NBL1 West 2023: Purple patch from Caleb Davis late in second quarter sinks Slammers

Midway during the second term of Saturday night’s NBL1 West men’s clash between the Warwick Senators and South West Slammers in Perth, Senators coach Luke Brennan had seen enough.

Frustrated his side were allowing the visitors to hang around in the contest, the Senators boss made it clear he wanted things to change quickly.

Heeding this message instantly from the time-out was Caleb Davis, who drained two shots from downtown in the space of 50 seconds.

This purple patch galvanised the Senators, who went on to claim a 91-70 victory.

The Slammers, who were smacked in the mouth by Perry Lakes (110-65) a week earlier, charged out of the blocks, with Xavier Cotton getting the hot hand offensively.

With lethal speed and fierce domination, Cotton dropped 10 points, giving the home side no shortage of headaches.

Armed with a desire to penetrate inside whenever possible, the Slammers shot a formidable 76 per cent (10/13) from the field during the term.

While Davis’s burst of brilliance was less than ideal for Shane Goff’s side, the visitors were still capable of fighting their way back in the second half — especially considering their excellent defensive effort on long-term NBL veteran Cody Ellis up until that point.

Unfortunately for the Slammers, foul trouble and silly turnovers again made an appearance, which ultimately hampered their ability to challenge late in the game.

Keeper stats

Field goals (Senators 19/34, Slammers 25/46); three-point attempts (Senators 12/32, Slammers 1/15); free-throw attempts (Senators 17/29, Slammers 17/25); total rebounds (Senators 41-38 Slammers); assists (Senators 26-13 Slammers); steals (Senators 12-11 Slammers); turnovers (Slammers 21-18 Senators).