Slammers men in top spot

The Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers moved to the top of the SBL ladder after a scratchy 95 — 87 victory over Kalamunda Eastern Suns at the Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night.

Seven first quarter turnovers cost the men’s side as they fell behind early before recovering to record their second win of the year against a tall and physical Kalamunda outfit.

Playing coach Ty Harrelson was the standout for the home side, draining 27 points and adding 12 assists and five steals in 44 minutes of court time.

Clive Weeden and Todd Hendley were also important for the Slammers, combining for 20 rebounds and 45 points with Weeden particularly impressive in the post.

The Slammers got off to a slow start and struggled with the visitor’s full court press in the opening minutes, repeatedly turning the ball over to allow Kalamunda to jump out to a 35 — 29 lead at the end of the first quarter.

And it could have been worse for the home side, with the Eastern Suns squandering 14 first term shots in the face of desperate defence from the home side.

It was the South West side that was wasteful in the second quarter, hitting a paltry four of 18 shots against the aggressive Eastern Suns defenders.

While effective, the visitor’s physical approach placed them in foul trouble early and the Slammers took 11 points from 16 trips to the free throw line to cut Kalamunda’s lead to 51 — 49 at halftime.

The second half saw a see-sawing battle with multiple lead changes until Harrelson called on some experienced heads to close out the contest.

The Slammers began the fourth quarter ahead 69 — 68 and with an arm wrestle on his hands Harrelson introduced veterans Aaron Edwards and Lee Smith who played important cameos to end the game.

With a line-up featuring Harrelson, Hendley, Weeden, Edwards and Smith for large stretches of the fourth quarter the Slammers were able to match the Eastern Suns for height and split the boards for the first time in the match.

A clutch three-pointer from Harrelson with two minutes on the clock extended the Slammers lead to six and the home side was able to close out the game from there.

Kalamunda was led by Wildcats development player Louis Timms (19 points, 12 rebounds) and guard Benjamin Smith (19 points, eight assists, two steals).

Forward Adhar Mayen also presented problems for the home side, grabbing 13 boards and dropping in 17 points from the post.