TWO wins in Week 18 men's SBL action saw the Goldfields Giants all but secure their place in the playoffs for 2015 while the Perry Lakes Hawks also won twice to remain right in contention with the struggling Mandurah Magic looking the most vulnerable with two rounds remaining.

The two men's games on Friday night saw the Perry Lakes Hawks defeat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 91-90 at Bendat Basketball Centre and the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 109-85 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

It was a massive night of men's action as well with six matches starting with the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants beating the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 99-87 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex, and the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers defeating the Lakeside Lightning 110-84 at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The Perth Redbacks defeated the Mandurah Magic 123-96 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre as well while the Bethanie Stirling Senators downed the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 108-90 at Warwick Leisure Centre, the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers defeated the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 108-87 at Eaton Recreation Centre and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beat the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 116-82 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

Then in the three men's matches, the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers downed the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 119-100 at Willetton Basketball Stadium, the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants beat the Perth Redbacks 98-97 at Curtin Stadium and the Perry Lakes Hawks defeated the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 105-77 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The weekend's results leave the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves (21-3) comfortable on top of the standings ahead of the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers (19-5).

The Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers (16-7) sit third ahead of the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars (15-9) and Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames (14-10).

The Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers (12-12), Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants (12-12) and Mandurah Magic (11-12) currently make up the last three spots in the top eight but the Perry Lakes Hawks (11-13) are right in the mix still.

The Perth Redbacks (9-15), Bethanie Stirling Senators (9-15), Lakeside Lightning (9-15), Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles (7-17) and Kalamunda Eastern Suns (2-22) then round out the standings.

While the results were crucial over the weekend with the playoffs closing in, there were again a host of outstanding individual performances both in winning and losing sides.

Starting on Friday night, Bryton Hobbs was once again the star of the night for the Hawks with 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals on the back of shooting 15-of-27 from the field.

Captain Ben Purser made a strong contribution with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals with Mike Krumel adding 12 points and four boards and Ryan Smith 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists on the back of hitting 4-of-6 from three-point territory.

Cody Ellis did all he could to get the Senators over the line finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 11-of-18 from the field, and 5-of-9 from three-point range.

Kyle Lindbergh added 14 points and seven rebounds for Stirling with Nikolas Iliadis contributing 13 points, Austin Bruton 12 and Josh Throns 11.

Tom Remmerswaal led the way for the Flames with 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists on the back of shooting 11-of-21 from the field.

Cooper Land contributed 15 points, seven boards and three assists for Rockingham with Ryan Godfrey adding 14 points, three boards and two assists, Travis Moore 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks, and Jarryd Griffin 11 points, five boards and four steals.

Lien Phillip had a big night for the Eastern Suns with 25 points, 21 rebounds, three steals and two assists with Kevin Anthony contributing 23 points, three boards and three steals.

Seva Chan also finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Jaarod Holmes six points and six boards.

Then on Saturday night, once more it was the Giants' three stars who led them to the victory with Jacob Holmen this time the top-scorer with 30 points, 17 rebounds and three assists.

Mathiang Muo added 21 points, 11 rebounds and four steals with Jay Bowie contributing 17 points, seven boards and three assists. Russell Hurst scored 12 points and had five rebounds off the bench for Goldfields.

Cooper Land top-scored for the Flames with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Tom Remmerswaal adding 20 points, Ryan Godfrey 18 and Taylor Land 14 to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Bennie Lewis top-scored for the Buccaneers with 32 points and eight assists with Carter Cook contributing 28 points, nine steals, eight rebounds and six assists, Aaron Ralph 21 points and nine boards, and Mat Wundenberg 14 points, 22 rebounds and five assists.

Jordan Swing worked hard for the Lightning with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with Brad Jackson contributing 16 points, Jesse Dixon 12 and Luke Thomas 11 to go with six boards. Jarrad Prue also pulled in 22 rebounds.

Ben Smith had a massive night for the Redbacks in the win finishing with 37 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals on the back of shooting 13-of-24 from the floor, 6-of-16 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the foul line.

