BSBL: Defending men’s A-grade champions Tornadoes Red move to top of ladder with 29-point win over Bulls Grey

Defending Bunbury Senior Basketball League men’s A-grade champions Tornadoes Red moved to the top of the ladder on the back of a 29-point victory over Bulls Grey at South West Sports Centre on Friday night. Red closed out the contest’s first half on a dominant 16-0 run to open up a 15-point half-time lead which only grew further over the course of the next two terms, going on to win 102-73. Only a day after representing the NBL1 West Select Team against the Indonesian national side, Lachlan Bertram produced a 21-point performance for the winners, being one of five Red players to score more than 14 points. Both of Bulls’ other sides were involved in thrilling finishes, with Gold going down to Aces Sky by one point and Maroon overcoming Aces White by two points. Scores were tied in the dying moments of the Gold-Sky contest but Sky’s Alex Edwards was able to draw a late shooting foul on Gold’s Travis Durnin and convert one of his two free throws, which proved enough for his side to escape with a 105-104 victory. Former South West Slammers high-flyer Xavier Cotton did everything he could for Gold in a 36-point performance, while Sky were led in scoring by young Slammers guard Gavin Deacon (30 points). Maroon trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half of their clash with White but limited their opponents to only 29 points in the second half to claim a 77-75 win, with Jaxon Comito (23 points) and Cody Hill (20) producing strong offensive showings for the winners. Eaton Eagles defeated Tornadoes Black by 13 points to secure what was their first win in several seasons. The new-look Eagles led by as many as 29 points in an eventual 95-82 victory which was built on the back of six players scoring in double digits, led by Dylan Moir (18 points).