their defeats have come at the hands of unbeaten sides, while they have handed the sixth-placed Cockburn Cougars their only loss of the season so far. Goff spoke during the week of wanting to make their home a fortress, and his team heeded his message early, with a pair of threes from Mathiang Muo in the first term helping them to an early 21-14 lead. The visitors closed the gap back to two points but the Slammers responded to extend it out to nine courtesy of a Devan Craig long bomb and a pair of free throws from star Buay Tuach that gave him nine early points. Geraldton then took control of the contest with a 19-8 run, with the teams going into the half tied at 50 apiece. After an enthralling third term in which neither side could extend their lead beyond four points, the Slammers hit the front early in the final quarter on the back of two trademark three-pointers from Manyiel Wugol. One of the Slammers’ main concerns this season has been their late offence, and they again stalled out down the stretch, only coming up with six points in the contest’s final seven minutes. The Buccaneers also battled to score but were able to get their noses in front, with a three from Josh Keyes in the final minute that boosted their advantage to four proving to be the back-breaker. Tuach produced another exceptional performance for the Slammers, finishing with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while Wugol (17 points) and Muo (12 points) combined for eight three-pointers, and centre Alex Holcombe (10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks) led the defence again. A Geraldton team featuring the experience of American import Keyes (22 points, nine rebounds) and local stars Johny Narkle (21 points, seven rebounds) and Liam Hunt (19 points, 12 rebounds) showed off their championship pedigree.