The Mandurah Magic men gave a valiant effort but it wasn't enough to see them overcome a sluggish start against the top-two Geraldton Buccaneers on Saturday night.
The Magic hit the road for the five-and-a-half hour bus trip to Active West Stadium, but unfortunately were crippled by a slow opening quarter, ending the game with an 89-74 defeat despite clawing back into the contest.
Shaun Stewart and Marvin Smith fired for 28 and 21 points in the game respectively, and it was the latter that had Mandurah on the board early.
Smith scored the team's first four points but unfortunately it was the home side jumping out of the blocks with 30-14 quarter making an early statement.
But despite being down on the road, Mandurah refused to give in, with Stewart leading the charge as the Magic heated up in the second.
The MVP-candidate put up 13 points in the quarter while Travis Durnin got involved on the stat sheet, helping Mandurah to 27 points for the period and trimming the Buccs' lead to 11 points at the half.
Stewart hit a couple of early baskets (one from three) to cut the lead to nine points in the early stages of the third, but Geraldton remained composed.
Their defence reeled in Mandurah's hot hand and despite a nine-point burst from Smith, the Buccs took a 13-point lead into the final break.
The Magic threatened to force their way back into the contest again when Akau Deng slammed home a dunk to cut the lead to eight points with five minutes on the clock, but the Buccs held steady to carve out the victory.
Stewart finished the night with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals while Smith went for 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
The Magic will face another tough test when they remain on the road to face the fourth-placed Joondalup Wolves this Saturday night.