Just two weeks after clawing their way off the bottom of the Men’s State Basketball League ladder, the Mandurah Magic have found themselves back there after a pair of losses to East Perth and Joondalup.
Despite prolific performances from regular star duo Ben Smith and Trevor Setty, the side could not notch a win in the double-header, falling to top-eight side East Perth on Friday night before being defeated by the powerhouse Joondalup Wolves outfit on Saturday night.
The Magic started well against East Perth despite shooting just one of their seven attempts from the three-point line.
They were moving fluently on offence and recorded 28 points in the quarter to be tied with the Eagles at the first break.
But Mandurah’s poor three-point shooting in the first continued in the second, and eventually leaked into the arch as well, restricting their second quarter total to just 15 points as the Eagles broke away to a 12-point advantage at the half.
Mandurah regained their form in the third with some efficient shooting leading to a big quarter to get them back in the game, but a fade-out in the fourth left them 10 points behind when the buzzer sounded, resulting in a 98-108 loss.
Setty had a huge night in the Magic’s loss, continuing his stellar season with 28 points, 17 rebounds and four assists.
Smith joined him atop the stat cards with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Thomas Remmerswaal continued to perform in the absence of Taylor Mullenax with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The following night saw the Magic blown out by reigning premiers Joondalup.
Unlike the Friday night match-up, the Magic never stood a chance against the Wolves, losing every quarter by at least nine points eventuating to a 52-point drubbing.
The Magic trailed by 29 points at the final break, but an 18-41 final quarter in favour of Joondalup stretched the margin to a blowout.
Again, Setty was the star for the Magic with 22 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn’t nearly enough as his side went down 78-130.
Injuries have derailed the Magic’s season, but despite the poor 2016 campaign head coach Jason Kyle remains optimistic about 2017.
"There's always some light at the end of the tunnel of course and there's plenty to look forward to,” he told the State Basketball League website.
“There's definitely a lot of things to look forward to but we still have a lot of basketball to finish this year and hopefully the boys can work hard and finish well.”
The Magic take on Kalamunda this Friday night.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
