THE Mandurah Magic men, on a high following a buzzer beater one-point win against Lakeside on the weekend, will come up against East Perth and Cockburn in a double header this weekend.
The Magic trailed by as much as seven points early in the final period but regained the lead with five minutes remaining.
Cockburn fought back to lead by three points with one minute left. The lead was reduced to two points shortly after but with only six seconds on the clock it looked too big a task for the Magic.
Enter Magic import Paul Hafford.
With one second remaining Hafford sunk a three-pointer to hand the Magic the, 117-116, victory.
Magic coach Jason Kyle said it was good to be on the other side of a one-point result after losing to Perry Lakes by one point earlier in the season.
“You can down on things if you lose too many close ones,” he said. “Winning can become a habit but so can losing.” Kyle said Lakeside’s record didn’t reflect the strength on their team.
“Lakeside is better than what their ladder position suggests, they have played all the top teams,” he said.
It was an important win for the Magic (4-3), who now sit in sixth position.
Had Lakeside (2-5) won they would have drawn level with the Magic but are now struggling 11th place.
Rhett Della came off the bench to hit 30 with Hafford chipping in with 25 points. The Magic kick off its weekend campaign against lowly East Perth (1-6) at 8pm on Saturday in Morley.
“Tom Jervis [Perth Wildcats centre] has returned to East Perth so we will have to watch him,” Kyle said.
On Sunday, the Magic return home to face Cockburn (4-3) at 2.30pm who are one percentage point above them in fifth. Kyle said the Magic would really attack this weekend.
“If we can get the two wins it would put us in a good position,” he said.