Riley Sa had another big match for College on Tuesday night. Photo supplied.Oh so close, but not quite.

That was the almost deafening message coming out of the Ashburton College boys’ basketball team following their agonising 92-91 defeat at the hands of St Andrew’s College this week in Thomson Trophy action.

Heading to the match in Christchurch, College knew they were in for a tough battle with STAC, having won their last three games and looking strong.

But it was the visitors who made all the early play, jumping out to an 8-0 lead before their hosts even had a chance to get warm.

A reset through a time-out changed things up and STAC found their feet, and managed to walk into the end of the first quarter with a 31-18 lead.

The second quarter was just as tight, with College providing some really good ball to keep in touch, and the Ashburton boys trailed 43-36 at halftime.

STAC took the game by the horns heading into the early stages of the third quarter, and were able to string together some really strong plays which pushed their lead out to 18 points.

But again, College fought back, tightening up their defensive end while scoring some valuable baskets to claw the margin back to 13 at the end of the third.

Heading into the final quarter, College were still very much in the match, but the first stages of the quarter left College with no answers as STAC held strong.

A time-out which saw College shift to a full court press with the emphasis on stopping the ball from moving forward changed the course of the game.

STAC began to panic, and plenty of turnovers started to flow towards College and they worked back into the match, and they hit the lead 91-89 with a minute left to play.

Shortly after, STAC broke through the press and drove to the basket to score and bring the scores back to level, and suddenly the match became about who could hold their nerve best.

A Riley Sa three-point effort went close but missed, and STAC marched up the court, earning a foul and a trip to the free-throw line.

The first one dropped, but the second missed and the ball bounced out but wasn’t claimed.

A STAC player managed to get a hand on it and it bounced off a College player to go out of court, and hand vital possession back to the hosts.

Kambell Still managed to turn the ball over however, and College were in with a sniff.

Charging up the court they piled on the pressure, only for STAC to hold steady.

Another shot went up but missed, and with a split second left a lunge to the ball again and an attempt to tip the ball in on the rebound just missed, with the buzzer sounding and STAC claiming the match by a one-point margin.

Sa put in a massive performance again at both ends of the court, picking up a huge 42 points, including a 13-point effort in the fourth quarter.

Still chipped in with a solid 15 points, while James Reid had a strong game with 11 points.

Brian Kerr said the whole team impressed.

“All of the guys that got time on the court well and truly put their hands up, whether it was defensively or dropping the odd basket or both.

“It was a wonderful team effort,” he said.

“The fourth quarter fightback was indicative of the defensive intensity applied throughout the game.

“There were times it looked like a blowout was on the cards, but they showed enormous fight and should walk away with heads held high.”

Despite the loss, Kerr described their performance as the best of the season.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 1 August 2020