Bryce Cotton’s return to RAC Arena on Sunday, for the first time since leaving Perth, broke the hearts of his old teammates and their supporters.
Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Kristian Doolittle looked to have had the Wildcats home, with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
But a double double from Cotton, with 21 points and 12 assists, saw the 36ers storm home to win 95-94.
They trailed by 18 points at three-quarter-time and by 21 points early in the final term before Adelaide rallied, winning the final quarter 35-16.
They hit the lead with a Flynn Cameron lay up after an Isaac Humphries blocked shot, with only 16 seconds remaining.
The 36ers started the game on top of the NBL ladder on the back of a five-game winning streak. Plus, Melbourne United lost its second consecutive game earlier on Sunday, beaten by South East Melbourne Phoenix.
The Wildcats handed United the first of those two losses, on Thursday night, with a performance as equally impressive as what they produced on Sunday.
Cats pay tribute
The Wildcats fans showed up in force to welcome Cotton back, with the 13,661 attendance setting a new benchmark for regular season games in Perth.
Many of them are still wearing Cotton’s number 11, celebrating the man who led them to three championships, won the club’s MVP honour seven times and the NBL’s three times.
They gave the champ a standing ovation while chants of ‘MVP’ echoed through the venue for a couple of minutes before tip-off.
Cotton was clearly touched by the tribute his old club played for him pre-game.
David Duke was given the job on him after restricting Melbourne’s Tyson Williams to just six points in Perth’s win over United on Thursday night.
Cotton scored seven points in first term, including a two-pointer on the buzzer to reduce Perth’s quarter-time lead to three points.
His six points in the final quarter came from a three-pointer and three free-throws, courtesy of a Doolittle foul and technical foul in the last minutes of the game.
Scoring dries up
Cotton didn’t hit the scoreboard in the second term, but he wasn’t the only Adelaide player to start struggling in offense.
Scoring avenues dropped off for the 36ers, who managed only 18 points for that quarter, to Perth’s 25.
Humphries scored the first 13 of those for Adelaide and 14 for the quarter, almost all of them from directly under the ring.
Zylan Cheatham added the other four.
Humphries averaged 15 points per game before Sunday and had 17 on the board in the first half.
But he was reduced to just one rebound, as Perth took control of the boards.
He finished the game’s top scorer with 28 points.
Perth win in the air
Leading 50-40 at half-time on Sunday, Perth also led rebounding 23-14, Doolittle doing most of the damage.
When Perth beat the 36ers in Adelaide in round 8, it was on the back of a solid defensive game from Doolittle and Dylan Windler.
The pair were ruthless on the boards that day and Perth finished with an advantage of eight in that area, mainly at the defensive end. The 36ers were reduced to a season low 18 defensive rebounds.
Perth still won the rebounding count on Sunday, 41-30, but the Wildcats failed to take advantage of that at the offensive end.
Taipans strike with upset win | 01:50
PHOENIX SEND STATEMENT IN THROWDOWN THRASHING
Earlier, South East Melbourne Phoenix ended its Throwdown misery with a runaway 111-86 victory that dislodged crosstown rivals Melbourne United from the top of the ladder at a sold out local derby at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
The Phoenix claimed the big top-two scalp that had eluded them at the fifth time of trying after previously going 0-4 combined against frontrunners United and Adelaide 36ers.
Phoenix coach Josh King was more concerned with how his side responded after an overtime loss to Illawarra Hawks that saw a late scoring flurry putting window dressing on what he felt was a substandard performance on the whole.
“Melbourne is the benchmark for everybody this year, I’m happy we beat them, for sure, we’ve lost to them twice this year, but it didn’t matter who we played today, we needed to show a reaction from the way that we played the other night,” he said.
“They [the players] knew that wasn’t our best and that’s not what we’re about and that’s what I’m most proud about today besides just getting the win against Melbourne United.”
Phoenix got the job done without two of its injured stars, Owen Foxwell and Malique Lewis, showcasing their depth with six players in double-figure points.
Sobey ‘MVP-like’
But veteran Nathan Sobey undoubtedly led the way.
The 35-year-old is sticking in the MVP conversation because of performances like this one against United.
A spark plug in the third quarter when United were trying to fight back from a 15-point halftime deficit, Sobey finished with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“Sobes is having an awesome season and we need him to do that,” King said.
“I’ve made no bones about it, we kind of follow his lead and he’s playing really good basketball.
“I know if you ask Sobes about that, he doesn’t care about that [MVP discussion], he wants to win and that’s all his focus is, but he’s having an MVP-like season for sure.”
Big name recruit Wes Iwundu, a player with extensive NBA experience with Orlando Magic, has emerged as a secondary scoring option to Sobey.
Iwundu backed up his team-high 22 points against the Hawks on Thursday night with an impactful 14 points.
Import forward John Brown III provided the much-needed grunt with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Angus Glover, who was a +30 in plus-minus, and DJ Mitchell provided 14 points apiece.
Forward Akech Aliir’s defence was huge, finishing with four blocks and a steal to go with seven points and eight rebounds.
Mercifully for their fans, Phoenix ended a three-game losing streak in the Throwdown, and you could hear their excitement with an eruption of noise following every basket in the fourth.
United slump
It has been a miserable return from the FIBA international break for United, comprehensively thrashed by the Wildcats in Perth on Thursday night and trailing for all but 18 seconds against Phoenix.
They were knocked off top spot after the 36ers produced a miracle comeback win to beat Perth Wildcats on Sunday.
United coach Dean Vickerman’s decision to mix up the starting lineup was a shock.
He promoted role players Tom Koppens, Tanner Krebs and Fabijan Krslovic to the starting lineup and they provided an energy hit, but it left the regular starters looking a little disjointed and they could not get into their groove at any stage.
“We had some moments in that first quarter [against Perth on Thursday night] where we weren’t who we wanted to be and it was just to say ‘hey, I’m going to try some of the other guys right now to get started’,” he said.
“We want to move the basketball, we want to play with these kinds of things, so sometimes you’ve just got to try some things to shake it up.
Vickerman is concerned that United’s season has hit a bit of a lull.
“There was a spark in this team early in the year and so we’ve got to show resilience right now, we’ve got to create our own energy and celebrate the things we’re doing really well,” he said.
Import playmaker Milton Doyle, one of those benched United stars, fought hard with 22 points and five assists, while small forward Finn Delany was dominant in the first half with 13 points and seven rebounds, but fouled out early in the fourth.
Walker dampened
It was a frustrating outing for much celebrated United point guard Tyson Walker, who has barely put a foot wrong this season.
Walker finished with just 12 points and five assists, turning the ball over six times and twice getting into little chest bumps with opponents Sobey and Glover that perhaps saw him lose focus.
United star Chris Goulding showed glimpses with 11 points and three triples, but is perhaps still feeling the effects of the illness that impacted him in a rare scoreless game against Perth on Thursday night.
Discussion about this post