Unbeaten Saints end title drought
A DOMINANT start set the St Kilda Saints on their way.
But it was their ability to prevent the comeback that snapped the streak.
They led 223 late in the first quarter, getting stops and scoring at will at the other end in a completely dominant opening period.
That set the platform for the Saints’ 9278 win over the Mid City Magic in the Dunedin men’s club final on Saturday.
The win ended a run of five consecutive titles for the Magic, and completed an undefeated season for St Kilda.
While the start was good, past experience had taught the Saints not to let up.
‘‘We’ve had 15point leads against the Magic over the last few years quite frequently,’’ Saints point guard James Ross said.
‘‘But they always drag us back. They always take us, and then win by a couple of points.
‘‘So we were always worried about that happening again. I think they had three or four points eight minutes into the game.
‘‘That was good defence. They were missing a couple of shots they probably would have made.
‘‘But just so happy with the effort of the guys. We just kept on pushing.’’
Ross was dominant throughout for St Kilda, his ability to get to the hoop, draw fouls and finish through defence shining through again.
He led the team with 21 points.
However, as has been the case all season, it was the Saints’ ability to get production across the board that was influential.
Danyon Ashcroft and Lawson MorrisWhyte had 18 points each, while Sautia Misa was exceptional with 17 points.
On the other side, the Magic struggled to get going.
It generated enough good looks to be in touch early but could not connect on its layups or shots.
However, after the Saints took their early lead, the Magic began to find its way into the game.
Josh Reeves (21 points) began hitting from deep, while NBL duo Josh Aitcheson (14 points) and Richie Rodger (13 points) tried to exert themselves.
But every time the Magic went on a minirun, the Saints responded.
That score became 5534 at halftime and, while the Magic started making inroads in the second half, the Saints responded every time.
The win was St Kilda’s first since 2016, at which point it had won six titles in nine years.
Ross is the only remaining player from each of those titles, although there was no doubting the significance of this one.
‘‘I think this is the best,’’ he said.
‘‘This reminds me a lot of when I won the first time. I was so gutted [in 2007] when I was in year 13, and we lost.
‘‘Then firstyear uni, and we won [in 2008], it was such a big deal.’’
MorrisWhyte was named league MVP.
He was joined in the All Star Five by Mike Ruske (Saints), Dallas Hartmann (Magic), Patrick Freeman (Lions) and Robbie Coman (Bombers).