Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Elijah Pepper’s miraculous three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining has delivered the Perth Wildcats a gripping 98-97 victory over the Adelaide 36ers, spoiling Bryce Cotton’s 300th NBL game and Sixers coach Trevor Gleeson’s homecoming.
The Wildcats had trailed by 13 points at their RAC Arena home in Perth on Thursday night, before rallying in stunning fashion.
With scores squared, 36ers import John Jenkins’ three-pointer with 8.6 seconds made it 96-93, before Perth centre Jo Lual-Acuil Jr buried a pair of free throws.
Adelaide’s Jacob Rigoni was then fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the line to make it 97-95 with 7.5 seconds on the clock.
Cotton pressured Pepper up the court before fouling the Wildcats sharpshooter as he put up an off-balance three-point bomb, which landed.
Pepper deliberately missed the additional free throw, knowing the 36ers would need to heave a full-court shot for the win.
“Unexplainable,” Pepper said of his emotions.
“I thought I’d screwed up after that (Jenkins’) corner three.
“It’s so exciting, I can’t even begin to explain it.”
Pepper (25 points), Lual-Acuil (21 points, 11 rebounds) and second-gamer Anthony Dell’Orso (20) all stood tall for Perth.
Cotton (34 points, nine assists, four steals, 7-of-12 three-pointers) was magnificent in his milestone match, but was left rueing those final seconds.
Bigs Zylan Cheatham (21 points, nine boards) and Nick Rakocevic (20, eight) impressed as Gleeson, the greatest coach in Wildcats history after leading them to five titles, went home empty-handed in his first visit to the WA capital since leaving Perth.
“I thought Bryce was playing pretty good defence there, but probably put his hand in the cookie jar,” Gleeson said of that last play.
“Pepper did the right thing – let it rip.
“The basketball gods favoured the Wildcats, as they normally do here.
“I didn’t think our team play was good enough.”
Perth made a bright start, attacking the paint with precision to lead 30-20 at quarter-time before Cotton spearheaded the Sixers’ revival.
His statement dunk was the highlight of the quarter, the result of teammate Keanu Rasmussen’s steal and desperate loose-ball dive.
The 36ers dominated the second stanza 28-18 to draw level at halftime, 48-all, before carrying that momentum through the third term, in which Cotton exploded for 18 points.
The Little Master was unstoppable, putting Adelaide up 71-58, then knocking down his fifth three which he followed with a stare at Wildcats coach John Rillie.
But Perth weren’t done, back-to-back Dylan Windler treys and a Pepper deuce helping trim the gap to 77-70 at three-quarter-time.
Dell’Orso got hot and Cotton cooled fractionally in the titanic fourth period, the lead changing hands multiple times in a pulsating finish.
