BASKETBALL: It was a hard fought game but in the end Gladstone Port City Power went down to competition leaders, Mackay Meteors losing 110-94.

Port City Power came out strong in the first quarter not allowing Mackay to settle and took the lead several times to only be down 22-14.

The home team gave nothing to Mackay Meteors and drove hard in the second quarter to stay down 58-37.

During the half time break Power coach Brady Walmsley told his players not to worry about the scoreboard and work on being competitive.

"The players showed courage and great fight down the stretch," he said.

Both teams came out of the break strong and traded three pointers to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

In the final quarter with five minutes to go Mackay lead 104 to 77 but Gladstone finished strong, scoring 17 points.

Meteors showed why they were top of the table leaders keeping Power City Power at bay to finish the night with a win.

Gladstone remains winless after the first four games of he season.

The visitors boasted two NBL players in the Illawarra Hawks' Todd Blanchfield and Adelaide 36ers' Nelson Larkins.

Chris Cedar topped scored for Mackay Meteors with 35 points.

Walmsley said the season was a marathon, not a sprint and the team was finding improvements with signs of that on Saturday night.

"It was a good team performance against the best team in the competition," he said.

Local promising player Mitch Knight came on during the final five minutes and netted four points for the team.

Walmsley praised the young player for stepping up during the game.

"He was willing to compete hard and displayed a good level of competitiveness," he said.

Top point scorer for Port City Power was Taylor Young with 21. Casey Walker scored 19.

This weekend Port City Power play the away game against Rockhampton Rockets.

The game promises to be an exciting one with ex-Gladstone player Ray Willis playing for the Rockhampton Rockets.