Wildcats blowout Phoenix in Melbourne

Details
Perth Wildcats 101 South East Melbourne Phoenix 79
Box Score
John Cain Arena
5 February 2022

Summary
The Wildcats again started he game slow, and for the sixth straight game found themselves down by double-digits early. A 12-point quarter time deficit turned into 15 points early in the second, before the tide turned in a big way. Perth went on an incredible 21-0 scoring run led my Michael Frazier II and Luke Travers to flip the game on its head and, remarkably, the visitors found themselves up double-digits at the half.
The Phoenix brought the game back to within five points in the third, but from that point on Bryce Cotton led the charge as the Wildcats went on to blow out the ladder leaders.

Reaction
Scott Morrison initial reaction
“I was proud of the guys for not letting the poor start get to them. A lot has been said about it in our circles, so it would have been easy for them to kind of say hey here we go again and get down and deviate from the game plan, but I thought they really dug deep everyone that got on the floor gave it everything they had and didn’t give in and sure enough we were back in the lead by halftime.”

Scott Morrison on Luke Travers performance
“LT has been having a really good year and we kind of challenged him to even take it to a new level and I thought he put in a lot of extra work this week, and I hope he continues to do that, but it was good to see it pay off in the short term because hopefully that will encourage him to keep pushing himself. He’s been one of our best rim protectors, and for a guard to be able to do that is a big advantage defensively.”

Player focus
Luke Travers had the best game of his short career, finishing with a career-high 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block. He drained four triples on six attempts.
Michael Frazier II had his best night as a Wildcat as well and was big in the first half, finishing with a season-high 14 points and nine rebounds. 
Bryce Cotton was brilliant with 21 points and six assists.
Mitch Norton and Jesse Wagstaff had 14 points each.

Key stats and facts
Perth had five players with 10 or more, despite neither Vic Law or Todd Blanchfield getting to double figures. Their bench contributed 38 points.
Perth drained a season-high 15 threes.
101 points is an equal season-high for Perth.
The Wildcats turnover count was half that of South East Melbourne’s
The result sees the Wildcats jump South East Melbourne in the standings

Next game
The Perth Wildcats take on Melbourne United on Saturday