Mentally strong Cotton piles on more history-making numbers

Bryce Cotton has spoken of the importance of the mental side of basketball, after the Perth Wildcats 98-84 win over the NZ Breakers.

The reigning NBL MVP finished with 32 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and a steal.

The last Wildcat to score over 30 points and dish out 10 assists in the same game was Shawn Redhage in 2006.

“It’s just where my mentality is at. Obviously, there is going to be games when your shot is falling and other times where it’s not as we’ve seen. But I just want to make sure I continue to play my game regardless of the result," he said.

“It was a big focus for me not to get caught up with how the last couple of games have been and just worry about the game tonight, and that helped me out a lot”

Perth led the Breakers at every change but the undermanned New Zealand side fought hard, and even clawed their way back from a first half deficit of 10 points to reclaim the lead.

Trevor Gleeson was pleased with how his team bounced back after halftime.

“New Zealand are tough and hard, they contest all the way through. They fought back in that second quarter and shot extremely well from the three,” he said.

“I was really happy with how we responded in the second half, our guys really stepped up and played Wildcats Basketball. That’s how we get better, going against that opposition.”

John Mooney was again huge for the home team, with 27 points to go with nine boards – underlined by an emphatic put-back slam in the dying moments.

Todd Blanchfield had 18 points on five made threes, while captain Jesse Wagstaff had eight boards.

New recruit Will Magnay suited up but did not play, but his inclusion in the lineup meant Jarred Bairstow was out of the team.

Luke Travers took his position in the starting five.

The Wildcats now host Melbourne United in a top-of-the-table clash at RAC Arena on Thursday.

Perth Wildcats 98 (Cotton 32, Mooney 27, Blanchfield 18)

NZ Breakers 84 (Delaney 21, Webster 20, Abercrombie 12)