THE Symes Motors Bendigo Braves have moved two games clear on top of the SEABL east conference ladder.The Braves 85-74 win over Albury-Wodonga on Saturday night coupled with Kilsyth's shock 97-95 overtime loss to Frankson has given Bendigo a handy buffer heading into the halfway point of the season.A dominant third quarter allowed the Braves to shake off a persistent Albury on Saturday night.The Bandits had the better of a tight first half as the Braves struggled with their perimeter shooting.The Braves missed all seven of their three-point attempts in the first half as the Bandits grabbed a three-point lead at the main break.The Bandits still led by one point with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.However, the Braves stamped their class with a brilliant burst.Led by Ivan McFarlin, Adam Tanner and Luke Meyer, the Braves went on a 17-4 run to lead by 12 at three quarter-time.Albury couldn't get the margin into single figures in the final quarter as the Braves dominated inside the paint.McFarlin continued his outstanding form, scoring 24 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds.Meyer showed his class with 28 points and seven rebounds and veteran Ricky Daniels added nine points and three rebounds.Tanner and Kevin Probert scored seven points each.The only negative for the Braves was the three-point shooting statistic - two-of-15 for the night.The Braves have a tough double next weekend, playing SEABL power Geelong in Geelong on Saturday night and a home game against North West Tasmania on Sunday afternoon.The Bendigo Champions IGA Lady Braves made it two wins for the weekend by thrashing Albury, 82-59.The Lady Braves made sure of the points with a dominant first half.The Lady Bandits had no answer to the Lady Braves multi-pronged offence.By quarter-time the score was 20-11 and the second quarter was even better for the visitors as they added 28 points to 16 to lead by 21 at half-time.The Lady Bandits made a charge in the third term and cut the deficit to eight points before Kerryn Harrington and Eleanor Haring steadied the Lady Braves.Harrington made two three-point bombs and Haring scored four points to quash any hopes Albury had of getting back into the game.Gabe Richards was the Lady Braves leading scorer with 23 points.Bendigo had five players - Lauren King (13), Katrina Hibbert (10), Kerryn Harrington and Eleanor Haring (10), score in double-figures.The Lady Braves, who have moved into third place on the ladder, will now prepare for a home clash next Sunday against arch-rival Ballarat.Other results: men - Hobart 112 bt Geelong 91, Mt Gambier 76 bt AIS 72, Ballarat 84 bt AIS 77, Sandringham 83 bt Brisbane 72, Geelong 113 bt NW Tasmania 100, Frankston 97 bt Kilsyth 95, Nunawading 93 bt Canberra 72, AIS 85 bt Dandenong 78, Knox 93 bt Canberra 75. Women - Sandringham 93 bt Ballarat 82, Launceston 76 bt Brisbane 74, Kilsyth 85 bt Frankston 47, Nunawading 87 bt Hobart 45, Knox 115 bt Albury/Wodonga 63, Dandenong 102 bt Hobart 43, Launceston 91 bt Sandringham 76. D League men: Dandenong 69 bt Ballarat 66, Nunawading 64 bt Sandringham 47, Bendigo 83 bt Frankston 59, Knox 58 bt Kilsyth 55, Ballarat 90 bt Knox 46, Nunawading 66 bt Dandenong 54. D League Women: Dandenong 81 bt Ballarat 69, Frankston 64 bt Bendigo 57, Sandringham 69 bt Nunawading 62, Knox 71 bt Kilsyth 63, Ballarat 70 bt Knox 53, Sandringham 65 bt Bendigo 57, Dandenong 60 bt Nunawading 38.