Slammers break hoodoo

The Printsync South West Slammers men’s side finally broke their 2017 drought, defeating the Rockingham Flames by nine points at the Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Thursday night.

After losing their first four games to start the season, the Slammers defeated the Rockingham Flames 74-65 to kickstart their season and keep their finals aspirations alive.

Slammers coach Charles Nix described the game as “gritty” and “messy”, but was pleased to get the victory.

“Both teams played a zone defence which made it tough to score, hence it was a low-scoring game,” he said.

The Flames got out to a 15-point lead during the second quarter, but the Slammers managed to peg it back to a respectable margin prior to half-time, before getting back into the game in the third term and ultimately getting away in the last.

Nix said import Brian Voelkel was pivotal in the victory, playing just his second game for the season after clearance issues.

“Brian was an absolute beast for us on Thursday night,” he said.

“After 18 months out of the game we thought it would take him time to get back into it, but he showed us what he has got.

“He had about 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a big game.”

Nix said co-captain Tre Nichols was also a key player in the final term.

“Tre’s drive on the basket really helped us get over the line,” he said.

Nix said his players worked hard on defence and that was one of the keys to their victory.

“The guys really believed if they knuckled down on defence then we would get the result,” he said.

Nix said the Flames tried to use import Donovan Jack to their advantage, constantly passing into the key.

“We put a lot of numbers into the key to stop him and it worked,” he said.