Magic continues roll, Sabes barely escapes

BY MIKE PEDEN

The Pat Madison Magic proved their upset win over El-Amin Fish House was no fluke in Howard Pulley/June Miller Pro City League play Monday night.

The Magic crushed King Tutt's Fortress 99-67 at the St. Paul Salvation Army gym as the Fortress still search for their first win in league play this season. The Magic's Lamar Moore led all players for the game with 26 points with Mike Schactner adding 23. Current Gopher Dominique Dawson led the Fortress with 25 points.

The Magic's dominance began at the start of the second quarter, where they took advantage of missed shots from the Fortress. The Magic (2-1) outscored their opponent 37-11 in the second and never allowed the Fortress (0-3) to cut the margin closer than 22 the rest of the game. Dawson only scored four of his 25 points in the second half.

Gopher recruit Austin Hollins had his biggest performance of the season, scoring 22 points.

While the Magic ran away, Sabes Foundation and Information Investors Group tangoed to the very end. Sabes moved to 2-1 after scraping a 98-96 win over the Investors. MSU-Mankato's Marcus Hill scored a game-high 28 points for Sabes with Minnesota's Rodney Williams adding 24. UW-River Falls player Joontae Koonkaew led the Investors with 21.

Neither team led by more than six in the first half, and the score was tied at 50 going into halftime. Chris Halvorsen was the exclamation point on a 13-0 run for Sabes to start the third quarter, exciting the crowd that hung around with a couple of acrobatic dunks. Sabes led by 10 to end the third.

Given the back-and-forth nature early on, the Investors (1-2) made their expected run in the fourth, with Koonkaew's three-point play tying the score at 82. Both teams would tie two more times until Rodney Williams got a put-back with 1:11 left in the fourth.

The Investors refused to quit, chipping the lead to one in the closing seconds off Marcus Helland and Zach Towle three-pointers. Towle left the game after sinking his three due to a knee injury. A Sabes free throw meant the Investors had one last chance, but poor ball handling on the team's final possession sealed their fate.

Tonight's doubleheader will feature new players for June Miller Time as the primary roster is away for an AAU tournament. The first game starts at 7:00 p.m.