Pepper the hero with game winning prayer

It took a stunning banked in triple from Elijah Pepper with 1.9 seconds left for the Perth Wildcats to spoil the returns to RAC Arena of Bryce Cotton and Trevor Gleeson to beat the Adelaide 36ers 98-97 in an incredible finish.

The stage was set for Cotton to celebrate his 300th game back on his old home floor on Thursday night, which also marked Gleeson's first return and his first time coaching against a Wildcats team he took to five NBL championships.

The Sixers did fire back from being 15 down in the second quarter to lead by 13 themselves in the third to appear in control, but the Wildcats weren’t going to be denied after their disappointing first up loss to the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Despite still being without import point guard Brandon Knight, the Wildcats withstood a late 8-0 run from the Sixers with three-pointers to Cotton and John Jenkins III to still be a chance.

Then Pepper grabbed his moment and while guarded by Cotton, and then fouled by him as he rose up to shoot, his prayer banked in to the delight of the 10,145 home fans with 1.9 seconds left to secure the one-point win.

It capped off a big night for Pepper who had 25 points, three rebounds and three assists with 10/17 shooting.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr also had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats, Anthony Dell'Orso 20 points, six assists and three steals, Dylan Windler 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Kristian Doolittle 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Adelaide were without Flynn Cameron and Isaac Humphries, and dearly missed the key pair, but Cotton played all but seven seconds in his 300th game for 37 points, nine assists and four steals.

Zylan Cheatham added 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Nick Rackocevic 20 points, eight boards and three assists.

The Wildcats got the better of the start opening up 8-2 and were still leading 30-20 by the end of the first quarter with Anthony Dell'Orso putting up nine points and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr eight while Zylan Cheatham had 13 of the 20 points for the Sixers.

The 'Cats were shooting 12/19 from the field to 6/18 from the 36ers in the opening 10 minutes, but the tide turned in the second frame including forcing Perth into their first five turnovers of the night.

Adelaide finished 28-18 for the quarter on 10/16 shooting, with Bryce Cotton up to 13 points in his 300th game and warming up nicely.

Cotton then exploded for 18 points in the third quarter while the Wildcats had another four turnovers and the 36ers outscored them 29 points to 22 on scoring 8/14 from the floor again to be leading 77-70 by three quarter-time.

The Wildcats weren’t done yet, though, and suddenly found themselves in front when Dell'Orso hit a step back three and then scored going to the basket.

The 'Cats pushed out to a five-point lead inside the last two minutes but then the Sixers responded with the next eight points including massive three balls from Cotton and John Jenkins III.

And Pepper made the play of his life with Cotton hounding him, he took the foul and jacked up the prayer which banked in to secure the remarkable one-point win.

Both teams have a quick turnaround to play again in Round 2 with the Wildcats staying at home to host the New Zealand Breakers on Saturday night. The Sixers play their first home game of NBL27 on Sunday against the Cairns Taipans.

PERTH WILDCATS 98 – ADELAIDE 36ERS 97

Perth Wildcats
Elijah Pepper – 25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr – 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
Anthony Dell'Orso – 20 points, 6 assists, 3 steals
Dylan Windler – 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Kristian Doolittle – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Adelaide 36ers
Bryce Cotton – 37 points, 9 assists, 4 steals, 7/12 3PT
Zylan Cheatham – 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Nick Rackocevic – 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
John Jenkins III – 7 points, 1 assist
Keanu Rasmussen – 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals