Wildcats thrash Bullets to start home double-header on a high

The Wildcats dominated from late in the opening against an undermanned Bullets to come away from a huge 117-89 victory.

It gave the perfect start to Perth’s post-FIBA break stint ahead of a second home game in three days against New Zealand on Sunday.

It was a remarkable turnaround from less than a fortnight ago when Brisbane prevailed on their home court as Batemon dropped a record-breaking 51 points.

The Bullets import was kept quiet this time around, restricted to just 10 thanks to Dylan Windler's defensive efforts.

Batemon scored just three points while Windler was on him, with the other seven coming while the ex-NBA star was on the bench.

At the other end, Perth’s three-point shooting was deadly, hitting 18 of 40 from outside the arc.

There was a nice spread of offensive contributors with seven players reaching double digits.

Kristian Doolittle, who missed most of the last outing against the Bullets with a knee issue, top-scored with 17 points to go with seven points and five rebounds in an impressive all-round display.

Windler set the tone early on the way to 15 points, with Izan Almansa (14), Elijah Pepper (14), Bryce Cotton (13), David Okwera (12) and Keanu Pinder (11) also contributing.

After a delayed start, Windler made up for lost time with a layup within four seconds of play in an early sign that he was in for a big night.

Pinder got the Red Army on their feet with a massive dunk in the opening couple of minutes.

Doolittle and Cotton were also hot early, combining for 17 first-quarter points and four assists.

Wagstaff entered the game late in the first term and took less than a minute to a triple, which took him to 498 for his career, as the Wildcats went on a run to lead 31-24 at the break.

It was Ben Henshall’s turn to get on a heater in the second, hitting a pair of threes early on to make it three for the evening.

Former Wildcats favourite Casey Prather (31 points), in his first appearance at RAC Arena as an opposition player since 2017, was playing a lone hand for the Bullets.

Prather had a game-high 15 points at the half but it was his old team leading 63-46 on the back of a lop-sided rebound (21-14) count.

Wagstaff capped of a massive half for his team with a buzzer-beating layup, with all the momentum in favour of the hosts.

The one-sided affair continued in the second half, with the starting five sitting out midway through the last term with the result beyond doubt.

Development player Dontae Russo-Nance scored his first bucket of the season, while fellow DP Tom Gerovich also saw some court time,

Okwera, who had eight points in the last term alone, and Michael Harris made the most of their late minutes.