Snakes shock Wildcats in double OT

The Cairns Taipans have completed their best 48 hours of the NBL season backing up beating the Illawarra Hawks by sending the Perth Wildcats down to fifth with the 125-116 double overtime win.

Taipans coach Adam Forde savaged his team, particularly the starters, after a 24-point loss home on Sunday to the Adelaide 36ers, but they responded with a second win of 2025 over the Hawks in Cairns on Thursday night.

The Snakes came to RAC Arena and produced a strong first half, finished regulation well to force overtime and almost did enough in the first extra period before completing the job in the second to send the Wildcats down to fifth position.

The Taipans might be anchored to bottom spot, played just 48 hours earlier and spent all Friday flying to Perth, and were without Taran Armstrong, but nothing was going to deny them.

The Snakes led 56-47 going into half-time with Rob Edwards (30 points) having 15 points to his name, but the Wildcats put up 35 in the third quarter with Ben Henshall (17 points) making 15 of those.

The ‘Cats had all the momentum with an eight point lead and Keanu Pinder (29 points, 11 rebounds) having a big night against his old team before Cairns finished regulation with 11 of the last 14 points including a late bucket on the put back from Pedro Bradshaw (12 points, 13 rebounds, four assists).

The Taipans were up six in the first overtime after triples to Tanner Groves (22 points, six rebounds) and Kyle Adnam (15 points, five assists), but Bryce Cotton (38 points, 12/37 shooting and 5/21 from deep) stepped up with back-to-back threes for the Wildcats to tie scores up.

He missed the chance at a four-point play after breaking the ankles of Groves before the drama continued with Edwards fouled with 2.2 seconds to go.

He missed both, though, to send the game to a second overtime period and again the Snakes hit the first seven points including a three to Sam Waardenburg (24 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) before completing the job.

Despite a horror travel day after Thursday night’s win over Illawarra in Cairns, the Taipans arrived feeling good about themselves in Perth even without Taran Armstrong, and they started like it.

They hit the first five points of the game through Tanner Groves and Alex Higgins-Titsha and were soon up 18-12 following back-to-back three balls from Rob Edwards.

The Snakes were still leading 22-18 by the end of one despite the Wildcats attempting 12 free throws to just the one but Cairns were shooting 45 per cent to 26, including hitting four triples to zero.

Cairns then pushed that lead out to 10 to start the second frame with a triple from Kyrin Galloway and and-one from Groves. Galloway hit another triple soon after to keep the lead at 10.

The Taipans did well to maintain that advantage for the most part the rest of the half too and were leading 56-47 going into the break thanks to another three ball from Edwards who had 15 points to his name.

The Snakes were leading despite conceding 13 more free-throw attempts and the 8/17 three-point shooting was significant in that.

Bryce Cotton went 1/7 from deep in the first half, but started the second with a make in an ominous before the Wildcats shot themselves into the lead in quick time with triples from Ben Henshall and another to Cotton.

A fan even hit a halfcourt shot to win $10,000 during a timeout in that third quarter, and by the end of it the Wildcats had put up 35 points to 17 from the Taipans to turn that nine-point half-time deficit into a nine-point advantage.

Henshall finished the quarter with another two threes on his way to 15 points for that 10 minutes with the Wildcats having all the momentum, but Cairns did a terrific job turning that around.

The Snakes went on a 9-0 early in the fourth term to tie scores up to silence a crowd that had been rocking just minutes earlier.

The Wildcats hit back with the next eight points but the Taipans were anything but done and answered with next seven.

Elijah Pepper made his first field goal of the night from the corner to put Perth back up four but Cairns hit the last four points firstly with a shot from Edwards, and then Pedro Bradshaw with the put back after Cotton saved the ball under the basket from going out.

Cairns then hit the first four points of overtime before Groves stretched their lead to five with two minutes to play, and Kyle Adnam made it six but Cotton’s two threes, and Edwards’ missed free throws meant it was tied at 110-110 as time expired.

The second extra period saw Cairns again hit the first seven points including a triple from Waardenburg, and this time Edwards and Bradshaw both made their free throws to secure the win.

The Wildcats remain at home to host the South East Melbourne Phoenix next Friday before a road clash with the Sydney Kings on the Sunday while the Taipans remain on the road to the New Zealand Breakers next Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK’S NBL SEASON 2024/25

PERTH WILDCATS 116 (Cotton 38, Pinder 29, Henshall 17)

CAIRNS TAIPANS 125 (Edwards 30, Waardenburg 24, Groves 22)

BOX SCORE