A strong second half helped the Magic Lions claim a second win in their intraclub derby.
The side beat the four-time defending champion Mid City Magic A 80-68 as the second round of men’s club basketball began on Saturday.
It followed a win over the Magic on opening day, although it was a far stronger side the Lions beat this time.
The Magic boasted Nuggets trio Mitchell Hughan, Joe Ahie and Aaron Roydhouse — who was returning after a concussion lay-off.
Guards Hughan and Ahie had 21 and 19 points respectively.
But it was not enough to carry the Magic.
Aside from Josh Reeves’ 12 points, no-one else scored more than four.
The Lions were once again led by the league’s leading scorer Dallas Hartmann, who had 18 points to propel his side to victory.
Nathan Hanna and Joe McAuley also chipped in with 15 and 13 points each.
Both McAuley and Hartmann helped the Lions get off to a strong start.
They led 27-20 at the first break, but stalled in the second quarter as they were held to just nine points.
At the same time, Reeves hit twice from deep for the Magic, while Ahie scored 13 himself to take a halftime lead of 40-36.
From there the Lions held the Magic to just 14 points in each of the two remaining quarters.
They rediscovered their scoring touch, getting contributions across the board to lead 62-54 at three-quarter time and pull away to a double-digit victory.
It leaves the Lions in a tie for second with a 4-2 record, while the Magic drops to fourth at 3-3.
Varsity rediscovered its winning ways to join the Lions in that tie, beating the City Rise Bombers 93-84 after losses in its past two games.
The game was tight throughout and after the first quarter ended 24-24, the students held a small buffer at the end of each quarter.
Varsity guard Kyle Owen continued his impressive season with 16 points, while Bombers duo Steve Robinson and Otago Nugget Matthew Bardsley — returning from injury — each had 20.
The St Kilda Saints remain unbeaten with a comfortable 87-61 victory over the Andy Bay Falcons.
Point guard Michael Ruske put on a classy display as he top-scored with 34 points, including 18 of the Saints’ 20 in the third quarter.
Paden Kennedy top-scored with 13 for the Falcons, who move to 1-5 and stay in fifth.
