Harrelson hounds Wolves

Ty Harrelson turned in one of the best individual performances of the season to date to help the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers down the Joondalup Wolves 97-88 at the Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday.

Harrelson’s stat line – 21 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, seven steals and just one junk time turnover – rates among his best ever as a Slammer and the playing coach was inspirational for his team all evening.

The Slammers received a pre-game confidence boost with news that dangerous Wolves guard Seb Salinas had not made the trip south and capitalised on his absence to build a nine-point lead at quarter time.

The second quarter began in much the same way until the Slammers emptied their bench with a double digit lead and the Wolves began to work their way back into the game.

With fouls mounting – the Slammers committed 10 for the quarter, including a technical foul called on Trent Worthington – and the home side’s advantage dwindling, Harrelson called a timeout and loudly laid down the law for his team.

The admonishment worked and the Slammers recovered to take a slender 49-48 lead into the long break.

The South West recaptured its first quarter form in the third term off the back of some impressive mid and long range shooting from Todd Hendley (30 points) and aggressive work inside the key from Clive Weeden (25 points, 15 rebounds).

Holding a 10-point lead at the start of the fourth the Slammers were able to close out the game despite a late surge from Wolves guard Rhys Smith (20 points) and forward Robert Huntington (14 points).

Slammer Wade Hitchcock continued his recent run of form to finish with 11 points, including three important triples, and six rebounds.

The result moves the Slammers into sixth.