DREWITT'S BULBS MATCH REPORT: Phoenix fall short in Wild West shootout

A game of ebs and flows and strong runs on both sides ultimately ended with a 'Cats victory in front of a significantly smaller-than-normal Perth HPC crowd.

It was a wild first quarter in the Wild West, the Phoenix falling 16 points adrift in the first five minutes before the injection of Angus Glover, who himself scored 15 points on a remarkable 4/5 from beyond the arc.

Glover’s incredible shooting display coupled with tight defence from Matt Kenyon and the energy from Ben Ayre saw the visitors tie up the game - remarkably all without MVP finalist Matt Hurt registering on the scoreboard.

That’d change in the second quarter with Hurt and Nathan Sobey finding their stroke to combine for 31 points at the main break.

The one-eyed Perth HPC fans were vocal, but that seemed to fuel the Phoenix fire, the players happy to dish it back with the scoreboard doing majority of the talking, the Phoenix leading by five at the half, 67 points a franchise record.

32 fouls also extended the first two stanzas, the referees quick on the whistle resulting in 49 trips to the charity stripe. 

The duo of Keane Pinder (35 points, 11 rebounds) and MVP Bryce Cotton (27 points, six rebounds) had been a thorn in South East Melbourne’s side this season, and in the second half they’d rise in front of their home side, ripping the game out of the visitors grasp in a rapid five minutes.

Despite the loss, the Phoenix have a chance to progress to the playoff series, hosting the winner of the Sydney vs Adelaide Play In on Sunday afternoon.

FULL TIME STATS

Glover: 25p/1r/1a/2stls
Hurt: 24p/2r/2a/3stls
Sobey: 22p/5r/8a
Lewis: 12p/5r/2a/1stl/1blk
Hunter: 10p/5r/1a/1blk
Foxwell: 6p/1r/4a/3stls
Vodanovich: 3p/1r
Kenyon: 2p/4r
Wieskamp: 1p/5r/1a
Ayre: 1a
Rosendale: 1r/1a

General Public tickets for our Play In Eliminator against the winner between the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers, go on sale Wednesday, February 12 at 5pm. CLICK HERE to get yours when they're on sale.