Michael Ruske cut and came hard off a baseline screen.
The St Kilda Saints point guard caught, turned around and released his shot in one motion.
But he did not retreat as it swished through the net, over the outreached arm of Andy Bay Falcons star Matt Pyper.
He lingered and swiped the ball off the inbound, finishing the easiest of baskets to double the Saints early lead at 4-0.
It was an opening passage which set the tone for the whole game.
A clinical Saints team thrashed the out-of-sorts Falcons 112-78, remaining unbeaten two weeks into the Dunedin men’s club basketball season.
While Ruske’s early exploits set the tone, it was a dominant first quarter that paved the way for the Saints.
They led 22-3 at one point, taking a 28-7 lead to the break, getting what they wanted at the hoop and dominating the offensive glass.
Meanwhile, the Falcons struggled to connect on anything, coming up short from deep and unable to finish around the hoop.
Ruske caused havoc with his penetration, as did fellow guard James Ross.
The duo had 19 and 27 points respectively, while forward Lawson Morris-Whyte threatened from inside and out to have 25 of his own.
It was that trio that was primarily responsible as the score ballooned to 56-20 by halftime.
The Falcons’ offence began clicking more in the second half, Pyper in particular becoming a threat to finish with 21 points, while newcomer Tyrone Tonkin hit five triples to finish with 15.
They closed the gap to 28 late in the third quarter, but that was as close as it got.
The Saints kicked back into gear to ensure they kept their own score ticking over until the end.
The Mid City Magic also remained unbeaten, although pushed by a much-improved City Rise Bombers.
Mitchell Hughan led the way with 28 points, as the Magic took an 82-79 win in the late game of the day.
The Magic led the majority of the second half, although the Bombers briefly took a 64-62 lead early in the final quarter.
Caleb Smiler showed his class in his first game in the league for the Bombers.
The Otago Nuggets development player had 33 points, getting to the hoop and finishing well to provide a lethal scoring threat.
In the early game, the Magic Lions moved to 2-0 with a comfortable 101-72 win over Varsity.
Young guard Noah McDowall continued his strong start to the season with 19 points, while big man and Nuggets squad member Max Pearce added 19 of his own.
Elijah Velasco led Varsity with 16 points.
