This time the St Kilda Saints withstood the comeback and then pulled away.
They briefly gave up their lead in the third quarter, but finished the stronger to beat the Mid City Magic 86-71, as the Dunedin men’s club competition resumed on Saturday.
The loss was just the second of the season for the Magic, who remain on top of the table.
Both teams will have a very different look from next week, now the Otago Nuggets’ season is finished, but it was a statement nonetheless from the Saints.
Notably, veteran guard-forward duo James Ross and Lawson Morris-Whyte showed they still have the ability to dominate against a good opponent.
Ross scored 31 points in his most dominant showing of the season, hitting from deep, off the dribble in the mid-range and using his feet to score at the hoop. Morris-Whyte added 25, playing well off Ross and crashing the boards well.
At the other end, they did well to hold Magic’s main threat, Mitchell Hughan, to just 10, while Dallas Hartmann and Tom Willmott were the key contributors with 22 and 20 respectively.
As is often the case, it was key periods in the game that decided this one.
The Saints led 23-18 at the end of the first quarter, before three-pointers from Will Andrews and Jamie MacDonald sparked a 9-0 run early in the second.
That gave them a buffer, which hovered around 10 points through the middle of the game.
They led 46-36 at halftime, before the Magic hit back in the third quarter, as they so often do after falling behind.
Willmott scored twice in transition, Brent Cheshire nailed a three-pointer from the wing, before Hughan sank two free throws and followed up with a mid-range pull-up over Ross.
It was a patch that showed what the Magic are capable of, as they reeled in the deficit and took a 54-53 lead.
But where teams will often unravel in those moments against the Magic, the Saints hung tough.
Morris-Whyte got to the line to sink a pair of free throws, and then finished in transition off a Ross pass, taking back the lead and settling the Saints.
They took a 63-56 lead to the final break, which they never gave up.
Ross continued to dictate terms in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back pull-ups to extend the lead back past 10 points, going to pour in 14 points in the quarter.
The win leaves the Saints in second-place with an 8-4 record, with three games of the regular season to play.
In the other game of the day, the Mid City Lions had to work for an 86-79 win over the Andy Bay Falcons.
The scores were tied at 60-60 late in the third quarter, before a run early in the fourth put the Lions into a winning position.
Christopher Christof tallied 31 points for the Lions, while Liam Boomer nailed 18 for the Falcons.
The City Rise Bombers were defaulted to by Varsity.
