The Mid City Magic was made to work to keep its unbeaten season alive on Saturday.
It claimed a 77-72 win over the second-placed St Kilda Saints, guard Benoit Hayman scoring its last 10 points to overcome a deficit late in the game.
The Magic had led the majority of the way, pulling away every time the Saints got close in the first three quarters.
Those runs were characteristic of the way the game went and were the defining feature down the stretch. After trailing 63-55, a 9-0 run through the middle gave the Saints their first lead since early in the game at 64-63.
Three James Ross baskets extended that to 70-65, before Darcy Knox cut that deficit to three.
At that point, Hayman took over.
He drilled a three-pointer to even up the scores, before hitting a mid-range pull-up jumper to take back the lead.
Finishing through contact off an offensive rebound, he then drew a foul and hit the additional free throw, before making a transition lay-up to finish with 24 points.
Both teams had struggled to get going early, but it was the Magic that was the first team to find its flow.
A floater and a three-pointer by Matt Dukes helped it open a gap, before four Richie Rodger points took the score to 14-7.
That momentum continued as the Magic reached 22-9 at one point, but the Saints were able to stem the flow and go into the break down 22-13.
A three-pointer from Ross enabled the Saints to cut that lead to six as the next quarter began, as it continued to fight back to get the score to 26-24.
However, the Magic would not let it get any closer before halftime, a Dukes three-pointer following a Brent Cheshire basket taking it to 31-24.
The Saints once again fought back after getting back within two earlier in the quarter, Jamie Macdonald hitting a three-pointer to tie the game at 49-49.
A stronger finish allowed the Magic to pull out to 60-55 at three-quarter time, before several swings made for an exciting final period.
In other games, the Andy Bay Falcons held on to third with a 95-63 win over the Mid City Magic Lions.
Both sides were missing key players, but the Falcons adapted better to put on a clinical showing.
Hamish Robertson led the way with 21 points, while big men Matt Bazsika and Alex Yarnall had 18 and 16 each.
The City Rise Bombers moved into fourth with a 106-56 win over a Varsity team suffering the effects of university holidays.
