Otago Boys' High School (2-3) will rue a disastrous first quarter in their loss to the Magic (4-1) on Saturday afternoon in men's A-grade basketball.
In a rematch of last year's final, the Magic showed they might be a better team this year, piling on the points in a 77-70 victory.
They will thank Riki Buckrell and Tom Allan, who started the game strongly, and finished the game off for them when it mattered most.
Buckrell displayed the same class of last week with 22 points, and Allan scored 17 with an impressive post-up game.
Otago Boys' played some good basketball after the first quarter, but they were always to find the job difficult after going scoreless for the first seven and a-half minutes, and trailing 19-5.
Irritation was evident for Otago Boys', with Nuggets player Ethan Carruthers letting out a scream of frustration after a missed lay-up, but he responded quickly, scoring 17 points with an array of shots.
However, they did draw close towards the end with Southland Shark player Paratene Mcleod in fine form from the three-point line, top-scoring in the game with 25 points.
Earlier, University Blue (2-3) doubled their win total with an upset victory over a Saints (3-2) side without star Ollie Smith.
After his team was trailing at halftime, University player Adam Dunstan struck form, top-scoring for the game with 21 points.
Running mate Campbell Arnott contributed 14 points for University with some impressive jump shooting.
For the Saints, Nuggets player Damon Cleverley top-scored with 18 points to continue his good form.
Earlier, Oceana Nugget Sam King made his debut for the season, with the Falcons (4-1) putting on a dominant display of basketball to beat the Bombers (0-5) 69-54.
Tony Wallbutton was on form again with 18 points, but the addition of King, with 15 points, made the Falcons untouchable as the winless Bombers had no answer.
Steve Robinson top-scored for the Bombers with 18 points.
- John McKenzie.
