ST MARY’S ORANGE has defeated Barber Boys White to end the undefeated run of the top team in the Hamilton Basketball Association Men’s division one competition, 38-35.

Such was the standard of the game that we may have had an early viewing of the grand final, as both sides performed well at each end of the court in both attack and defence.

The Saints gained a five-point lead the half time buzzer as their attacking flair came to the forefront and Barber Boys failed to shift into a higher gear in response.

Come the second half though and the ladder leaders returned to the court rejuvenated as they took the game and their opponents on looking to reel in the scoreboard gap.

Both teams attacked at every opportunity as the ball travelled from one end of the court to the other with speed and precision, and the Barber Boys outscored the Saints in the second half but only by two points as they fell short by three.

Deacon Whyte had the hot hand for St Mary’s Orange with 13 points while Nate Krause with 12 points replied in kind for the Barber Boys.

MINDERS proved to be far too strong for St Mary’s Black with a polished performance that saw it claim a 59-40 victory in the early timeslot.

The first half was a great display of attacking basketball with Minders claiming a seven-point lead at the half, but upon resumption the Saints failed to lift their intensity to match Minders and that gap blew out to 19 as Josh Miller (20), Angus Hayden-Simpson (14) and Raizen Castro (10) dominated the boards for Minders, while Saints looked to Josh Gardner (14) and Jack Roberts (12) to lead their charge.

Women’s Division 1

ST MARY’S ORANGE has come from behind against sister team, St Mary’s Black to win a thrilling round eight game in the Hamilton Basketball Association women’s division one competition at HILAC on Tuesday night, 32-28.

St Mary’s Black was dominant in the first half as the team moved the ball freely into attack and took a four-point lead into the half time break, 14-10 as Bailey Ryan proved to be the focal point for the Black team.

After the break the Orange team came to life and pegged back the gap on the scoreboard as Grace Cleaver began to dominate the Black defence.

Cleaver took the Orange team level and then past the Black score as she totalled 13 points for the game, but Ryan had 10 points of her own to lead the way for the Black side.

BARBER BABES was another team to get home in a thriller as it accounted for Minders, 27-25 to record only its second win of the season.

Holding a slender one-point lead at the half time break, Babes were able to not only maintain that lead in the second term but add to it by another point to claim the points with Danielle Van Kalken leading the way with 13 points for the Babes while Minders shared the scoring through the entire team.