Denmark Magpies within striking distance of top spot after comfortable win over Railways in ABA A-grade comp

Denmark Magpies kept their hopes of finishing atop the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade ladder alive on Tuesday night, holding off Railways Tigers 55-37 to notch their 10th win of the season. The spirited 18-point victory in round 14 puts the Magpies (2.50 points average) within reach of the top side Sonics (2.64) with two rounds left in the regular season. Sonics and Magpies clash next week in a game that is likely to decide top spot before the finals next month. The Magpies jumped out to a 12-point lead at half-time and had pushed that buffer out to 18 by the conclusion of the contest despite a fighting second half from the Tigers Lachlan Cale bobbed up for the first points of the game with a tough lay-up for the Tigers but Flynn Wauters nailed a clean three-pointer in response to open the account for his side. The margin blew out to 10 points midway through the first half as the Magpies had plenty of success on fast-break transitions from turnovers. That lead was stretched out further despite some resistance from athletic Tigers slasher Adrian Hardy who converted a three-point play late in the piece. However, the Magpies continued to add to their growing lead and the Tigers trailed 16-28 at the break. Power forward Luke Wilson went to another level in the second half, finding eight points in the paint while Wauters added 10 of his own. Fill-in Aiden Clothier injected some life into a flat Tigers outfit with three second-half triples but they were well beaten in the end, slumping to a 37-55 defeat. Tigers’ Gerson Alforque was ejected in the last five minutes of the contest following a double technical foul. Wauters finished with a game-high 15 points while Luke Wilson was a dominant force down low with 14 points. Reagan Hutchinson continued his superb season for the Magpies with an 11-point haul in the rout. Clothier’s three triples helped him lead the way for the Tigers with nine points while Hardy added nine of his own but their side suffered a 12th loss of the season. Meanwhile, Evan Delbene continued his dominant form in the A-grade competition with 21 points in the Barking Owls’ 54-48 win over Griffins. James Watters and towering forward Lucas Ravenhill had eight apiece for the winners while Sam Holmes toiled hard for the losing side with 14 points. Sonics put the sword to Infernos with a 22-point victory as David Arthur (21 points) showed his versatility with three field-goals and three triples in the 55-33 win.