Undermanned Wildcats make light work of JackJumpers

Down to just seven full roster players, an undermanned Perth Wildcats line-up has crushed the Tasmania JackJumpers 98-68 at the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament.

The game, played in Ulverstone in Tasmania’s north, was the Wildcats fourth pre-season hit-out and their second consecutive win.

Perth had already ruled out 2021 starters Mitch Norton and Todd Blanchfield for the entire pre-season, but lost recruits Michael Frazier II and Jack Purchase with minor injuries throughout the week.

They lined up with nine players, including development player Kyle Zunic and pre-season roster addition Mitch Clarke.

The Wildcats started the game hot from deep, and in the end their 53 per cent three-point clip would be the key factor in the dominant win.

Bryce Cotton drained five of those from six attempts, with Kevin White and Kyle Zunic splashing three each.

Luke Travers was highly impressive again, coming away with a stat-sheet-filling 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.  

Vic Law led the team with nine rebounds and added eight points, while Majok Majok continued his impressive pre-season with 13 points and three boards.

Clarke also showed he has what it takes to mix it up on the NBL stage, the Perry Lakes Hawk adding 10 points.

As a team, the Wildcats dominated the glass 39-27 – a statistic they had previously struggled with so far in the pre-season.

The Wildcats final NBL Blitz game takes place on Friday against the Adelaide 36ers in Launceston.

Perth Wildcats 98 (Cotton 18, Travers 16, Majok 13)

Tasmania JackJumpers 68 (Adams 17, McDaniel 16, McIntontish 10)