South East Melbourne Phoenix have consolidated second spot on the NBL ladder after surviving a second-half comeback from the Perth Wildcats to complete a thrilling 86-80 win.
Saturday's matchup between the second and third-placed teams lived up to the hype with the Phoenix coming up big in the final seconds to defeat the WIldcats at John Cain Arena for the first time.
The Phoenix drilled eight-three pointers in the first half and held Wildcats star Bryce Cotton scoreless on their way to an impressive 14-point halftime buffer but Perth came roaring back to level the scores with 90 seconds to play.
Kyle Adnam gave South East Melbourne an 82-80 edge from the foul line then added two more free throws after Todd Blanchfield and Cotton each missed go-ahead three-pointers in the dying stages.
Adnam helped thwart Perth's late comeback by scoring 13 of his game-high 24 points in the final quarter while Mitch Creek (22 points) and Izayah Le'afa (12 points) were also key contributors.
Coach Simon Mitchell credited Adnam's poise in the final quarter for helping the Phoenix close out the win as they try to chase down ladder leaders Melbourne United (11-4).
"Right now with a full squad, that's a really good opportunity to try and string some wins together," Mitchell said after the Phoenix improved their win-loss record to 10-5.
"We really need to try and build some separation, I mean it's such a dogfight right now between third and fifth, maybe sixth as well.
"It's in our hands to try and steer clear of the messy results that are there between those clubs right now."
The home side sounded an ominous warning with Le'afa, Xavier Munford and Adnam all hitting from long range as part of an 11-0 run to guide the Phoenix to a 21-15 edge after one quarter.
The Phoenix kept rolling in the second term to extend their lead to 45-31 at halftime, Vic Law's 13 points keeping the Wildcats afloat with Cotton closing the half with 0-5 shooting.
Perth responded swiftly after the main break with a 12-2 start, capped by Cotton's first points of the night, but South East Melbourne closed the third quarter ahead 63-57 before Adnam's heroics helped consign the Wildcats to a fourth loss in their last five games.
"They know that these moral victories of good second halves and coming back from deficits aren't helping us," Perth coach Scott Morrison said about the recent run of form that has seen his squad drop to 8-6 on the season.
"We definitely show in spurts that we're as good as any team in the league ... but I think we could have done a better job for a stretch there in the second half when we did get back into the game."