Marshall Nelson had a big impact off the bench as well with 26 points and nine rebounds shooting 8-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-9 from deep.

Ray Turner also contributed 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Perth shooting 12-of-17 with Raphiael Putney adding 17 points, nine boards and four assists.

Ben Smith top-scored for the Magic with 19 points and 14 rebounds with Jarrad Jackson adding 17 points, Paul Hafford 15, Taylor Mullenax 14 and Beau Samuelson 12.

Captain Cody Ellis again led the way for the Senators with 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots while nailing 5-of-10 from downtown.

Austin Bruton added 22 points, four boards and four assists for Stirling while Josh Throns contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Kyle Lindbergh 11 points and 16 boards.

Damien Scott top-scored for the Tigers with 17 points and five rebounds with Kyle Armour adding 16 points, Nic Cody 15 and Mitch Clarke 12.

The Slammers got the important win and had some tremendous performances along the way with Tre Nichols finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Clive Weeden 25 points and six boards.

Trent Worthington also had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the absence of Ty Harrelson with Brian Voelkel adding 15 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in yet another triple-double. Jordan Hickert also contributed 11 points off the bench for South West.

Jamie Barnett top-scored for the Eagles with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists with Rhys Vague adding 19 points and 10 rebounds, Drew Williamson 12 points, six assists and five boards, and Brighton Pass 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Rob Huntington top-scored for the Wolves with 27 points and nine rebounds while Trian Iliadis added 21 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Kevin Davis also had 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Wolfpack with Seb Salinas contributing 18 points, six assists, four boards and two steals.

Najee Lane finished with 22 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars while Gavin Field added 21 points, seven boards, three assists and three blocked shots, Eric Milam 20 points and seven rebounds, and Steven Van Lit 10 points.

Then finally on Sunday, Aaron Ralph had a terrific day for the Buccs top-scoring with 29 points and nine rebounds while shooting 11-of-22 from the floor and 6-of-14 from three-point range.

Carter Cook contributed 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds as well for the Buccaneers while Mat Wundenberg finished with 19 points, 22 boards, three blocked shots, two steals and two assists.

Bennie Lewis also had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds while nailing all three of his three-point attempts while Daniel Thomas contributed 17 points, three boards and three assists off the bench.

Kyle Armour top-scored for the Tigers with 22 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals with Damien Scott adding 14 points, Nic Cody 13, Corey Easley 13, Mitch Clarke 12 and Ephrem Davis 12.

Jay Bowie ended up top-scoring for the Giants with 35 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 13-of-23 from the field, 5-of-11 from long range and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Jacob Holmen added 26 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots as well for the Giants while Mathiang Muo contributed 17 points, nine boards and four assists.

Ray Turner did all he could to try and get the Redbacks over the line to keep their season alive with 37 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 14-of-23 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Raphiael Putney added 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks as well for Perth while Marshall Nelson finished with 18 points and seven boards, and Ben Smith 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Bryton Hobbs once again was the star for the Hawks with another 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals on the back of shooting 10-of-20 from the field and 7-of-10 from downtown.

Josh Garlepp was also terrific off the bench for Perry Lakes with 20 points and five rebounds shooting 8-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the three-point line.

Ryan Smith contributed 17 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks as well with Ryan O'Sullivan adding 14 points and Mike Krumel six to go with six boards, three assists and three steals.

Jamie Barnett again top-scored for the undermanned Eagles with 18 points and six rebounds with Rhys Vague adding 15 points and seven boards, Jared Zornada 15 points and six rebounds, and Brendan Dinardo 10 points, five boards and three assists.

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 91 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 90
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 85 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 109

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 87 lost to Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 99
Lakeside Lightning 84 lost to S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 110
Mandurah Magic 96 lost to Perth Redbacks 123
Bethanie Stirling Senators 108 defeated Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 90
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 108 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 87
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 116 defeated Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 82

SUNDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 100 lost to S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 119
Perth Redbacks 97 lost to Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 98
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 77 lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 105

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Grant Lauterbach