Wildcats surge continues as young gun erupts again... and scary boost still to come

Perth has recorded three consecutive wins to jump to second spot on the table following a gritty 92-88 win over South East Melbourne on Friday night.

The Wildcats led for 34 minutes of the encounter but could never run away from the Phoenix with seven points their biggest-leading margin of the game.

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The Wildcats nailed eight free throws in a row to close out the game and secure the four-point victory at RAC Arena.

In-form guard Elijah Pepper hit the final four Wildcats points to cap off another successful outing. Pepper registered a game-high 25 points for the encounter and three boards.

It is quite the turnaround for the Wildcats against the Nixs after they went down by 21 points against the Victorian outfit in round one.

Wildcats forward Kristian Doolittle was also a strong contributor with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and guard Anthony Dell'Orso had 22 points.

John Rillie's side is now 3-1 with wins over Adelaide and New Zealand in the bank and import point guard Brandon Knight still to join the side.

"You saw a great team effort tonight," Rillier said post game.

Meanwhile, the Nixs fall to a 1-3 record and continue a tough run after a disappointing Throwdown loss to Melbourne United.

American forward Skylar Mays led for the Nixs with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Dash Daniels was handy with 13 points and seven boards. Jordan Hunter had 11 points and six rebounds and Akech Aliir had 13 points and seven boards from 16 minutes, but it wasn't enough for Josh King's side.

The Nixs shot 12/45 from three-point land in an improvement from 4/41 against United in the game prior.

But issues still remain around their offence as they went 40 per cent from the field and 27 from three against the Wildcats.

"We haven't shot it well this year," coach King said.

"We're not shooting the ball like we were last year."

DELL'ORSO STARS

New Wildcats recruit Anthony Dell'Orso continued his fine start to the season with another blistering performance.

The 23-year-old registered a season-high 22 points, shooting 7/12 from the field, 3/7 from three point land and 5/5 from the free-throw line.

He also nailed two clutch free throws with 40 seconds remaining to put his team four points in front just moments after his star teammate Kristian Doolittle missed two free throws.

Dell'Orso's performance follows 15-plus point games in his last three outings in what has been a hot start to the campaign for the youngster.

RILLIE RETURN

Wildcats young gun point guard Jaron RIllie returned from a lengthy stint on the sidelines but was only limited to nine minutes of game time.

The 25-year-old didn't return to action after half time as he reached his minutes restrictions for the encounter. He registered two assists in the opening half in his comeback game from a calf injury.

New recruit Brandon Knight, who is also a point guard, didn't feature as he was ill.

Perth Wildcats 92 (Pepper 25, Dell'Orso 22, Doolittle 22, Windler 14)

South East Melbourne 88 (Mays 17, Aliir 13, Daniels 13)