By Benito Carbone @_DavidCarbone

West Adelaide Bearcats 87 | Eastern Mavericks 61

The bottom-placed Mavericks struggled against an intense West Adelaide outfit, going down by 26 points at a chilly Port Adelaide Stadium on Saturday Night. Blake Truslove re-lived his glory days, collecting 24 boards, 12 points and 5 blocks, while Todd Winter scored a game-high 20 points. Darcy Aistrope was impressive for the visitors with 18 points and 4 steals, while Devon McGee finished the match with 16 points.

Tristan Braithwaite (18 points) dominated the highlight reels in the first half with some incredible plays. The Bearcats man grabbed an offensive rebound before converting a three-point play to open his account, and he had a triple soon after to aid his side in taking a 10-point lead at the first break. Another lay-up and one from Braithwaite increased the margin, before a huge Truslove rejection on Lovell set the tone of the game.

Braithwaite began to slow, but he was quickly replaced by sharp-shooter Winter (4-8 3FG), who displayed his prowess in outside shooting throughout the second and third terms. Devon McGee smashed down a great dunk, but it failed to prevent the hosts from taking an 18-point lead into half-time.

With Truslove dominating under the rings, West Adelaide were able to control play and increased the margin through another Winter triple. Ryan Byrne converted a sweet three-point play after a one-handed basket for the Mavericks to limit the hosts to a 36-point lead at the final break, but a strong last quarter from the visitors enabled them to close the gap to 26 points at the final whistle, a disappointing result for the 1-19 team.

The strong win carries very little significance for the 10 and 10 Bearcats, who will look to close out the season on a positive note at Starplex. On the other hand, the loss for the Eastern Mavericks officially hands them this season’s wooden spoon. They face the Woodville Warriors in the final round, who will be looking to find some form heading into the finals series.

MATCH HIGHLIGHT: The Year 12 Henley High School Music Class fascinated onlookers during all the main breaks, performing a mix of new and old music to keeps fans of all demographics entertained. Lead by young Bearcat Olivia Coppick as one of the many vocalists, their tight set was a huge success, and deserves our match highlight for this week.

Round 20: Saturday, 13 August at 8:15
West Adelaide vs Central Districts @ Starplex
Eastern vs Woodville @ St Clair