State Basketball League: Dour weekend for Mandurah Magic men with losses to Willetton, Kalamunda

Shaun Stewart, Jamal Shabazz and Chudier Pal all put in solid outings across the weekend but the Magic weren’t able to get over the line in either of their matches, going down 90-73 to Willetton before being thumped 127-74 against a rampant Kalamunda at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Saturday night.

A gallant first half had Mandurah in the game against Willetton when they trailed by just one point at the long break, but a late collapse in the final period saw – in which the Tigers outscored the Magic 24-10 – saw the home side cruise to victory.

It appeared the writing was on the wall when Mandurah ended the first quarter with a seven-point deficit on their hands, but inspired by a 33-point performance from all-star guard Stewart they managed to claw back into the contest to trail by a lone point at half time.

They stuck with the seventh-placed Tigers until the final quarter but couldn’t run with them in the end.

Stewart ended the night with four rebounds and five assists to team with his 33 points, while import forward Shabazz posted 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

It was Pal’s turn to shine against Kalamunda, but he did so on his lonesome as the Magic were dealt a hefty and dour 53-point thumping.

The Magic were off to a hot start on offence with 26 points in the opening quarter, but were left eight points down when they allowed the Suns to put up 34 of their own.

Things only got worse for the home side from there, going down in every quarter (including being outscored 32-8 in the last) as they struggled to fight their way back into the game.

Pal was the shining light for the team, banking nine of his 11 shot attempts on his way to 22 points and seven rebounds.

Stewart tallied 15 points and four assists while Shabazz went for 19 and four rebounds.

The Magic return to action for the penultimate round of the State Basketball League season when they take on Cockburn next Saturday night before returning home for a Sunday night match-up with Geraldton.