NBL1 West 2022: Costly second term railroads South West Slammers men’s team

Prior to Friday night’s road game against the Mandurah Magic, South West Slammers men’s team coach Shane Goff said his team would have a “red-hot go” against a team destined for the playoffs. For lengthy stages during the 86-71 loss at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, the Slammers did exactly that — against a team laden with three Americans and former NBL player Christian Jurlina. Unfortunately for the Slammers, a sub-par second quarter ultimately robbed them a shot of crashing the Magic’s party. After trailing 30-22 at quarter time, the visitors began the second term like a whirwind, going on a 4-0 offensive run inside the opening 41 seconds, thanks to multiple heads-up plays from Caleb Van De Griend. Despite this promising start, the Slammers only added six points for the remainder of the quarter, which ensured the home side’s margin blew out to double digits by half-time. While the Slammers fought back in the third quarter to outscore the Magic 22-12, they were playing catch-up basketball and routinely struggled to handle the offensive presence of both Ray Turner (13 points - 6/8 field goals) and Jay Bowie (22 points - 2/3 field goals, 5/7 from beyond the arc) while in defensive transition. Offensively, both Van De Griend (25 points - 12/19 field goals, 16 rebounds) and livewire import Buay Tuach (16 points) shouldered the bulk of the responsibility, however Tuach was marked tightly by Bowie from the opening tip-off. Every time Tuach looked as though he was on course for a fast-break opportunity, Bowie would creep up from behind him like a librarian and shut down the play. While the Slammers were unable to secure victory, there were enough signs to show that if the majority of the team sticks together and a few quality imports are added, the men’s program could play finals in coming seasons. On Saturday night at the NBL1 West awards ceremony in Perth, Van De Griend’s fantastic second season ensured he was recognised as the best young player in the men’s competition. KEEPER STATS Field goals (Magic 21/37, Slammers 25/51); three point attempts (Magic 9/32, Slammers 4/22); free throw attempts (Magic 17/24, Slammers 9/15) total rebounds (Slammers 46-41 Magic); assists (Magic 19-18 Slammers); steals (Magic 14-8 Slammers);turnovers (Slammers 23-18 Magic)