Late swoop takes Falcons to 91-77 win

Matt Brien

But the St Kilda Saints will not get there unbeaten.

A run late in the third quarter gave the Andy Bay Falcons the separation they needed to end the Saints’ streak of 10 consecutive wins.

The Falcons pulled away to seal a 91-77 victory, claiming their fourth straight win in Dunedin men’s club basketball on Saturday.

It was their first win over the Saints since 2018.

A 7-0 run in the final minute of the third quarter proved the key moment in the game.

The Falcons led 64-63 in a game in which, up until that point, neither team had been able to pull away.

However, with point guard James Ross on the bench, the Saints turned the ball over on each of the final three possessions of the quarter.

An Alex Murray (nine points) three-pointer resulted from the first turnover, before transition layups to Hamish Robertson (14 points) and Matt Brien (18 points) took it to 71-63.

It was a deficit the Saints were unable to peg back.

The Falcons’ defence locked in to hold them to 14 fourth-quarter points.

Meanwhile, they continued to generate scoring via attacking in transition and penetrating from the perimeter in the half court.

The trio of Robertson, Paden Kennedy (17 points) and Sam Senior (13 points) proved key in finishing those looks.

Earlier neither team was able to open a gap.

Saints Forward Lawson Morris-Whyte proved tough to stop, leading all scorers with 27 points, while Jamie MacDonald also did damage in the mid-range with 17 points.

That duo, alongside Ross, were key in helping the Saints stay in touch early.

But five triples and a handful of easy layups after breaking the Saints’ press helped the Falcons lead 25-23 at the first break.

The Saints took ascendancy early in the second quarter.

They held the Falcons scoreless for the first four minutes, before three-pointers to Tyler Lapham (13 points) and Ross gave them a 32-25 lead.

But the Falcons hit back as Kennedy scored six straight points, before Brien finished the quarter well to give them a 40-39 halftime lead.

The Saints came out strong again to take a 48-42 lead, but again the Falcons found their range from deep to pull back and eventually open the gap when Ross took his break.

It leaves the Falcons on five wins and in a tie for third place with the Magic Lions.

That followed the Lions’ 85-59 loss to the Mid City Magic, which moved to six wins.

Mitch Hughan had 22 points for the Magic, while Josh Reeves had 18 as it pulled away after an even first half.

Meanwhile, the City Rise Bombers claimed a 124-47 win over a heavily depleted Varsity team.