Purser's Hawks get past Magic in thriller
A Ben Purser jump shot with three seconds remaining has seen Perry Lakes avoid an upset loss to Mandurah Magic and record a thrilling one-point win.
Down 82-83 with 11 seconds on the clock, Joe-Alan Tupaea was able to force a five-second violation that allowed the Hawks one last chance to snatch victory, before Purser knocked down the open shot from the top of the keyway.
After starting the match with a 9-0 run Perry Lakes led by seven points at the first change and by 14 at one point in the second but a 30-12 third quarter from Mandurah took the momentum away from the home side.
The Magic’s lead even stretched out to 14 points early in the fourth period but again the Hawks were able to claw their way back into the contest and Perry Lakes coach Dion Dagostino said that was the biggest positive of the match.
“That’s the sixth time this year we’ve done it, been in spots we shouldn’t have won and won it. I don’t know, we seem to keep pulling them off, I guess you can look at it as a good thing or a bad thing but at the end of the day we’re getting the [win] on the board,” he said.
“We hit them real hard at training Thursday night, I think they had heavy legs. You’ve got to get up for teams like that, we warned them all game ‘you’ve got to respect Mandurah’.
“I think we’re going to be good. I wouldn’t want to play us in the finals.”
Purser’s game-winning two-points part of his team-leading 20, while Casey Crevelone had a game-high 25 for the Magic.
The win is Perry Lakes’ fourth straight and moves them two-games clear of Willetton in fourth and all but ends the Magic’s slim finals hopes.
In women’s action, Perry Lakes defended second spot on the ladder from third-placed Mandurah with a 68-60 win.
The win, Perry Lakes' sixth straight, was secured with a dominant second half, where it outscored the in-form Magic 40-25, which overturned an 11-point deficit from early in the third quarter.
Tegan Walker and Christine Boyd shared 16 points for the Lady Hawks, while Hailey Dunham had 18 points for Mandurah, which stayed in third spot despite seeing its seven-game winning streak end.
In round 15 of SBL action Perry Lakes face Stirling Senators at the WABC and the Magic take on East Perth in Mandurah.
Article by Ben Cameron at the WA Basketball Centre
Photos by Darren Speedie (Vision Inspired Photography)
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