TIVOLI Wizards held their nerves at the end to outpoint Majesty Gardens 67-62 Thursday night and snatch the best of three NBL Powered by Flow Southern Conference Final 2-1 at the National Stadium Courts.

Anthony Farquharson, targeted throughout the match, top-scored for the Wizards with 16 points, six rebounds. He was supported by Delano Mallet (13 pts, 4 rebs, 4 assists), Andrew Whilby (12 pts, 18 rebs) and Kirk Ferguson (12 pts, 6 rebs).

Baldon Todd ended with a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds for Majesty, with Havando Dunn contributing 10 points and Kemar McLeish, recovering from injury, adding nine points, five rebounds, four assists.

In a cautious opening quarter, Tivoli had the better of play leading 18-14. But Majesty soon transformed from their usual two-man attack to a more equitable shot distribution from players on the court, with Dunn, Maurice Blackwood, and Kemo Gordon shouldering some of the responsibility for attack.

The Marlon Nattie-coached Majesty edged 33-21 at half time.

With the Stadium Courts packed to capacity, on both sides of the court, Majesty held the lead to the end of the third quarter at 50-47.

As Todd pushed Majesty up to 54, suddenly their game was falling apart with Farquharson and Whilby taking full advantage. The Edward Marshall-coached Tivoli burst to 63 with Majesty still stuck at 54.With time running out for Majesty, Tivoli supporters were celebrating early and one spectator threw a bottle of water on court that hit the fallen Todd.

The game was held up for a while after the incident and organisers, every now and then, had to ask Majesty supporters to go into the stands to prevent players injuring themselves over the sidelines and endlines on the south side of the court where they often watch their matches.

Coach Marshall attributed Tivoli’s win to being focused, noting: “We wanted the game more tonight any other night we played and we worked harder defensively.”

For Nattie, Majesty are struggling with consistency and on their low point “Tivoli got the lead and we didn’t get a chance to comeback. It is something that we have been working on that once you start to bury the enemy seal the coffin. We became complacent and Tivoli got a win,” he added.

The NBL play-offs get underway this afternoon in the quarter-finals with Urban Knights vs Pure Playaz at Folly at 3:30, and Majesty Gardens v St George’s Slayers at the National Stadium at 6:30 pm and Tivoli vs the Jamaica Defence Force at 8:00 pm.

— Paul Burrowes