Brave Wildcats fall short against United

The Wildcats lost at home for the first time in NBL24 - 88-81 - to move to 2-2 for the season.

Superstar Bryce Cotton remarkably tied the scores at 66-all with a little over seven minutes left in the match after the Wildcats trailed 60-52 at three-quarter time.

Cotton (11 points) hit seven final-quarter points, while fellow guard Corey Webster (12) and Pinder had eight apiece to drag their side back into the contest.

Pinder, who limped off with a left leg issue during the last term, bravely came back in on a positive sign for his availability for Sunday’s away clash against defending champs Sydney Kings, finishing with a game-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds.

Import Jordan Usher (20 points and seven rebounds) also stood out in a losing cause, as did top-five NBA Draft fancy Alex Sarr (11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks) who impacted at both ends of the floor.

Perth were dealt an early blow with new signing Kristian Doolittle hobbling off in the opening few minutes with a right leg injury and not coming back on.

The Red Army hadn’t forgotten about Luke Travers’ off-season move but the young gun showed no signs of early nerves, driving to the basket with a two-handed jam.

Pinder then got the 10,982-strong crowd on their feet with a stunning dunk to go with an and-one.

Scores were tied at 17-apiece before the visitors went on a 5-0 run to finish the opening term.

Melbourne started the second quarter like they ended the first on their way to a double-digit lead.

Sarr’s injection back into the game provided a spark with the exciting French Next Star blocking his opponent at one end before nailing a three-pointer.

Sarr and Usher hit consecutive threes to finish the half as the margin was cut back to 39-35.

United always seemed to have a gap on Perth until the final term but managed to hold on with captain Chris Goulding and former NBA player Ian Clark starring with 18 points each and Travers having a memorable return to his home State with 11 including three dunks.