The Mandurah Magic men’s side recovered from a disappointing home loss on Friday night to record a come from behind victory over last year’s champions Cockburn Cougars on Saturday night.

The 90-83 victory over the Cougars erased a 101-81 loss to the South West Slammers on Friday night, and sees the Magic sit in sixth position on the table with nine wins and seven losses.

The Magic started strongly against the Slammers but fell away during the second quarter and never troubled their opponents from that point on. A 31-16 second quarter set up South West’s victory as imports Ty Harrelson and Jamahr Warren dominated the Magic’s backcourt.

Mandurah struggled from the field all night, shooting only 38% and only converting on two from 18 from three point range.

One pleasing point for the Magic was the return of big man Tom Remmerswaal, who had announced his retirement pre-season due to a career ending back injury.

Harrelson was outstanding for the Slammers finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Jamahr Warren and Clive Weeden each finished with 21 points. Rhett Della was the leading scorer for the Magic finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds while Taylor Mullenax had 18 points.

Saturday night’s effort would have been pleasing for Magic coach Jason Chalk, as his team rallied from five points down at three quarter time to record a seven point win over last year’s champions and complete the series sweep over the Cougars.

In a much more balanced scoring attack, the Magic were led by Taylor Mullenax who finished with 30 points. Ben Caporn added 18, Taylor Land added 14 and Rhett Della finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Brian Carlwell led the way for the Cougars with 27 points and 16 rebounds.

It was a disappointing weekend for the Magic women, losing both games to the Slammers and Cougars. The Magic were never in the contest against the Slammers, losing 86-57, but were competitive in their loss to the Cougars, going down 78-67.

Despite only trailing by two points at quarter time against the Slammers, the Magic again let themselves down with turnovers as the Slammers easily ran away with the game. Casey Mihovilovich was the only shining light for the Magic on Friday night, finishing with 24 points and 16 rebounds, despite having nine turnovers to her name.

Slammers import Kim Sitzmann led the way for the Slammers with 22 points, while youngster Donnelle Wallam was effective with 19 points and six steals.

Saturday night’s performance was much improved for the Magic as they went down to the Cougars 78-67. Despite an inferior shooting percentage, the Magic were able to reduce their turnover count and take the advantage in the rebounding count over the Cougars.

A poor third quarter put the result beyond doubt for the Magic, however they were able to outscore Cockburn 23-16 in the final quarter.

Gemma Thomas led the scoring for the Magic with 20 points, while Casey Mihovilovich finished with 17 points and ten rebounds. West Coast Waves guard Kate Fielding was the game high scorer for the Cougars with 21 points, while import Steph Jones finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The loss sees the Magic lingering in second last position on the table with just four wins to their name.

A tough match up for both Magic teams lies ahead this Saturday night as they welcome the Perry Lakes Hawks to the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre. Tip-off is 6pm for the women and 8pm for the men.