Cotton stars as fast-finishing Cats claim crucial road win
Written By
Jordan McArdle
The four-time MVP became the first NBL player since Andrew Gaze in 1991 to score 40-plus points in three consecutive games, amassing a stunning 49 in the Wildcats’ come-from-behind 115-105 victory over Adelaide.
The Wildcats trailed at every change before mounting a brilliant comeback in the final term thanks to Cotton and handy contributions from Ben Henshall (15 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals), Dylan Windler (13 and seven rebounds) and Todd Withers (eight) who all hit crucial late triples.
Down 60-54 at half-time, Perth held Adelaide to 45 second-half points while piling on 61 of their own – including 10 three-pointers – to seal an important win to kickstart a long strength on the road.
The Wildcats are now fourth on the ladder with a 9-8 record ahead of next Saturday’s visit to Cairns to take on the Taipans.
The performance was all the more impressive considering starters Keanu Pinder (illness) and Kristian Doolittle (groin) were both sidelined.
Youngster David Okwera got his first starting opportunity as a Wildcat alongside Izan Almansa.
Almansa was excellent at both ends of the floor, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds and two assists in his 23 minutes on court.
Okwera had his confidence up early with back-to-back buckets and Henshall hit an important triple, but most of the action was at the other end to start.
Elijah Pepper’s injection provided some offensive firepower, while Cotton was starting to heat up midway through the opening term to shift the momentum.
The Wildcats clawed their way back from eight points down to level things at 24-apiece as Withers had an instant impact off the bench against his former team.
36ers guard Kendric Davis, who had 37 for the match, was up to 10 points by quarter-time to help the hosts to a 32-29 lead, despite a buzzer-beater three from Wildcats captain Jesse Wagstaff.
Cotton was at his brilliant best in the second term, scoring 17 points – including six of seven from the field - to take his tally to a game-high 23 by half-time.
He helped the Wildcats cut back a 13-point deficit to just three with 30 seconds left in the half, amassing a dozen consecutive points in a scintillating burst.
But Davis, the second-leading scorer in the competition behind Cotton, had the answers including a buzzer-beating floater which gave his team a 60-54 advantage.
The Wildcats came out with great intent to start the second half, crashing the glass at both ends of the floor with Almansa and Windler, who combined for 14 boards for the match, leading the way.
Bryce continued to do Bryce things, adding another 15 to his tally including a stunning half-court buzzer-beater to finish the term.
Adelaide big men were imposing with Isaac Humphries (25 points) and Jarrell Martin making the most of Pinder and Doolittle’s absence.
The Wildcats got it going on the outside, hitting five triples for the quarter to take a lead on several occasions.
But it was Adelaide up 82-79 with a quarter to play.
Cotton was up to the 40-point mark for the third game in a row by early in the last term, with the 36ers opting to foul him time after time.
Henshall was getting freed up by the extra attention on Cotton, hitting a pair of threes as the Wildcats snatch the lead back.
Withers and Windler also stepped up late, with the latter calling game with a three in the final 30 seconds to push the buffer out to double digits.
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