3 days ago
Title completes Magic's perfect season
Perfection came within the Mid City Magic's reach early in the fourth quarter.
They had faced a dogged final test by a gutsy St Kilda Saints team to that point.
But when the break came, they ran rampant.
A 10-point lead rapidly grew to 24, and the Magic ran away with an 89-66 win in Saturday's Dunedin men's club basketball final.
It was a performance typical of their unbeaten season, and indeed befitting of their seven titles in the past nine years.
Certainly, you can stick with them for a quarter, or perhaps three.
But keeping with the Magic for a full 40 minutes is the real challenge.
And this year, their 17-0 record would indicate that was not possible.
Finals most valuable player Patrick Freeman led the Magic with 21 points, the forward prominent early in keeping the Magic afloat.
Dallas Hartmann, named league MVP for the second time, was equally influential and scored 14 points, while Mac Stodart and Noah McDowall had 13 each.
But there were contributions across the board from the Magic, and it was that depth that made them so hard to match.
The Saints gave them everything for three quarters though, and even led early in the second quarter.
Mike Ruske (22 points) was a threat driving and provided some classy finishes around the hoop, while Lawson Morris-Whyte (17 points) proved a reliable scoring source inside.
And they helped the Saints out to an 11-5 lead, a far more clinical start than a Magic team that struggled to finish.
Stodart got the Magic going inside, before Freeman began to use his length to score at the hoop and give the Magic a 24-17 lead.
But St Kilda called timeout and emerged in a 2-3 zone, which slowed the Magic offence.
At the other end, a Ruske floater ignited a run, which left the Saints ahead 26-24 at quarter-time.
That score remained tight early in the second, before the Magic went back inside to Stodart and Freeman to take back the lead.
A run ending in an Oscar Hickey three-pointer put the Magic ahead 45-35, and danger time threatened.
But Ruske pegged two back to make it 45-37 at halftime, before the Saints dug in after the break and Tyler Lapham hit a three-pointer to pull them back to 45-44.
McDowall hit two timely triples later in the quarrer, as the Magic took a 61-52 lead to three-quarter time.
And this time it really was danger.
Fatigue hit the Saints, stops came for the Magic and they lifted in transition, running the floor and crashing the boards to go on a relentless 14-0 run.
They led 81-57 at the end of that, at which point the championship was sealed with three minutes left.
The unbeaten season was the Magic's first, joining the Saints' unbeaten 2022 championship.
Hartmann, Ruske, Patrick Tipene (City Rise Bombers), Harry Bezett (Mid City Lions) and Jack Hollingworth (Varsity) were named to the league's All Star Five.
