Two upset wins have kept the men’s club basketball playoff race tight.
The Andy Bay Falcons and Magic Lions both beat higher-placed teams on Saturday to keep a three-way race for the last two playoff spots open.
Both move to four wins and will fight the City Rise Bombers (five wins) for those spots as the league enters its third round next week.
The Falcons had a 103-93 victory over the Bombers, while the Lions snapped the St Kilda Saints’ eight-match unbeaten run with a 69-65 win.
The Falcons offence operated well from the beginning, moving the ball and pushing in transition to score freely early.
They took a 30-16 lead to the first break and extended that to 58-43 at halftime.
Five players finished with 15 points or more; Logan Dicker and Paden Kennedy had 22 each.
The Bombers worked their way back in the third quarter.
Returning Otago Nugget Matthew Bardsley, who was in foul trouble early, began to find his way to the hoop.
He made several tough finishes look easy on his way to 31 points, helping the Bombers close the gap to six.
Hamish Robertson (15 points) hit back for the Falcons and enabled them to take an 80-67 lead to the final break.
The Bombers kept the pressure on, although foul trouble caught up with them and three late baskets to Alex Yarnall(19 points) helped the Falcons hold off the comeback.
Meanwhile, the Lions halted the Saints’ hot form in a low-scoring match between two depleted sides.
Both sides were notably missing star point guards in Darcy Knox (Lions) and James Ross (Saints).
The Lions opened a 19-15 lead, which became 40-30 at halftime.
They battled well with star guard Dallas Hartmann (12 points) in foul trouble, although the Saints were able to eat their way into the lead.
The margin was eight heading into the final quarter, and while veteran Matt Gillan (16 points) added three triples, they were unable to haul in the deficit.
The Saints drop to an 8-2 record with the loss, tied with the Mid City Magic atop the table.
That came after the Magic, which now has Nuggets Josh Aitcheson and Richie Rodger back, beat Varsity 80-56.
Aitcheson top-scored with 15 points for the Magic, while Aaron Roydhouse and Mitchell Hughan had 13 each.
