A tight win has helped the Mid City Magic open a gap in the race for the playoffs.
Matt Dukes hit three late free throws to ice a 93-88 win for the Magic over the Andy Bay Falcons in men’s club basketball on Saturday.
It moved the side to a 4-3 record to join Varsity, which lost to the Magic Lions, in a tie for third.
That created a three-game buffer for those two sides over the fifth-placed Falcons.
Otago Nuggets duo Joe Ahie and Mitch Hughan showed their class in controlling the game for the Magic.
They had 27 and 25 points respectively, generating much of the offence and taking over the game when the side needed a basket.
It had been tight the whole way and after the Falcons led 22-19 at the end of the first quarter, the Magic hit back to tie the score at 39-39 at halftime.
That became a 66-63 lead to the Magic at the end of third quarter.
The Falcons then gained ascendancy early in the fourth quarter, a nine-point run by Matt Pyper (24 points) giving them a 74-68 buffer.
However, the Magic’s backcourt duo stepped up and hit back.
They made back-to-back three-pointers early to swing momentum the defending champion’s way.
Ahie found himself open at the top of the key and drilled a triple to close the gap.
A deflection on the inbounds play then left Hughan to knock down another, closing the score back to 74-74.
The Falcons took back the lead via a three-pointer to Matt Brien — in his first game back from college in the United States — but the Magic stayed in touch.
A three-pointer to Dukes put the Magic ahead at 82-80, before Ahie hit another to open a five point lead.
The Falcons called a time-out, but Tim Kent-Royd (15 points) got to the hoop to extend the Magic’s lead to seven.
That was reduced to two in the dying stages, before Dukes drew a foul on the three-point line and hit the ensuing free throws.
The Lions moved into second-place with a 94-84 win over Varsity.
Nathan Hanna had 25 points as the side rode a 29-16 first quarter to hold off the students.
The St Kilda Saints remain untouched at the top of the table.
Nuggets centre Jack Andrew had 22 points as the side dispatched the winless City Rise Bombers 88-60 to remain a perfect 7-0.
The competition takes a break next weekend.
