NBL1 West: Rockingham Flames slump to fourth straight loss, defeated by Goldfields Giants in Kalgoorlie

Rockingham’s horror slump has continued all the way to Kalgoorlie with the visiting Flames men’s side no match for the Goldfields Giants.

The Flames were held to just 73 points in the 26-point loss and are clinging to a spot in the NBL1 West top eight after four straight losses.

Still without injured superstar Devondrick Walker, Flames coach Ryan Petrick made use of his entire travelling squad in a fruitless search for a winning combination.

Rockingham trailed by 12 at the main break but the third quarter proved their worst offensively, managing just 12 points while the Giants skipped to an unassailable lead with a 21-point stanza.

They continued to build the lead in the final period, eventually winning 97-73.

New Zealander Jonathon Janssen continued to stand up for the Flames with 21 points at 80 per cent, which included three from four from beyond the arc.

Gorjak Gak managed an efficient 14 points, but as a unit the Flames were comprehensively outshot by their more accurate opponents.

The Giants made 52 per cent of their shots compared to Rockingham’s 41 per cent.

And Quintin Dove, the exciting Flames import, was one of the chief offenders for the visitors.

Dove led his team with 10 rebounds, dished five assists and was a perfect four from four from the free throw line.

But he missed eight of his 10 shots from the floor — including every attempt he put up from inside the three point line — to finish with just 10 points in the heavy defeat.

The Giants also kept Rockingham captain Ryan Godfrey to just three points.

Americans Randy Bell (26 points, 7 assists) and De’Sean Parsons (20 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) led the offensive charge for the Giants, who flipped the script on their earlier match-up this season.

Rockingham defeated Goldfields by nine points when they met back in April, albeit in a match played at Rockingham and with the Giants backing up for the second leg of a double header on a road trip to Perth.

The Flames also had Walker in the line-up that day, where his presence as a threat allowing other players to find space was just as handy as his 18-point personal haul.

Now 7-6 and two wins outside the top four, the Flames can’t afford to drop this Saturday’s home encounter against Lakeside.

The Lightning (3-8) are having a poor season but pushed Perry Lakes close last weekend, going down by just three points.