Mandurah Magic has given Lakeside Lightning their first loss of the 2012 MSBL season with an inspiring 89-76 victory on Saturday night in Mandurah.

Before their best crowd of the season the Magic outplayed the Lightning on both ends of the floor to record their seventh victory of the season, matching the number of wins they had for the entire 2011 season.

The Magic were able to stay with the Lightning early in the game with suffocating defense and good ball movement on the offensive end. The swarming pressure from Mandurah’s Taylor Land on the defensive end prevented the Lightning from getting their sharp shooter Luke Payne any open looks.

Jarrad Prue started strong for the Lightning, grabbing his accustomed offensive rebounds and getting numerous second chances for his team. His defensive efforts on Magic import Taylor Mullenax was also impressive, as Prue held the Mandurah import scoreless in the first half.

However it was the other big man for the Magic who wasn’t so stoppable offensively. Tom Remmerswaal continued to hit the outside shot for Mandurah, and the combination of Andrew Bowman and Ben Caporn also provided a shooting spark for coach Jason Chalk.

The Magic took a one point lead into halftime as well as the momentum of the match. They came out strong in the third quarter and led by as much as 17 points in that term. Taylor Land continued to shut down Luke Payne, while marksmen Brad Jackson and the Sofoulis brothers were also off target from long range.

Lakeside appeared to put a run together in the fourth quarter as Prue’s rebounding provided more second chance points for the Lightning, but some crucial baskets from Bowman and Caporn snapped any momentum the Lightning appeared to gain, while Remmerswaal and Land put the finishing touches on the victory with some big shots.

“Everyone did a great job of realising what their roles were tonight. We have guys that step up every game when we need them too and guys that come off the bench doing a great job as well,” Magic import Taylor Land said post game.

“We have the utmost respect for Lakeside and knew they were going to be tough to play against but we did a great job at playing to our strengths and were able to come away with a big win.”

Remmerswaal led all scorers with 24 points, while Bowman finished with 16 points. Land contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Magic shot 51% from the field. They also outrebounded the Lightning 52-44.

Jarrad Prue was the outstanding performer for the Lightning with 22 points and 24 rebounds. Luke Payne was the next best with 12 points.

In earlier WSBL action, the Lakeside Lightning continued their impressive early season form with an 82-74 victory over Mandurah.

Jessica Seyler was the leading scorer for the Lightning, finishing with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Courtney Byrnes contributed 18 points.

Gemma Thomas was the high scorer for the Magic with 18 points followed by Tarsha Fletcher with 16 and Bree Klasztorny who had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Magic face a double header next weekend as they head to Willetton on Friday night to face the Tigers, and then return home on Saturday night for a clash with Goldfields. Lakeside faces another test as they host the Perth Redbacks on Friday night at home.

Article by Nathan Winch
Photo by Darren Speedie (Vision Inspired Photography)