A statement display has left a clear favourite as the run into the Dunedin men’s club basketball playoffs looms.
The Mid City Magic handed the City Rise Bombers their first loss in over a month, extending their winning streak to seven games in the process.
Yet it was the way the Magic so comprehensively beat down on the Bombers that was most impressive in this outing.
The 107-78 win came via one of the Magic’s most cohesive displays in recent years.
It looked to play through big man Nathan Hanna in the post, who had 21 points himself, but crucially attracted plenty of defensive attention.
From there, the lethal Magic guards were able to play off Hanna, proving far too much for the Bombers to handle.
Mitchell Hughan continued his stellar comeback season with a game-high 22 points, while Oscar Hickey and Dallas Hartmann had 17 and 16 each.
It might be a stretch to say the game was over at quarter-time.
The Bombers had a long way back from the 30-13 deficit they faced, though.
After an even start, that guard trio, plus athletic forward Eric Stratton, took the Magic on a 15-0 run.
It was a devastating period.
The Bombers had plenty of time to haul that in, but it was all they could manage to get it back to 45-36 midway through the second quarter.
Caleb Smiler (20 points) began getting to the line, while Joseph Euphrat (13 points) began finding his range.
But just as the Bombers had reduced the deficit to single-digits, Hickey hit a triple to restore the double-digit lead.
And that was how it stayed for the remainder of the game.
The Magic took a 52-41 lead to halftime, before Hanna’s inside presence and Hughan’s outside class proved too much for the Bombers to handle.
The lead grew to 82-62 by the end of the third quarter, before the Magic put away a dominant fourth quarter to win by nearly 30.
It was the Bombers’ first loss since losing to the Magic in the last round.
Meanwhile, the Magic took its season record to 11-1, its only shortcoming being a two-point overtime loss to the St Kilda Saints in the first round.
In other games the St Kilda Saints put on their most convincing display since that win over the Magic, beating the Andy Bay Falcons 96-68.
The Saints did their damage early, leading 60-27 at halftime, Micah Tupou top-scoring with 23 points.
In the other game, Noah McDowall led the Magic Lions with 19 points as they beat Varsity 90-48.
Three weeks remain of the regular season.
