Hayes-Brown introduces himself in final pre-season battle

The Perth Wildcats have played their final NBL Blitz pre-season game in Tasmania, falling to the Adelaide 36ers 93-97 in Launceston.

Perth went into the game losing Jesse Wagstaff to soreness, making the captain the sixth Wildcat sidelined through injury.

Despite the toll, the remaining six roster players were joined by Oliver Hayes-Brown in his first pre-season hit-out, along with fellow development player Kyle Zunic and pre-season addition Mitch Clarke.

Hayes-Brown was the story of the game for the Wildcats, as the 21-year-old  dominated the glass for a game-high 11 rebounds to go with 13 points.

The Victorian's highlights included a three-pointer and clutch inside plays, while his hair will challenge fellow young gun Luke Travers for cult status honours.

He wasn’t the only young gun to stand up, with Kyle Zunic adding 10 points and Mitch Clarke nine.

Vic Law had a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds, while Bryce Cotton added 12 but was rested for the majority of the second half.

Luke Travers finished with 11 points and four rebounds.

The game went down to the wire, and coach Scott Morrison letting his young guns fight it out in crunch time.

Of the five players he kept on the court for much of the dying minutes, only two had NBL experience for a combined total of 60 games, with four of those aged 22 or younger.

The Wildcats shot the ball well, including connecting on 13 of 39 threes – a consistent highlight of their NBL Blitz campaign after their first game.

They were also able to back up their rebounding performance from two days prior to out-board the 36ers, 39-33.

Turnovers and consistent defensive pressure would likely be Morrison’s two areas of focus in his post-game address.

Fans only need to wait seven more days to see the Wildcats and 36ers face-off again – and this time it will be for real.

The regular season-opener is on Friday 3 December at RAC Arena.