Watchin' Cotton

Perth Wildcats head coach Trevor Gleeson said the only challenge with having Bryce Cotton on your team, is the danger of becoming a spectator.

He made the comments after the Wildcats 92-82 win over Adelaide at RAC Arena, where Cotton scored a season-high 36 points – the highest individual total of the season so far.

“He performs at such a high level every time he steps on the court. He raises everyone’s performance out on the court. He’s a joy to watch when he gets going," he said.

“But we can’t become spectators, we did that at the start of the season, there were a couple of guys that hadn’t played with Bryce before and they become spectators.

“They come out and start trapping him so we have to apply our counters, we have to be in a our rebounding positions, we’ve got to be in our defensive transition, it’s getting used to those positions out on the court.”

The Wildcats put in a dominant effort on the glass, outrebounding the 36ers 44-26, including 23 offensive rebounds leading to 24 second chance points.

In another double-double performance, John Mooney grabbed 14 rebounds (nine offensive) and scored 11 points.

“I think it’s his understanding of the offense and where the shots are going to come from," said Mitch Norton.

“If we execute, they’re predictable shots and everyone can get in the right spots.”

Norton himself had another gutsy performance, finishing with a season-high 13 points, plus four assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Perth are now on a five-game winning streak.

They're back in action at RAC Arena on Friday night, taking on the Illawarra Hawks.

Tickets available here.

Perth Wildcats 92 (Cotton 36, Norton 13, Mooney 11)

Adelaide 36ers 82 (Johnson 19, Crocker 13, McVeigh 12)