It was the second straight win for Otago Boys', which had superior ball movement and more patience offensively than the Falcons.
Darcy Knox top scored for Otago Boys' with 25 points and Sam Timmins added 17 points and five blocks. Poor free-throw shooting cost the Falcons 10 points, the team combining to sink only 12 from 22 attempts. Otago Boys' shot 14 from 17.
Timmins, Brent Matehaere and Chris Hood out-muscled the Falcons in the paint and had a decisive edge on the offensive and defensive boards. The lead changed hands five times in the first quarter and a-half, before Otago Boys' gradually took control of the match.
The Falcons trailed by 14 points heading into the final quarter, but never accepted defeat. Instead, they went on 13-3 run and slashed the deficit to four points with 3min remaining.
However, Otago Boys' held its nerve from the free-throw line and claimed the win. A flurry of three-pointers highlighted the first quarter, as Knox and the Falcons' Tyler Lapham traded bombs in the first few possessions.
Matehaere drilled a three to give Otago Boys' an early 8-3 lead, before Tony Fisher, Sam Paterson and Lapham struck from beyond the arc to give the Falcons a 17-14 lead after the opening quarter.
Otago Boys' opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run, before Fisher buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 20-20.
Alarik McCarthy split a pair of free-throws to give the Falcons a 21-20 lead midway through the quarter, before Timmins claimed an offensive board and banked it in to give Otago Boys' the lead for good.
Knox showed off his crisp jump shot with a pair of three-pointers to give the school side a 36-32 lead at halftime. Otago Boys' extended its lead to 11 points midway through the third quarter after Josh Petermann sank a jumper. With both teams in the penalty, the final 5min of the quarter was dominated by free throws.
The Falcons were guilty of too often settling for long-range jumpers and trailed 55-41 with a quarter to play.
Fisher was outstanding for the Falcons, top-scoring with 24 points, including four three-pointers. Emerson Watson top-scored with 27 points as Varsity A (5-3) handed the St Kilda Saints (6-3) a second consecutive loss, 83-76.
Earlier, Micah Lepaio finished with 30 points as the benchless Magic (8-1) edged the Bombers (1-8) 83-82 to take a two-game lead at the top of the table.
By Robert van Royen.
