After splitting last weekend’s games to East Perth and Rockingham, the Mandurah Magic men’s team remain precariously placed inside the top eight heading towards the 2013 finals.

Their 101-93 loss to East Perth and 104-87 victory over the Flames sees the Magic sitting in seventh position on the State Basketball League ladder, with only two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Friday night’s game against East Perth was a physical and at times a spiteful clash, with both teams each having a player disqualified in the final few minutes. Bad blood has been brewing between these two teams, which goes back to last year’s quarter finals when the Magic were knocked out by the Eagles.

The Magic started strongly, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead before Eagles centre Tom Jervis settled his team’s offense and brought them back into the game. Taylor Mullenax did his best to battle Jervis down low, and was admirably backed up by Rhett Della, who was dominant in the rebounding count.

Eagles veteran Joe-Alan Tupaea proved to be a headache for the Magic guards, as he calmly controlled East Perth’s offense, while Magic guard Taylor Land did his best to push the tempo up the floor.

East Perth took an 11 point lead into the main break, but the Magic came out firing in the second half and were able to bring the margin back heading into the last quarter. Tempers flared in the final quarter between both teams when Tupaea kicked the ball into the face of a score bench official after play had stopped. Both benches were cleared and after the fight was broken up it was determined that Tupaea and Magic guard Andrew Bowman were ejected from the game.

This did nothing to deter Tom Jervis however as he proved to be the match winner for the Eagles, dominating both ends of the floor. Jervis finished with 39 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks. Taylor Mullenax was the leading scorer for the Magic with 28, while Taylor Land has 20 points and ten rebounds and Rhett Della finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Magic then travelled to Rockingham on Saturday night to face the Flames. The Magic led from start to finish recording a comfortable 17 point win. A strong first quarter by the Magic set up their victory.

Taylor Mullenax was again the standout for the Magic, finishing with 34 points and 11 rebounds. Taylor Land had an excellent night with 18 points and 12 assists. Rhett Della, playing against his former team, finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Paul Pantaleo had 12 points on six from six shooting.

Cooper Land was the standout for the Flames, ending his night with 36 points. The Magic were outstanding from the field, shooting at 51% compared to Rockingham’s 36%.

The Mandurah Magic women also split their weekend’s results with a scrappy 48-41 victory over East Perth on Friday night, followed by a 73-49 to Rockingham on Saturday night.

The Magic victory against last placed East Perth certainly was not a pretty win, as both teams shot poorly from the field with the Magic converting on 27% from the field compared to East Perth’s 23%.

The Magic took a comfortable 34-19 lead into half time but East Perth showed some spirit in the third quarter led by veteran Nicole Jorre St Jorre, as they were able to outscore the Magic 14-4 and cut the lead back to as little as two points.

The solid effort of Bree Klasztorny on both ends of the floor was enough for the Magic to hold on for their fifth win of the season. Klasztorny finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Ashlee Sidebottom was also solid with 11 points and nine rebounds. Jorre St Jorre was the best on court for East Perth, with 16 points.

The Magic found the going a lot tougher on Saturday night as they faced last year’s runners up and arguably the best player in the league in Samantha Whitcomb.

However the Magic started well and took a three point lead into quarter time, but normality was restored for the Flames as they went on a tear in the second quarter, outscoring the Magic 33-11.

Poor shooting once again let the Magic down as they converted only 27% of their shots. Turnovers were also a sore point for the Magic, but on a pleasing note they were able to out-rebound the Flames 48-44.

Samantha Whitcomb once again staked her claim for MVP honours with a dominant performance finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds. Kaye Tucker was also solid for the Flames with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Casey Mihovilovich was the top scorer for the Magic finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Bree Klasztorny rounded off a good weekend with 11 points and a massive 18 rebounds.

The Magic return home this Friday night to face the Perth Redbacks, which will also see the Magic celebrate Past Players Night. Tip off is 6.30pm for the women’s game and 8.30pm for the men’s game.