The Perth Wildcats dominated the Wollongong Hawks from late in the second quarter onwards tonight at the WIN Entertainment Centre to record a thumping 98-70 victory.
The Wildcats fell nine points behind Wollongong during the second quarter, but by half-time had managed to assume a one-point advantage and then completely dominated the second half.
The 'Cats piled on 34 points in the third period to lead by 20 points at three quarter-time and then a 14-0 run early in the last saw that lead extend beyond 30 before being 28 by the final buzzer.
After not having previously won in Wollongong since February 10, 2006, the victory means that the Wildcats have now won in the 'Gong twice this season and it also improves the 'Cats to an 8-4 record to maintain touch with top-of-the-table New Zealand.
The Wildcats might have piled on 98 points for the game with Kevin Lisch and Shawn Redhage on fire with 23 points apiece, but the defence of the team completely stifled anything Wollongong could do. And frustrated them to the point that veteran Glen Saville was ejected from the game.
In his second game back, Damian Martin was on fire defensively and by the end of the night he had finished with five points, five boards, three steals, two assists and a block, but that only goes part of the way to telling the story of his impact on the game.
As well as Redhage and Lisch hitting a game-high 23 points each, centre Luke Nevill had 11, Matt Knight 10, Greg Hire eight, Brad Robbins seven, Jesse Wagstaff four, Drew Williamson four and Cam Tovey three to go with four steals on his return after missing last week with a foot injury.
Wildcats coach Rob Beveridge was delighted with the way his team played against a Wollongong team he knew was desperate, and especially the way the 'Cats responded from last Sunday's loss to Adelaide, particularly defensively.
"Wollongong has actually been playing really well. They have had so many close games and are just not getting over the line so although their record doesn’t show it, I was concerned about coming in here," Beveridge said.
"We've only won once here and that was last time, so we knew that they were very close and I thought this could be the turning point for their season right now. It was an important for us to completely remain focused on what we wanted to achieve.
"That was to play better defence because the week before I slammed my team for one of the most horrible performances that we've had.
"We had to show ourselves that we actually can play some defence and I think that even though we broke down a couple of times early, we did that. We stuck with the game plan and that's what I am most pleased about."
The 'Cats began the game in perfect fashion with Knight nailing two free-throws and Tovey a three to open a 5-0 lead, but the rest of the first quarter was an arm-wrestle and ended up tied at 17.
Redhage then got the Wildcats' first four scores of the second quarter, including a three, to have things tied again at 24, but then the home side gained the ascendancy.
The Hawks went on a 9-2 run to lead by nine points late in the half, but then Lisch nailed a three and converted a three-point play, Redhage got a basket, Hire a pair of free-throws and Nevill a jumper on the buzzer to see the 'Cats take a 40-39 lead into the main break.
The third quarter was then all Wildcats. Martin nailed two to start it off and Lisch and Knight also nailed twos, and Martin a three to stretch the lead to eight.
After a pair of free-throws from Saville, the Wildcats then got on a 7-0 run to ensure the lead was well beyond double-figures. It then continued to grow thanks to triples from Robbins and Lisch, and then a score from Robbins on the buzzer made the advantage 20.
Wollongong might have started the third quarter with a three from Rhys Martin, but then the Wildcats stamped their authority right over the contest with an amazing 14-0 run where the lead got out to beyond 30, and was still 28 by the final buzzer.
The Wildcats will now prepare to take on the Gold Coast Blaze at the Gold Coast Convention Centre next Saturday night before the final home clash of the year on Friday December 23 against the New Zealand Breakers.
Perth Wildcats 98 (Shawn Redhage 23, Kevin Lisch 23, Luke Nevill 11)
defeated
Wollongong Hawks 70 (Rhys Martin 15, Oscar Forman 11, Joevan Catron 10)
Box scores
