Wildcats fall to JackJumpers in overtime epic in Tassie

The Wildcats went down 84-79 in a see-sawing contest, putting together a much-improved performance from Friday night's loss to Melbourne United despite still being without Tai Webster (calf) and Dylan Windler (Achilles).

The Wildcats were up by three in the dying seconds of regular time before Milton Doyle produced a stunning buzzer-beater three to send the game into overtime.

Trailing by five points with 42 seconds remaining, Perth remarkably took the lead back on two occasions with Elijah Pepper looking like being the hero with a clutch three and another bucket.

Perth also led for the early stages of overtime before the home side lifted late.

There were still plenty of positives to take out of the match with superstar Bryce Cotton leading the way with 24 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Young gun Pepper made the most of his first starting opportunity, finishing with 10 points – including a purple patch late in the fourth term - and seven rebounds.

Kristian Doolittle was another major contributor, posting a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double and hitting a couple of late buckets in the fourth when the game was on the line.

Big man Keanu Pinder had a game-high 14 rebounds before his game finished early during overtime after copping a knock.

Hyrum Harris brought his usual aggression in his 100th NBL appearance, contributing a lot more than the stats sheet showed.

Nominated replacement player Todd Withers (11 points and three rebounds), in for import Windler who was sidelined with an Achilles issue, came into the starting five alongside Pepper.

It took less than 30 seconds for Withers to make an impact, nailing a three-pointer with his first shot as the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run.

Fellow new starter Pepper was also productive in the opening term to help the visitors to a 23-9 quarter-time advantage.

It was Bryce time in the second term as the four-time NBL MVP began to heat up on the way to 11 first-half points.

Withers continued to impress as well, adding another triple to go with a huge one-handed slam on the fast break.

But Tasmania finished the half strongly to cut the deficit to 36-30 at the break.

The third quarter was an even affair before the JackJumpers really made their move in the last, coming back from six points down at the final chance to take the lead in the latter stages thanks to Doyle and Will Magnay.

The Wildcats fly to Cairns on Monday ahead of a Thursday night clash against the Taipans in Far North Queensland.