Pinder stars as undermanned Cats down Kings

In a team missing injured stars Bryce Cotton (rib) and Tai Webster (groin), Pinder stood up with an equal career-high 34 points to go with four steals and four rebounds in a hard-fought 87-84 win.

The Wildcats’ aggression on the glass was another big factor in the upset win, dominating the boards 56-35 with rebounding machines Kristian Doolittle (14) and Dylan Windler (nine) leading the way.

Next Star Izan Almansa enjoyed his best game as a Wildcat, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds, while Elijah Pepper (11 points) held his nerve late to hit four consecutive free throws.

With Cotton and Webster out, Ben Henshall and Elijah Pepper got an opportunity to start together for the first time.

Experienced import Windler led the way early, making plays at both ends of the floor, while big man Pinder also started strongly.

Pinder had six points in five minutes before Almansa came on for him and had an immediate impact, showcasing his elite touch around the rim and rebounding ability.

Sydney hit back late after the Wildcats were in front for the majority of the opening term, before replacement import Todd Withers’ triple brought the house down as the rivals went into quarter-time at 21-apiece.

The big men continued to shine for Perth in the second quarter with Pinder nailing a tough layup early after coach John Rillie’s successful challenge saw a charging foul overturned.

Almansa then made a big three to give the Wildcats a three-point buffer four minutes in.

From there, the Kings went on a stunning 15-2 run to open up a handy lead.

Perth as least steadied the ship with a few big plays as skipper Jesse Wagstaff’s injection into the game vital in getting things back to 41-44 by half-time.

An and-one from Pinder within 15 seconds of the restart levelled the scores before an opportunistic steal from Pepper gave the centre his second bucket in a minute.

Pepper then turned scorer, finding his range from deep as the momentum well and truly shifted in Perth’s favour.

Pinder was putting together another impressive quarter, highlighted by a couple of massive dunks to help the Wildcats to a 65-60 lead with one left to play.

The Wildcats looked to be running away with the game when Pinder’s triple with four minutes to go made it a seven-point margin.

But Kouat Noi kept Sydney in the hunt with a couple of threes, the second giving his team a one-point lead with a little over a minute to play.

Doolittle responded with a crucial and-one to snatch the lead back with 58.3 seconds to go.

It was then up to Pepper, who held his nerve from the stripe to give the Wildcats a 3-4 season ledger ahead of another home game next Friday night against Illawarra.