Mandurah Magic have snapped their two game losing streak, taking down the Tigers by seven points at Willeton Basketball Stadium on Saturday, 95-88.
Round 9 of the NBL season looked tipped in the Tigers favour, coming off a heard-earned Friday night road win over the South West Slammers, while Magic had suffered two consecutive losses against the Buccaneers and Wolves.
Without big man Oliver Hayes-Brown, who was on call at the Perth Wilcats MVP Ball, the Tigers still had and impressive start, with Michael Vigor and Damien Scott leading the charge.
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READ NOWThe Tigers led 25-23 at quarter-time, then put up 28 points to pull away with an 11-point margin by half-time.
However, a talented Magic line-up couldn’t be kept down for long, managing a 10-0 scoring streak at one stage during the third quarter, turning that 11-point deficit into an eight-point lead heading into the final term.
Mandurah were able to seal the deal in the fourth quarter and finish 95-88, improving to a 6-4 record after a shaky start to the NBL season. Willeton slipped to 5-6 having split their Round 9 double-header.
Former Tiger Jay Bowie starred in the comeback win for Magic, putting up 27 points and seven rebounds. Another ex-Willeton star Kyle Armour delivered 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Mandurah.
Scott did all he could to try to lift Willeton to a second win in 24 hours, with a season-best 37 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Vigor tried to make his 250th appearance a special one with 21 points, five rebounds and assists.
Mandurah also took on the Perry Lakes Hawks on Sunday and had a second victory, with the Magic starting off strong on their home floor at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.
By quarter-time they were leading 27-17 but Perry Lakes fought back in the second quarter with 24 points to 16 and that cut the Mandurah lead to 43-41 at half-time.
The Magic were able to pull away, though, and they managed to build a game-high 16-point advantage during the third term.
In the end, Mandurah prevailed with a 96-87 win to the Hawks.
Round 10 will see Mandurah Magic host the Cockburn Cougars at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on June 17.