Wildcats shock Melbourne in overtime thriller

The Perth Wildcats have shocked Melbourne United in an overtime thriller at John Cain Arena, winning 102-95.

This came after a chaotic end to regulation, seeing Perth go up by two off a Jordan Usher fade-away three with five seconds left, then to a Matthew Dellavedova and one which the foul was later overturned. This all led to Jordan Usher being fouled on an ally-oop attempt with a second left, and him missing both free throws to send the game into overtime.

Bryce Cotton top-scored for Perth with 24 points (13 from the free throw line) across his 43 minutes of game time, which is the most played in a single game this season.

However, it would be Perth’s hustle, offensive rebounding and one-percenters that took them over the line. Seeing them beat the league leaders in rebounding by seven (13-8 on the O-Boards).

This would be epitomised by captain Jesse Wagstaff’s performance, playing 24 minutes including all five in overtime and most of the final quarter. While his end-game stats are not particularly pleasing (six points, eight rebounds, three assists), his non-statistical output was a major factor in the Perth victory.

This is Melbourne United’s second loss of the season and it has come with some casualties, with Luke Travers going down with a concussion within seconds of the game starting, alongside Ariel Hukporti injuring his knee. The next star, Hukporti would return later in the game, but Travers wouldn’t come out of the locker room for the entirety of the contest.

Ian Clark set the first quarter alight with nine points (3/3 from three) but he would re-aggravate his hamstring injury and would sit out the remainder of the match.

Perth who came into the round with a 2-5 record, have gone 2-0 this weekend which sees them boost up to sixth on the NBL ladder.

Top Scorers

Melbourne United

• Jo Lual-Acuil – 25 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, two blocks
• Matthew Dellavedova – 23 points, four rebounds, six assists,
• Chris Goulding – 19 points, one rebound, two assists,
• Kyle Bowen – four points, 16 rebounds, one assists, two steals

Perth Wildcats

• Bryce Cotton – 24 points, six rebounds, three assists
• Kristian Doolittle – 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal
• Alex Sarr – 17 points, six rebounds, one steal, one block
• Keanu Pinder – 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals