ANTHONY Farquharson scored 22 points and Omar Barnes added 17 points (with seven rebounds) for Tivoli Wizards to defeat Majesty Gardens, 67-53, Monday night and draw level in the best-of-three NBL Powered by Flow Southern Conference Final at the National Stadium Courts.

With Kemar McLeish recovering from a sharp foot twist, Baldon Todd, who was slightly injured, stepped up with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds.

The Edward Marshall-coached Tivoli led all the way, as Majesty struggled with their defence and showed reluctance in shooting.

Wizards ended the first quarter leading 12-8 and the half, 27-20, before Camperdown All Sparks lit up the break with acrobatic cheerleading.

By the third quarter, with Majesty unable to come up with an answer for Farquharson, Tivoli eased to a 45-37 advantage and maintained their momentum in the final quarter to win by 14 points.

Despite the margin of victory, Marshall said he was pleased defensively, but not with Tivoli’s offence.

“We struggled to score because we didn’t have the patience. We will work on it and come back better for the next game,” explained Marshall, whose team will meet Majesty in Game Three tomorrow at 7:00 pm.

“We will come out harder and better in game three to put away the series,” Marshall stressed.

Majesty’s coach Marland Nattie attributed the defeat to a defensive issue.

“If you don’t take care of your basket, nothing will work. We allowed Tivoli to penetrate easily down the lane, and if you are not able to stop that penetration, you are always going to be behind.”

On the unstoppable Farquharson, Nattie said he “is just a hustler, so we need to be defensively strong. When he has the ball you know he is going to the board, so you need to play leg up defence”.

“You have to decide to block him out when a shot is taken. He is not getting the ball and you are not getting the ball,” Nattie noted.