Sykes steals Cotton show as Phoenix breakthrough

The stage was set for Jesse Wagstaff to make his mark as Perth Wildcats captain on a milestone weekend but in the end it was the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Keifer Sykes who stole the show with the 90-89 win on Friday night.

It was the most dramatic of finishes imaginable at RAC Arena and in the end it was the Phoenix breaking their duck against the Wildcats. South East Melbourne won its first ever game against Perth and it was on the back of Sykes who stepped up to the challenge against dual MVP Bryce Cotton.

Make no mistake, Cotton was still at MVP level with 32 points and six assists, but three massive plays late from Sykes proved game winning. It started when he was left isolated up top defensively with Cotton and stunningly he stole the ball and took it up for a layup.

Cotton responded, as expected, with a four-point play to raise the roof from the Red Army. But Sykes wasn’t done. Next possession and he drove to the hole, dished out to Kyle Adnam who knocked down a huge three to make it a one-point game.

Then with time running out, Sykes drove hard, finished strongly over the outstretched John Mooney to put the Phoenix up 90-89 but there was still four seconds left.

Perth came out of the timeout and executed perfectly. With two defenders running to Cotton, Mooney found a wide open Wildcats captain and Wagstaff had the key to himself but missed the lefty layup. The clock expired and South East Melbourne beat Perth for the first time by a point.

Wagstaff will be inconsolable with the miss on a night where he joined the legendary Andrew Vlahov on 349 games with the Wildcats. He went so close to hitting the winner ahead of game 350 on Sunday as the six-time champion becomes the fourth player from the 'Cats to reach the mark.

Sykes finished the night with 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals, but it was plays late that saw him prove a match-winner for the second time already in his four-game NBL career.

"It was a big moment for the team and a big moment for us at the beginning of the season, and a big moment for me on a big stage," Sykes said. 

"I know that's what they got me here for and they said they didn’t win a lot of these games last year, so this was a big opportunity for me and I wanted to deliver for me and to give them more confidence in me down the stretch. 

"I just really wanted to win this game and big players make big plays. I just took it possession by possession, and I made that shot and knew there was four seconds left. My mind is always thinking just win the basketball game and I'm trying to be successful."

Mitch Creek rolled his ankle late but up until that point he was a dominant presence especially with seven points to open the second half meaning the Wildcats could no longer leave development player Luke Travers out there. Creek finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Yanni Wetzell was a good presence inside too for the winners with 14 points and six rebounds with Adnam adding 14 points and Reuben TeRangi eight.

Cotton was brilliant for the Wildcats with his 32 points and six assists, but after a slow start Mooney once again what a factor he will be for Perth at both ends of the floor. He ended up with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks on 7/12 shooting and even hit a three.

They were the standouts for the 'Cats, though, and they might need to be relied upon a lot this season. Todd Blanchfield did add 11 points and seven rebounds, and captain Wagstaff had a good night with eight points, five rebounds and four assists before the finish.

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson was disappointed post-match, but more the fact that they relied on that last shot in the first place.

"I'm disappointed obviously. We were four points up with 40 seconds to go and we allowed them two really good looks when they hit a three and a layup. That's disappointing on that side," Gleeson said.

"We don't just look at that last play, it's all the other plays before that. We started the third quarter with an 0-9 run against us where we weren’t playing team basketball or the defence we're known for. We shouldn’t have been in that situation. We did get the shot we wanted."

Despite a couple of impressive finishes by young Wildcat Luke Travers, the Phoenix had the better of the opening quarter and with Keifer Sykes on fire, they went into quarter-time up 23-17.

They maintained that edge most of the second period too until Bryce Cotton and John Mooney sparked the 'Cats. When Travers scored just before the buzzer, the Phoenix only led by one. 

But given Perth had dominated the boards with 28 rebounds to 16 including 11 offensive boards to four, the Phoenix had done well to lead before then starting the second half on fire with Mitch Creek a man possessed.

He scored seven points of a 9-0 run as the Phoenix went up 10. That was a game high advantage and a triple from Mooney and and-one Cotton play had the 'Cats back within four by three quarter-time.

Perth then took the lead to start the fourth and virtually lived at the foul line in the last quarter before offensive boards again came to the fore. But then Sykes got the Phoenix back in it with his steal on Cotton even though the Wildcats superstar responded with a trademark four-point play.

Sykes then found Adnam for the three before forcing a stop, then Sykes making a big bucket for the lead and the Phoenix then survived the Jesse Wagstaff miss to get on the plane on a high.

Both teams play again Sunday with the Wildcats at home to the New Zealand Breakers while the Phoenix play Melbourne United in Bendigo.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 3

PERTH WILDCATS 89 (Cotton 32, Mooney 19, Blanchfield 11)

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 90 (Creek 24, Sykes 19, Wetzell 14, Adnam 14) 

BOX SCORE