Young guns shine in pre-season opener

The Perth Wildcats showed off their young talent in its 91-83 pre-season win over the The Hawks at RAC Arena on Tuesday.

Development player Luke Travers was thrown into the starting five and impressed with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists for the game.

Fellow West Australian young gun Corey Shervill also played aggressive to finish with six points and three rebounds in his first appearance for the Wildcats.

“(Travers and Shervill) were a couple of our best players at practice for a while,” said coach Trevor Gleeson.

“It doesn’t matter what position you hold on the team, if you’re playing hard, and playing the right way, you’ll get the opportunity and I’m happy that Luke and Sherv both had a great game.”

In his first appearance for the Wildcats, import John Mooney also delivered the style of play which he’s promised since arrival.

The American forward had 12 points and eight rebounds.

“He gets in the right spot, he’s just got to slow down a bit, learn the FIBA game and how teams adjust and the defence is a little different from the American style,” said Gleeson.

“The more games he plays the more rhythm he’ll get, and playing with new teammates for the first time, it’s the little things, but he certainly gets in the right spot.”

The contest was close throughout, with the Wildcats finishing the game with a match-winning 8-0 run, capped off by an emphatic Bryce Cotton alley-oop slam.

Cotton finished with a game-high 25 points, while Clint Steindl was also dynamic with 14.

The two teams will meet again in two days time at the Bendat Basketball Centre.

Tickets available here.

Perth Wildcats 91 (Cotton 25, Steindl 14, Mooney 12)

Illawarra Hawks 83 (Jessup 24, Harvey 20, Adel 10)