Magic grind down Senators

Mandurah Magic have continued their solid early start to the 2012 MSBL season with a tough 96-86 victory of the John Hughes Stirling Senators at the Warwick Leisure Centre on Saturday night.

The Magic improve their record to two wins and one loss with the ten point victory, while the Senators remain with one win for the season so far.

The big men of both teams dominated the game early with Taylor Mullenax and Adhar Mayen trading buckets in the low post. Stirling began to run the ball, seemingly catching Mandurah out at their own game. It proved effective as the Senators took a two point lead into half time.

Stirling looked to cash in on a sluggish Magic outfit by continuing to push the ball up court early in the third, and ran the pick and roll effectively. This freed up Mayen for numerous outside shots which he made count.

However foul trouble began to plague the Senators late in the third and after stretching their lead out to double digits, Mandurah slowly chipped away at the free throw line and cut Stirling’s lead back to five at the last break.

Mandurah started the fourth quarter looking to Mullenax to provide an early spark, and with support from Tom Remmerswaal on the offensive boards the Magic took the lead. From there they never looked back, picking up the tempo on the fast break and running the Senators off the floor. Mayen did well to keep the Senators close with some big outside shots but with Remmerswaal dominating the boards on both ends and Taylor Land and Andrew Bowman running the floor effectively, the Magic cruised to victory.

“As a team we need to become more consistent in sticking with our game plan. We want to run and when we do we look good however at times we often just walk the ball up the court,” Magic coach Jason Chalk said postgame.

“I was impressed with the boys once again as to how they got themselves back into the game with heart and determination. This is something the boys have always had.”

“We will be having a hard week on the training track this week as we look to find some more consistency."

Mullenax again proved to be a dominant force, not only scoring from the low post but showing a soft touch from range. He finished with a game high 37 points going along with 11 rebounds. Remmerswaal was again solid for the Magic with 19 points and 17 rebounds and Andrew Bowman came close to a triple double for the second consecutive week with 15 points, ten rebounds and six assists. A key factor in the game was the Magic out-rebounding the Senators 57-40.

Mayen was outstanding for the Senators ending the game with 34 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Jones was next best with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Earlier in the night, the Western Stainless Stirling Senators shocked the Mandurah Magic with a dominant 67-48 win. The victory was the Senators first of the year, and leaves Mandurah winless after two games.

Lauren Jeffers was outstanding for the Senators finishing with 22 points. Fiona Madden was also a major contributor with 13 points and 16 rebounds in the team’s all-around performance that would be pleasing for Coach Vlad Alava.

Tarsha Fletcher was the top scorer for the Magic with 10 points, while Shelley Boston dominated the rebound count with 19.

The Magic head to Belmont next week for a tough matchup against the Perth Redbacks, while the Senators host the East Perth Eagles on Friday night before taking the trip south to Eaton to face the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers on Saturday.

Article by Nathan Winch
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)

Follow the SBL on Facebook




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Download the GameDay App!

Stay up-to-date with your favourite teams and keep an eye on your rivals by accessing the latest match results, fixtures and stats via GameDay App.

GameDay Splash Screen
App Store Google Play