Just two games stand between the Mid City Magic and a perfect regular season.
The team continued their dominance of Dunedin men’s club basketball on Saturday, sweeping aside the Mid City Lions 116-81, withstanding a comeback and running rampant in the fourth quarter.
Otago Nuggets duo Patrick Freeman and Noah McDowall led the team with 23 points each, and it is having that type of firepower back on a regular basis that makes this team so foreboding.
The Magic last went unbeaten through the regular season in 2017, although dropped a non-knockout game early in the playoffs — under the old playoff system — before bouncing back to win the title.
Only the St Kilda Saints have managed a complete unbeaten season in recent times — at least the last 15 years — sweeping the league in their 2022 title.
Perhaps that puts into context the dominance of this Magic team.
They have shown they can find ways to win the close ones. They have also shown they can run all over teams.
Saturday was the latter.
They jumped out to a 56-39 lead at halftime, before the Lions made their only real run of the game.
Lions guard Lachie Cameron (13 points) hit two three-pointers to ignite his team, before Harry Zangouropoulos scored twice at the hoop.
Cameron added a third triple, before Tom Severne got to the hoop to make it 60-54.
But just as quickly as momentum swung, the Magic snatched it back.
McDowall hit a three-pointer of his own, before finishing through contact to complete a three-point play.
Freeman used his length and athleticism to get to the hoop, before McDowall hit a pair of free throws.
And just like that the Magic had gone on a 10-2 run, restoring the score to 70-56. That became 78-60 by the end of the quarter, before the Magic ran away in a 38-point fourth quarter.
Notably, Otago Nuggets centurion Josh Aitcheson turned out for the Magic, scoring 10 points in his last game before moving to Manchester.
The forward first played A grade in 2014 as a year 11 schoolboy and was the league’s most valuable player in 2017.
Arguably the league’s most dominant player of the past decade, he has always returned to the club league at the conclusion of the NBL and was key in winning six championships in a seven-year span with the Magic.
If anyone is to deny the Magic this year, it is likely the City Rise Bombers.
They beat Varsity 75-56 on the back of 18 points from Caleb Smiler and 17 points for Patrick Tipene.
In the late game the St Kilda Saints swept aside the Andy Bay Falcons 90-58, Tyler Lapham leading the Saints with 18 points.
