NBL1 West: Rockingham Flames maintain top two spot after clash with Magic

Rockingham Flames have maintained their position in the NBL1 West’s top two after beating Mandurah Magic away on Friday night at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Magic had won their past two matches coming into the game, while the Flames were sitting second with three straight wins.

Despite the absence of key players the Rockingham Flames proved too strong for the Mandurah Magic, with Devondrick Walker, Tom Jervis and Ryan Godfrey leading the way.

Walker produced 11 points, five assists and four rebounds in the first quarter, helping the Flames go on an 11-0 run at one stage to open up a 14-point edge and to be leading 30-17 by quarter-time.

Mandurah pushed back to score 34 points in the second quarter but it wasn’t enough to slow down Rockingham, who went on to score 30 points and hold a 60-51 lead by half-time.

Rockingham’s defence was locked in during the third quarter, with Mandurah scoring just nine points while Flames went on to score a further 21.

The 101-82 point win improved the Flames’ record for the season to 15-4, while Magic are now 10-8 and still not quite locked into a playoff position.

It was a stunning shooting performance all night from Rockingham and as a team they went at 59.4 per cent from the floor while knocking down 14/30 at 46.7 per cent from downtown. The Magic shot 38.5 per cent from the field and 34.4 per cent from deep.

Walker finished the night with 29 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds while shooting 11/17 and hitting 6/10 from three-point land.

Godfrey enjoyed his greater offensive responsibility in the absence of Marshall Nelson and the 286-game captain put up 23 points, six rebounds and three assists. Jervis was outstanding as a big man playmaker with 18 points, nine assists and seven boards.

Travis Durnin added 12 points and 11 rebounds, Brendan Redhead nine points and Jake Amos eight.

Dequan Abrom battled hard for Mandurah to finish with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, with Riley Parker delivering 17 points and four assists while hitting 4/6 from three-point range.

Jay Bowie added 13 points and four rebounds for the Magic, Ray Turner 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Kyle Armour five points and four assists.

Rockingham Flames will take on the Willetton Tigers in round 16 at Willetton Basketball Stadium on July 30.