Lions, Bombers, Falcons battle for finals spots
BASKETBALL
THE playoff race will go to the final week in men’s club basketball.
A win to the Magic Lions, coupled with losses to the City Rise Bombers and the Andy Bay Falcons on Saturday, leaves the trio in a scrap for two spots.
Both the Lions and Bombers are a win up on the Falcons, although the Falcons and Bombers will play essentially a playoff game this weekend.
An 8664 win over the Falcons was a crucial result for the Lions.
A strong period late in the third quarter and to start the fourth proved key after the margin had been hovering between four and eight points.
Sam Timmins and Kane Keil had 23 and 20 points respectively, while Darcy Knox got to the hoop in key moments to add 15. That trio dominated the scoring most of the way and while Logan Dicker (20 points) had a hot start for the Falcons, the Lions took a 2516 lead early.
The Falcons closed that gap as James Martinac’s rebounding created several secondchance points, but a strong finish to the half from Timmins left the Lions ahead 4031.
Baskets to Martinac and Dicker helped that gap close again.
But the Lions offensive fire power showed again, as Keil and Nathan Hanna came up with a handful of key plays late in the quarter.
That took the Lions’ lead to 6549 at the final break, which it extended past 20 shortly afterwards.
In the late game the Mid City Magic extended its unbeaten run to eight games with a 10586 win over the Bombers.
Mitch Hughan topscored for the Magic with 23 points, although it was a balanced effort from the side that got the job done.
Meanwhile, the Bombers leant heavily on Matt Bardsley, who poured in 39 points in a losing effort.
The Magic held a comfortable lead most of the way, extending it past 30 at one point early in the fourth quarter, before resting its stars towards the end of the game.
In the early game, the St Kilda Saints beat Varsity 9474 in a game that had no bearing on the playoffs — the Saints guaranteed a toptwo spot and Varsity unable to get off the bottom of the table.