IT WAS business as usual for the Dominos Pizza Buccaneers on Saturday.

A surprisingly good crowd attended the match against bottom-of-the-table Mandurah Magic at the Tip Top Stadium and though the final 116-101 scoreline was a fair indication of the Buccs’ superiority, the Magic were not easy meat.

The first quarter was rather tame with Mandurah battling to find passage to the basket and the Buccs doing enough to stay in front without much in the way of flair.

It took the Magic three minutes to score but by then they were beginning to find some rhythm and tenaciously kept the Buccs in view.

The standout for the Buccs in this term was the brilliant shooting of Luke Meyer. He landed 16 of his eventual 35 points (at 65 per cent) while the highlight was provided by Aaron Ralph, who came off the bench and immediately nailed a three.

The Buccs built on their 31-23 lead when play resumed but again Mandurah fought back and at the six minute mark Tom Remmerswaal nosed them ahead with a determined basket.

A Meyer triple returned the lead to the Buccs and though the Magic again edged in front, a long Thomas three, unloaded when the shot clock was out of juice, and another from substitute Luke Wrensted, put the Buccs ahead 48-47 at the long break.

Mandurah continued to work hard in the third quarter, twice taking the lead and twice drawing level with former Wildcat Aaron Trahair reminding all that class is permanent even when it carries a few more kilos and years.

He was especially effective in concert with Shaun Bennison but the Buccs finally found top gear thanks in large part to some great defence from Ralph and the usual complement of rebounds from Matt Wundenburg (19 of the team total of 45).

Thomas (21pts at 62 per cent) was also causing damage while another Meyer basket on the buzzer gave the Buccs a handy 79-69 lead at the last pause.

The Buccs kept the foot on the pedal in the last quarter though Trahair landed some massive threes as did Kane Thomason – indeed between them they made 11 from 22 from outside the arc.

The Buccs eased to a 15-point win in a game that perhaps tested them more than expected but with Greg Brown out and Mike LeBlanc benched for half the game, coach Ray Evans would have few complaints.

Geraldton 116 (L Meyer 35, D Thomas 21, A Ralph 18, M LeBlanc 16, M Wundenburg 15) def Mandurah 101 (S Bennison 27, A Trahair 19, T Remmerswaal 17, K Thompson 17, B Caporn 14).

By Victor Tanti (Geraldton Guardian)