By Benito Carbone (@_DavidCarbone)

West Adelaide Bearcats 74 | Central Districts Lions 64

A determined West Adelaide battled past the Central Districts Lions to record their sixth victory for the season in what was a tight encounter at Port Adelaide last Saturday. The Centrals forced the home side to work hard for the victory with some great pressure on both ends, but the hosts did enough to earn the points. Demetrius Perkins shined for the Bearcats, recording 17 points and 16 boards, while Anthony Spadavecchia showcased his experience with 16 points and a game-high 6 steals. On the other hand, Nelson Larkins was excellent for the Lions with 21 points in their losing effort.

After tip-off, both sides contended for any early momentum and a brilliant lay-up from David Earl saw the visitors build a 9 point lead. West Adelaide fought back and a dunk from Perkins in the final seconds of the quarter levelled scores at 19 apiece. Perkins continued to star, making a huge rejection at the start of the second term. He was helpless to prevent a huge slam from Centrals big, Daniel Carlin soon after and a Larkins triple kept the away side in touch, who reached half-time just 3 points down.

Thanks to some intense offensive pressure, the Bearcats started to pull ahead early in the third quarter. Larkins continued to impress in the paint and from the arc but lacked support from his teammates as his side struggled to sustain the press they had enforced superbly in the first half. A tremendous cross-court pass from Lucas Valk to Perkins for the alley-oop handed the hosts a 7 point lead late in the third.

Heading into the final term with a 9 point buffer, West Adelaide were able to stave off continuous fight-back attempts from the Lions and extended their lead to 16 points with 1:20 on the clock. A triple from Tom Kubank (14 points) with 35 seconds remaining, finally sealed the result as the hosts ran out winners by a margin of 10 points.

The win sees Graham Kubank and his Bearcats record their third consecutive success and face the fourth-placed Sabres next round in what will be a fiercely competitive and potentially finals-defining match. On the other hand, it does not get any easier for the 2-10 Lions, who face the red-hot Woodville Warriors in two weeks.

Round 13: Saturday, 18 June at 8.15pm
West Adelaide Bearcats v Sturt Sabres @ Pasadena
Central Districts Lions v Woodville Warriors @ St Clair