Basketball: Magic downs Bombers in overtime

The underdogs had their day during round 12 of the senior men's basketball competition at the Edgar Centre on Saturday.

The Magic (6-6) beat the Bombers (7-5) 86-84 in overtime, after forcing the extra period with a cleverly worked set play for a lay-up as time expired in regulation.

Hayden Miller scored 21 points in the win, while Steve Robinson scored the same number for the Bombers, who sorely missed the athleticism and rebounding of Elton Cotton.

Earlier, a near full-strength Saints (5-7) beat OBHS (10-2) 74-68 in a back-and-forth game that further complicates a congested points ladder.

Damon Cleverley top-scored for the Saints with 16 points, Tom Tindale had 12, and James Ross and Cain Falconer both tallied 10 to knock off the competition leader.

At times this season, Ethan Carruthers has driven to the rim with impunity. Down four with three minutes to go in the fourth against a surging Saints side was never going to one of those times.

This time he rose alongside Lyndon Jackson, who had his eyes firmly on the ball.

Carruthers went higher, the two bodies clashed, and Carruthers' legs disappeared from under him.

He fell flat on his back with a sickening thud to the gasp of the crowd, and stayed down as Jackson apologised for the hard foul.

Carruthers picked himself up, drained both free throws to make the game 68-65, then shuffled off the floor to watch his side drop its second game of the year.

Luke Aston top-scored for OBHS with 16 points, eight of which came in the first quarter as he found his range from behind the arch, but he struggled late with a pair of costly turnovers and looked frustrated by the officiating.

The third and final game of the round, between the Falcons (5-6) and Comets (2-9), will be played on Thursday after several players return from university holidays.

 

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