Cadets are edged out by the Blaze
BEN RAMAGE
St Mirren’s Under-16 Cadet Men were just edged out after a classic encounter in the capital with Boroughmuir Blaze.
Buoyed off the back of three straight wins, the youngsters were hoping to extend their winning streak and put some daylight between them and their rivals at the top of the table.
Going into the match the Saints knew they would have to fight fire with fire to extinguish their opponents’ chances and the early exchanges proved this was going to be a battle right to the end.
With both teams trading baskets early in the first quarter it was the home team who opened a fivepoint margin as they took a 15-10 lead.
Saints had their opportunities to close the gap from the free throw line as the foul count grew but with mixed success, closing the quarter trailing 22-19.
In a stuffy start to the second quarter both teams struggled to take the initiative but the Paisley side got their rewards with excellent work on the boards at both ends, leading to Euan Birch putting Saints ahead for the first time in the match with a trademark drive and finish.
That was followed by Stephen Hamilton showing great finesse as he converted a strongly-contested layup.
The home team finished the first half strongly though raging back into the game to close out with a huge three-pointer to finish 33-35.
Blaze were galvanised by their strong first half finish as they reestablished an early advantage in the third, but a monster threepointer from Euan Birch doused their fervour.
That inspired Marc Laidler to go on a hot streak, scoring a threepointer of his own in an11-point haul to build a 47-60 lead going into the final quarter.
The intensity and pace that Saints had displayed in establishing their lead seemed to burn out in the fourth quarter, turning over possession too frequently.
That reignited Blaze to spark a fantastic comeback to take the lead 69-66 with less than a minute left on the clock.
Saints resorted to a deliberate foul as they attempted to slow the seconds ticking away, but the momentum Blaze had built up saw them close out the match with a deserved 74-71 victory.
A club spokesperson said: “This was a sore one for the young cadets to take as their unbeaten run came to a halt, particularly from a leading position. But this will be an experience they will no doubt learn from as they take on in-form Glasgow Rens in their next match at the Lagoon on Saturday.”
Tip-off is 2.30pm. back in 2015.
He revealed John’s name is still held up as a prime example to the club’s academy players, and even comes in handy when trying to persuade other youngsters to join the ranks at St Mirren.
He said:“The club are happy to have played a part in his career in his early days. He’s a great boy. His two brothers