WWAG Match Recap: NBL23 Round 10, Game 2 v Perth Wildcats

Written by Melbourne United Media

United’s winning streak in Perth has come to an end, as costly mistakes spoiled a strong performance from Melbourne down the stretch.

It was a slow start for United, as Perth quickly raced out to a 8-1 lead before Chris Goulding cashed in from beyond the arc.

Despite CG’s bucket, United’s starters struggled a bit to find momentum, allowing the Wildcats to push ahead by as many as 14 points.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes provided a much-needed energy boost, entering the game and finding his teammates for a few assists after finishing a tough and-1 layup to kickstart United’s run back into the game.

Melbourne went on an 11-0 run, which included a pair of massive rejections from Isaac Humphries and Shea Ili, reducing the gap to just three points to close the first period.

United maintained this momentum coming out of the break in play, as CG scored the first four points of the term, before strong and-1 buckets from Ili and Rayjon Tucker ballooned the side’s run out to 22-3.

Enter Bryce Cotton.

The three-time league MVP was hard to stop for much of the half, leading all scorers with 18 points and propelling Perth back to level scores.

Needing an answer, Humphries stepped up in a huge way for Melbourne.

Coming off the bench for a second straight game, the big-man looked at times unstoppable, tallying seven points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks in under 10 minutes of play.

Acting as United’s anchor on both ends, Humphries helped his side push back in front and take a 45-39 lead into the major break.

It was all Melbourne coming out of half-time as they looked poised to extend their winning streak in Perth.

Huge plays from the likes of Goulding, Ili, Humphries, Tucker, XRM and Mason Peatling pushed the visitors in front by as many as 14 points, with their work on the offensive glass standing out.

Unfortunately for United, this just seemed to wake up the Wildcats, as Perth scored 10 unanswered points to close the period and cut Melbourne’s advantage to just four points with 10 minutes remaining.

Perth stayed hot to start the final period, taking the lead quickly before XRM took over.

The Canadian guard knocked down a trio of threes to give United a buffer before feeding his teammates for some easy buckets.

The Wildcats however refused to go away, capitalising on Melbourne’s mistakes across the final 60 seconds of the game to steal an improvable victory.

United will next face the SEM Phoenix in Throwdown XX, delivered by DoorDash on Thursday evening at John Cain Arena.

Tickets remain available here.