Sixers fall to red-hot Wildcats at home

Adelaide 36ers were unable to stop a red-hot third quarter shooting display by Perth Wildcats in a 100-82 defeat at the Entertainment Centre on Thursday night.

The Wildcats outscored the home side 28-9 in the third quarter, which included six three-pointers, to run out 18-point winners in front of another sold out crowd of 9468 fans.

Big man Isaac Humphries toiled hard for the home side, scoring an equal game-high 24 points to go with five rebounds, while NBL Next Star Trentyn Flowers added 13 points and six rebounds.

DJ Vasiljevic, in his 100^th NBL game, added nine points to go with five assists and Jacob Wiley also scored nine points.

Bryce Cotton scored 24 points for the visitors, while Kristian Doolittle had 19 points with five rebounds and Alex Sarr added 12 points.

Perth connected on their first five field goals as Doolittle was prominent early, the Wildcats opening with an early 12-6 lead.

Humphries and Wiley then started to make an impact on the contest, Wiley’s triple cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 14-13.

Perth’s hot shooting continued, the visitors opening a 19-13 lead after hitting eight of nine shots before the home side roared back to life, Adelaide went on a 9-0 run, ending with a Nick Marshall three-pointer to take the lead for the first time in the contest at 22-19.

Doolittle continued to score; the import swingman had 12 points in the first 10 minutes as the Wildcats took a 34-29 lead into quarter time.

Adelaide started the second quarter with Sunday Dech connecting from downtown and when Wiley hit a mid-range jump shot, the Wildcats lead was cut to 36-34.

But the visitors went on a 9-0 run to open up a double-digit lead, Sarr sparking the Wildcats, but the home side, through Wiley and Humphries, brought the 36ers back into the contest.

Vasiljevic started to make his mark on the game, getting to the free throw line as Humphries scored 13 points in the first half, but the Wildcats took a 54-48 lead into the main interval.

Cotton ignited the visitors to start the second half, scoring eight points in the opening three minutes of the third quarter as the Wildcats extended their lead to 64-51.

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Adelaide’s scoring started to dry up as Cotton continued to stay hot, connecting on a third triple for the quarter, and when Jesse Wagstaff (11 points) hit back-to-back three-pointers, the Wildcats lead was 75-55.

Perth’s hot three-point shooting continued to fire, Cotton scoring 11 for the quarter and Doolittle kept on scoring as the Wildcats took an 82-57 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Flowers looked to spark the home side, throwing down a big dunk over Sarr, and Humphries continued to score inside as the 36ers fought back late, but the Wildcats had all the answers.

Adelaide will be back in action on New Year’s Eve when the 36ers travel to WIN Entertainment Centre to battle Illawarra Hawks.

PERTH WILDCATS 100 (Cotton 24, Doolittle 19, Sarr 12) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 82 (Humphries 24, Flowers 13) at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

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