Black keep top spot after strong week

Tornadoes Black are three wins clear on top of the Bunbury Basketball Association ladder thanks to two big wins last week at the South West Sports Centre.

On Thursday night, Tornadoes Black claimed a 70-61 win over Bulls after Carey Watkins (25 points) and Nat Van Dijk (16 points) put on a stellar performance.

Matthew Leary played a lone hand for Bulls, scoring a game-high 35 points, while Josh Battaglia chipped in with 12.

Tornadoes Black backed this up just 24 hours later with a solid 94-72 victory over Aces White, despite 31 points from Sam Sopolinski.

Callum Heap hit a trifecta of three-pointers to finish with 22 points for Tornadoes Black, while Watkins (21) and Van Dijk (18) were again outanding.

Busselton have entered the top four after two close wins, defeating Tornadoes Red 60-59 on Thursday night.

The Bullets had just five players, but it did not stop them, with Matt Mansfield (20 points) and Harry Mooney (16 points) dominating from beyond the three-point arc.

Brandon Bennell scored 19 points for Tornadoes Red, while Alastair Ishigami-Sims finished with 14 points.

Busselton then claimed an upset 83-80 win over Aces Navy thanks to Mansfield again, who scored a game-high 33 points.

Dylan Ness hit 12 field goals to finish with 24 points for the Bullets, while Travis Durnin was excellent for Aces Navy with 32 points.

Bulls finished the week with an 83-79 win over Tornadoes Red thanks to Leary (32 points) and Tom Harper (26 points).

Braden Wilson (25 points) was Tornadoes Red’s best, while Jordan Yarran chipped in with 19 points.

In the women’s competition, Tornadoes Red reclaimed top spot on the ladder thanks to two big wins over Bulls and Busselton.

On Thursday night, Tornadoes Red held Bulls’ prolific scorer Courtney Bayliss to two points in a 66-49 win.

Tayah Burrows continued her excellent season for Tornadoes Red with a 27-point performance, while Raya Thompson was in nice touch with 17 points.

Rebecca Preston was Bulls’ best with 18 points.

Busselton were Tornadoes Red’s next victim, losing 94-47 thanks to Burrows who scored 28 points.

Georgia Adams (15 points), Kate Fielding (14 points) and Georgia O’Neill (13 points) all played well for Tornadoes Red, while Beige Harris was the Bullets’ best with 22 points.

Aces White had a tough weekend, losing both their games.

It started on Thursday when Tornadoes Black defeated them 77-67.

Zaya Black top scored with 27 points for Tornadoes Black, while Ebony Bilcich was also in good form with 23 points.

Bulls then kept themselves in the hunt for top spot with a 62-33 win over Aces White.