Perth Wildcats stumble to fourth consecutive loss with 100-92 result against Cairns Taipans at RAC Arena

Perth Wildcats have lost their fourth game in a row for the first time in four years and are out of the top six following a 100-92 loss to Cairns at RAC Arena.

The Wildcats have fallen from second to seventh in the blink of an eye and the loss followed coach John Rillie making major changes to his starting five.

Alex Higgins-Titsha, who didn’t even get on court in two games earlier in the season and had another three games where he played for less than two minutes, started alongside Jaron Rillie. Anthony Dell’Orso and Angus Brandt moved to the bench. Brandt went from starting to playing little more than three minutes.

But while they started better than in recent games, the result remained the same.

The Wildcats had no answers for Jack McVeigh. He scored 36 points, including eight three-pointers while shooting at 53 per cent from the perimeter.

Jaylon Brown scored 22 points. Former Wildcat Keanu Pinder fouled out after 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Perth were missing import Brandon Knight after he failed to recover from a hamstring injury, and centre Jo Lual-Acuil was already sidelined with a long term calf problem.

But they are now in a deep hole as they look to get their season on track.

The Wildcats will play Tasmania at RAC Arena on Thursday, then have another home game against Illawarra on Saturday before facing a run of 10 of the next 11 matches on the road.

Perth hadn’t lost four games in a row since 2022, but of huge concern is three of these losses have been at home.

Elijah Pepper top scored with 26 points, Kristian Doolittle finished with 20 and Jesse Wagstaff continued to have an impact with 14 points. Import Dylan Windler scored 11 points.