The Geraldton Buccaneers are onto the prelims after beating the Mandurah Magic 106-100 in first finals match
The Geraldton Buccaneers are just one game away from returning to the NBL1 West decider after punching their ticket to the preliminary final with a 106-100 win over the Mandurah Magic on Saturday.
Just four points separated the two sides with one minute left to play, but the Buccaneers held on to bring home the win during the first round of finals in front of a sold out Activewest Stadium.
Camera IconGeraldton got up over Mandurah in the first round of finals. Credit: Arctic Moon Photography/Arctic Moon Photography
The contest started with Johny Narkle and Michael Durr facing in the tip off. Despite the ball going Mandurah’s way, Narkle forced the turnover to give the Buccaneers possession and Josh Braun pulled up from deep for the games first score.
Follow up scores from Nik DeSantis and Narkle gave Geraldton the first seven points of the game, as they managed to build their lead up to 12-points during the opening term. Going into the quarter time break ahead 33-25.
A defensive hiccup in the second quarter saw the away side take the lead, as Mandurah managed to score 13-points unaware.
Coming out of the main break trailing, scores from Josh Keyes and Narkle quickly turned the deficit into a lead for the Buccs.
Geraldton locked in to outscore Mandurah 22-17 in the third, leaving just two points the difference going into the fourth quarter.
A steal from captain Aaron Ralph early in the final term turned into a Liam Hunt score, as the Buccaneers looked to put the game away.
Camera IconAaron Ralph going for the rebound. Credit: Arctic Moon Photography/Arctic Moon Photography
The Magic kept knocking on the door, keeping the margin tight late in the game.
After causing headaches for the Buccaneers, Mandrauh’s Joel Murray fouled out after picking up his fifth for the night.
With the little time remaining whittling down and just four points the margin, after missing a free-throw, NBL1 West all-defensive starter Narkle went right at his man, forcing the pick and drawing the foul to regain possession.
From there the Buccaneers held on to take out the six-point win, guaranteeing they won’t have to play outside of Activewest Stadium until the grand final.
In the biggest game this season, the stars for the Buccaneers pulled up with Narkle dropping 29 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, while Hunt had 26 points with 14 rebounds.
Camera IconLiam Hunt under the basket. Credit: Arctic Moon Photography/Arctic Moon Photography
DeSantis added 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, off the bench Ralph scored 13 points.
League MVP Murray had 42 points before fouling out, while Durr scored 21 points with 16 rebounds for Mandurah.
Despite missing a pair of starters in Lachlan Bertram and Julian Pesava, the Magic managed to put up 100 points against the strong Geraldton defence – their third time doing so this season and are still the only team to put up triple digits against the Buccs this year.
The win guarantees Geraldton a spot in the preliminary final, with the side preparing to face the winner out of the Willetton Tigers and Rockingham Flames.
Whichever team gets up in the semi-final on Thursday will then have a quick turnaround to take on the Buccaneers in Geraldton on Saturday.
The Buccs now sit just one win away from reaching their third straight NBL1 West grand final, as the reigning champions look to repeat their efforts from last year.
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