South West Slammers men’s side suffer losses to Mandurah Magic and Beeliar Boodjar (Cockburn Cougars)

South West Slammers men’s side were on the wrong end of a pair of losses in their weekend double-header, going down to Mandurah Magic and Beeliar Boodjar (Cockburn Cougars). In their first game as part of the league’s First Nations Round at Eaton Recreation Centre on Friday, the Slammers produced one of their best performances of the season against the reigning-champion Magic, but were made to pay dearly for a sloppy finish which saw them go down by two points. They were then unable to claim their second victory of the season over the 13th-placed Cougars the following night, being on the wrong end of a 14-point defeat at Wally Hagan Stadium. The 15th and 16th losses of a difficult season have left the one-win Slammers three wins adrift of the Cougars at the bottom of the table. Standout performances from star import Jamal Poplar (29 points, 17 rebounds) and co-captain Devan Craig (28 points) helped the Slammers take a five-point lead into the final two minutes of their clash with the reigning-champion Magic, but some late sloppy offence and subpar defence handed the visitors an 87-85 victory. After Craig drilled a pair of free throws to extend their lead with 1:40 left on the game clock, the Slammers surrendered seven points and failed to score on their six possessions to surrender their lead. Inbounding the ball behind by two points with three seconds to go, Poplar had a three-pointer blocked into the hands of Cory Richardson, whose desperate late heave clanked off the backboard to seal their fate. The Slammers surrendered two easy baskets after Craig’s free throws, with high-flying Magic import Jahcoree Ealy (33 points) attacking a seam in their defence to throw down the last of several dunks on the night and Nick Woodall (13 points) left wide open on a backdoor cut for a lay-up. Manyiel Wugol broke the Magic’s scoring run by coming up with a steal, but was then whistled for a charge has he flew down the court, giving the visitors the ball back with 31 seconds to go. After Mandurah guard Lachlan Bertram (22 points) was unable to finish in traffic, Gavin Deacon secured a critical rebound for the Slammers and was immediately fouled, sending the young guard to the foul line. But Deacon missed both his free throws and Bertram then made no mistake with his second attempt under the basket, giving the visitors a one-point lead with 13 seconds to go. As the Slammers looked to reclaim the advantage, Poplar barrelled into Bertram and was called for a charge which gave the dynamic guard a pair of free throws, of which he made only one to leave the door ajar. Earlier on the night, the Slammers had played some of their best basketball of the season, including a 14-3 first term run which saw them open up an eight-point lead in the game’s opening stages. Ahead by five points at the main break, the Slammers scored seven straight early in the third term to extend their advantage to a game-high 10 points, but the visitors responded to knot the scores at the final interval. Against the Cougars, the Slammers faded across the course of the game in a 102-88 defeat which came despite another massive effort from Poplar, who scored 37 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished six assists in a season-best showing. In an up-tempo contest, the Slammers showed some good signs on the offensive end but gave the ball away 21 times and lost the rebound battle 45-35. A three-point lead in the early stages of the second term was wiped out by the hosts closing out the first half on a blistering 24-10 run. The Slammers peeled off an early 11-2 run in the third term to cut their deficit back to four points but that was as good as it got, with Cockburn growing a lead as big as 20 points in the fourth term.