Wildcats fall short against fast-finishing Hawks at home

The Wildcats went down 121-111 in a high-scoring shootout, despite a game-high 40 points from superstar Bryce Cotton.

Cotton continued his red-hot form, making it a staggering 99 from his past two outings.

Perth had a one-point lead with a little under three minutes remaining but that was as good as it got, with the Hawks coming home strongly for a tough win.

Consistent big man Kristian Doolittle’s influence at both ends of the floor was missing after he went off 57 seconds in with a groin issue and played no further part in the game.

Fellow tall Keanu Pinder was also missing with illness, with coach John Rillie giving Next Star Izan Almansa and skipper Jesse Wagstaff extra minutes to make up for it.

Almansa fell one rebound shy of his first NBL double-double, finishing with 15 points, nine boards and two assists.

Young guards Elijah Pepper (14 points) and Ben Henshall (12 points) also reached double figures, as did Tai Webster who tried to provide a late spark in his return from a hamstring injury.

With Doolittle ruled out, Hyrum Harris was injected into the game early and had an instant impact.

Harris scored the Wildcats’ first five points of the contest including an and-one after getting fouled driving to the basket.

Starting for the second game in a row in Pinder’s absence, Almansa hit a few early buckets to continue his good form.

After his record 59-point haul on Sunday, Cotton got better as the opening quarter went on the be the leading scorer at quarter-time with 13 to give the Wildcats a 30-29 lead.

Almansa joined Cotton in double figures early in the second term as the hosts got on a run.

But the Hawks responded with a 9-0 run with Darius Days and Lachie Olbrich in the thick of it.

Despite 19 first-half points from Cotton, 13 from Almansa and a late three from Webster, the Wildcats trailed 55-53.

An epic five-point play from Perth got things back on track with Ben Henshall hitting a three before Dylan Windler stole it off his opponent and passed it back to Henshall whose three-point attempt was finished off by a stunning put-back dunk from Cotton.

The Wildcats really got their three-point game going late in the third quarter with Cotton, Windler and Pepper all in on the action.

Then Jesse Wagstaff hit his 500th career triple just before the break and Cotton another bucket to make it 36, with the Wildcat up 91-88 with a quarter to play.

The last quarter was an arm wrestle with the Wildcats snatching the lead with three minutes left thanks to a pair of free throws from Henshall to make it 104-103.

Webster and Pepper also fought hard late but the Hawks held on.

The Wildcats are back on the road on Saturday, flying out to Adelaide ahead of their first clash against the 36ers for the season on Sunday.