Slammers outslammed by Redbacks

An undermanned and undersized Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers men’s side could not cause a dream upset on Saturday night, going down to the Perth Redbacks 115-102.

Import Tre Nichols had a night to remember, and along with Jordan Hickert, almost got his across the line at the Eaton Recreation Centre in a tough contest.

The Slammers were also going to find the game tough, with the South West side missing plenty of tall players with the losses of Clive Weeden, Ty Harrelson, Trent Worthington and Aaron Edwards all out.

This was always going to leave the Slammers short, with the Redbacks having plenty of height with human highlight reel Ray Turner (38 points and 20 rebounds) and Raphiael Putney (31 points and 11 rebounds) showing their power and class.

Nichols tried his hardest, scoring a game-high 45 points as he showed his speed and agility under pressure.

He was well supported by Hickert (21 points and 12 rebounds) and acting-captain Wade Hitchcock hit some early three-pointers to give them a chance.

But there was little support otherwise and when fellow import Brian Voelkel was controversially sent off for the second week-in-a-row following two technical fouls, things went from bad to worse for the South West side.

Meanwhile the women’s side will go into Friday night’s play-offs clash with confidence after downing Perth 73-62.

Four players from the Slammers scored more than 10 points throughout the match, with Patricia Bright (16 points and 12 rebounds) again performing well.

Jessica Jakens was outstanding for the Redbacks, with 19 points, while Alix Hayward (10 points and eight rebounds) fought hard.

Full sport coverage in tomorrow's Bunbury Herald.