Manchester Magic wrapped up the runners-up spot in EBL Division One with an 83-78 victory against London Leopards on Saturday. (View Stats / Boxscore)

The fans at the Amaechi Basketball Centre were treated to a thrilling final league game of the season as the Magic managed to hold off a late rally to defeat the only side who could deny them second place.

 

Brandon Kimbrough knocked down a huge 3-pointer with 1:08 to play giving the Magic an 83-78 win and confirm their second place finish in Division One. Kimbrough scored 5 of his game high 26 points in the closing minutes after the Leopards had erased a 20 point Magic lead in the second half. Stefan Gill added 17 points and 4 assists and knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 5 seconds left to play which sealed the win

 

Hrvoje Pervan led the visitors for the fourth successive game, hitting 25 points, while Latham-Henry marked his return from injury with 20 points.

 

Russell Jordan finished with a 12-rebound, 11-point double-double, while Gareth Laws added 11 points for a short-handed Leopards team who were forced to name coach Jon Burnell in order to meet the minimum requirement of eight players.

 

While the Big Cats were clearly upset about the calls on Latham-Henry late in the game, they were also architects of their own downfall as they missed 11 of their 26 free-throws.

 

Pervan tied the game at 75 with 1:46 left as he drained an off balance 3-pointer from the right wing. The Leopards then had a chance to take the lead after Magic forward Adam Gerami was called for an offensive foul, but Gareth Laws missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.

 

Taner Adu then misfired on a 3-pointer for the Magic, but Pervan threw the ball out of bounds to set up Kimbrough’s go ahead bucket. Kimbrough inbounded the ball to John Linsley who passed the ball back to him and he calmly swished a 3-pointer to give the home side a 78 – 75 lead that they would not relinquish.

 

The Leopards came with only 7 players and 4 of their starters logged more than 30 minutes, but they showed no signs of fatigue and continued to battle throughout as they outscored the Magic by 42 points to 29 in the second half. The Magic used a 15-2 run over the final 3:32 of the second quarter to open up a 54 – 36 halftime lead as the Leopards missed 6 of their final 7 shot attempts in the quarter.

 

A layup by Adu increased the Magic lead to 22 points with 9 minutes to play in the third quarter but Latham-Henry and Pervan combined to score 16 points in the period to reduce the Magic lead to 69-61 at the end of the third.

 

Nerves seemed to get the better of both teams at the start the fourth quarter as they combined to miss their first 7 shots from the field.

 

John Linsley knocked down a jumper from the free throw line to give the Magic a 73-66 lead with 6:27 left to play. A 3-pointer from Laws brought the Leopards to within 4 points before Pervan blocked a shot at one end and then was fouled by Adu at the other. He made 1 of his free throws to bring the visitors to within 3 points with just 3:15 to play.

 

The Leopards thought they had a chance to tie the game when Latham-Henry converted a difficult twisting layup as he thought he was fouled, but he was called for a charging foul instead and the Magic regained possession.

 

This was a great display of character by the Magic as they managed to withstand the pressure that was heaped on them by the visitors, but they must have left wondering how they nearly allowed this game to slip away after being in control early on. If the Magic win their playoff quarter-final against the Tees Valley Mohawks they will probably have to square off with the Leopards once again in the semi-finals, and if this game is anything to go by then we should be in for a treat.

 

"We could, and probably should, have won the game," said Leopards coach Jon Burnell. "But that’s basketball. We missed too many free-throws. I thought we played well with a short bench, and on another day would have won it."