Cotton wills Wildcats to NBL Cup win over United

The Perth Wildcats were staring down their worst start to the season in 15 years, but Bryce Cotton willed his team despite not shooting great to end Melbourne United undefeated streak with the 89-85 NBL Cup win on Saturday.

Before today, Melbourne United had gone 356 days since playing a match at John Cain Arena, which was then known as Melbourne Arena. How the world has changed since. 

The Wildcats have added their 10th championship, Melbourne has added Boomer Jock Landale and star recruit Scotty Hopson en route to compiling one of the strongest on-paper teams in NBL history.

Landale even predicted United could go through this NBL season unbeaten and for six games he was on the money, but Cotton and the Wildcats put an end to that on the opening day of the NBL Cup.

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson was proud of the way his team performed and while execution might not have been perfect, he loved their heart.

"I love the way that we were playing, even stepping out of bounds with some mental errors – that level of play was great," Gleeson said.

"We're just worried about ourselves, we don't care about the other team – it might sound rude – we just play team basketball."

"With this grit and intensity, it is going to be a lot easier to build the team."

United coach Dean Vickerman had no problem with the looks his team got to finish the game even if they didn’t fall, but he didn’t like the way they started.

"We put the ball in Jock's hands and I thought he made a great decision. Scotty wide open, Barlow great rebound, and Scotty wide open again. That's what we saw from Scotty last year, he was a closer... I have no problem with those shots, you just have to knock them in," Vickerman said.

"I didn't like the way that we started the game, we've had a couple of games now with longer breaks, and I didn't think we came into it with the intensity we needed. It was a pretty early timeout from me.

"Defensively we made things tough for Bryce, I thought he was great down the stretch with the massive threes that he hit. He got Jesse [Wagstaff] involved and he made a big three as well."

This would be an exceptional encounter that set an exciting tone for this competition, coming down to three last-minute attempts from beyond the arc. En route to those pivotal shots, there was plenty of drama. 

Chris Goulding and Shea Ili remained on the sidelines battling injury, and were notably absent as United stumbled out of the gates, trailing 7-1 after just three minutes of play. 

It prompted coach Dean Vickerman to call a rare 'standing timeout', which ensured the broadcast cameras did not catch the presumably expletive-laden message. 

It worked as Melbourne levelled the match on the stroke of quarter-time thanks to a last-second basket by Duke product Jack White, who was industrious early on. 

Landale, however, took some time to get into the match – taking his first shot of the game over two minutes into the second quarter. 

With 10 first-half turnovers, Melbourne’s inefficiency with the ball cost them in the second quarter and they trailed 41-37 at half-time. 

The Wildcats’ dogged defence was also superb, and their captain Jesse Wagstaff punished United on the offensive end, entering the main break with a then game-high 11 points thanks to 3/3 shooting from beyond the arc. He would have 14 points in the match. 

Maryland-born Perth recruit John Mooney also added 10 first-half points on his way to 13 points, and coming down with nine rebounds. 

Cotton came to life in the third, and was the energiser behind an encouraging stretch from the Wildcats that saw them enter the final quarter with a one-point lead. 

Vickerman must have feared the MVP was setting his sights on a big fourth, snatching a vital win. Such premonitions would prove correct. 

Two minutes into the fourth, a Todd Blanchfield (12 points, three rebounds) fadeaway gifted Perth a 71-66 lead. Cotton continued to influence the closing stages, adding two of three vital three-pointers. 

United didn’t buckle. When Landale (20 points, 10 rebounds) converted a three-point play, United had a one-point lead. But Cotton’s outlet pass to Wagstaff saw the tide turn yet again, with Perth getting out to an 84-81 lead with a little over two minutes to play. 

After Perth wasted late offensive possessions, a Landale dunk and a pair of earned Mitch McCarron free throws gave United an 85-84 lead to ensure this thrilling game would come down to the wire. 

As if you expected anything else, Cotton hit a three to wrestle it back for Perth. Hopson missed two three-pointers that would have won the match for United, but Perth finally grabbed a massive rebound. 

It was enough for the Perth Wildcats to win (89-85) in a match that Cotton (29 points, seven assists) took over. 

The Wildcats are now 3-3 and look to get above .500 against the Sydney Kings on Tuesday. Melbourne (6-1) hopes to get back in the winners’ circle on Monday against the Cairns Taipans.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 6
NBL CUP WEEK 1

PERTH WILDCATS 89 (Cotton 29, Wagstaff 14, Mooney 13)

MELBOURNE UNITED 85 (Landale 20, Barlow 11, Hopson 10, McDaniel 10) 

POINTS AWARDED – Perth Wildcats 5.5, Melbourne United 1.5

BOX SCORE