A stunning fourth quarter comeback wasn’t enough to buoy the Mandurah Magic men to a win over the East Perth Eagles in an offensive showdown on Saturday night.
The Magic came storming home on the back of a 43-point final quarter, but fell just short erasing the Eagles’ lead completely going down 122-129.
Both sides shot the ball at a high clip and stuffed the scoreboard numbers as defence seemed a forgotten word for each side across the four quarters.
Each enjoyed a hot start, with Mandurah (led by 11 points from Fletcher Klasztorny) just outscoring their East Perth counterparts 33-31 in the opening period.
But the Magic’s scoring dried up heading into the second, as East Perth took a strong 13-point lead into the half time break.
It was a resurgent Mandurah side that came out in the second half, but their defence continued to waiver as East Perth stretched their lead to 24 points heading into the final term.
But Mandurah found a way to cut into the Eagles’ advantage in the fourth.
Taylor Mullenax opened the quarter with seven straight points as the Magic’s offence blazed East Perth’s defenders.
Will McNeill poured in eight points for the quarter, while Caiel Van Sambeeck tallied of his eight points in the final two minutes.
But despite scoring a whopping 43 points for the term and outscoring the Eagles by 17, Mandurah wasn’t able to erase the entire deficit.
Mullenax finished the night with an equal game-high 31 points to go with his eight rebounds, while McNeill recorded 27 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
Klasztorny (17 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Van Sambeeck (eight points, eight rebounds) were also productive for the Magic.
Mason Bragg led the way for the Eagles with 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Mandurah will look to bounce back when they take on the Perth Redbacks this Friday night.