A strong finish has helped the Magic Lions to a second win in as many weeks.
Big man Nathan Hanna dominated the paint with 33 points as the side beat the Andy Bay Falcons 93-84 in the men’s club competition on Saturday.
The result brought the Lions level on the table with the Falcons in a tie for fourth on three wins after eight games.
The Falcons held a two-point lead heading into the final quarter. However, the Lions held them to eight fourth-quarter points as they opened a gap the Falcons could not peg back.
Paden Kennedy had 17 first-quarter points for the Falcons — including five three-pointers — while Dallas Hartmann (24 points) provided an equally potent threat for the Lions.
The Falcons led 32-29 at the first break, before the Lions hit back as Hanna and shooting big man Joe McAuley (20 points) became prominent in giving them a 54-48 halftime lead. They extended that to double digits, before some full-court pressure enabled the Falcons to generate turnovers, while Jaren Roy had 12 points in the quarter to help haul in the lead.
That left the score at 76-74 heading into the last quarter. But the Lions defence locked in, while Hanna and Hartmann again proved key down the stretch to seal the win for the Lions.
Earlier, the St Kilda Saints were forced to work hard to extend their winning streak to seven games.
They trailed by eight heading into the final quarter against bottom-of-the-table Varsity.
However, they were able to hold the students to 12 fourth-quarter points to win 88-78.
James Ross led the way with 28 points, while Finn Barclay chipped in 22 and Tyler Lapham hit three triples in the final quarter.
Joseph Euphrat top-scored for Varsity with 20 points.
The Mid City Magic redeemed their first-round loss to the City Rise Bombers with an 88-74 win.
It had been tight early before the Magic opened a gap late in the third quarter.
Joe Ahie top-scored with 25 points, while Mitch Hughan added 21.