THE Millicent junior basketball season wrapped up recently, with grand finals Peter Seebohm Stadium.
Six games were played to decide the junior under-age champions and they lived up to expectations, with a number of nail-biting finishes.
The opening fixture of the night was the Under 12 girls grand final.
The game started off slowly and by quarter time both teams had only registered three points.
Throughout the second quarter the struggle continued, but points from Sarah Sigston and Bella Gysbers handed the Devils a four-point half-time lead.
It was a lead they built on through second half, led by Kasey Peak’s 10 points as the Devils ran away with a comfortable 13-point victory.
The Under 12 boys’ match between the Saints and Devils was exciting, with little to separate the two sides.
At both quarter time and half time the difference was just one point the Saints way, as neither side could take the ascendancy.
In the third quarter the Devils came out firing, highlighted by top-scorer Kobe Gibson, with great defensive pressure and accurate shooting to take the lead for the first time and change the pace of the game.
The Saints could not wrestle back the lead and the Devils held on to win the grand final by three points.
The Devils experienced another close tussle in the Under 14 girls match, this time against the Pumas.
The Devils got off to a good start and were able to gain a four-point lead in the first quarter, which was maintained into the half time break.
Despite a strong effort from Lacey Haines, the Pumas were not able to keep up with the Devils as the margin increased to six points in the third quarter.
As the final siren approached both teams experienced foul trouble which had an impact on the outcome of the game.
The Pumas top scorer Haines and the Devils’ Saige Gibson both sat on the sidelines for the end of the final quarter.
Top scorer with 13 points Poppy Venn, supported by Paige Lucas and Tayla Rowe led the Devils to a 35-29 point victory.
In the Under 14 boys grand final both the Demons and the Roos were tied at seven-all at quarter time.
Thanks to Harry Mules the Demons were able to establish a lead which built their confidence to hold onto a 10-point win.
A tight game was expected between the Pumas and Devils with close match-ups across the court in the Under 16 girls final.
It was a slow start with both teams scoring just five points in the first quarter before the Pumas edged ahead in the second term by two points.
The game saw an intense fight between the high-scoring Georgia Winter, who dominated with 22 points and the relentless defence of Lucy Denton.
As the clock wound down the Pumas stepped up to claim the win against by eight points.
The last grand final of the night was also the most exciting match, with the Saints surprising the fancied Tigers in the Under 16 boys competition.
The game went into quadruple overtime to decide the champion side.
In the first quarter Saints’ Eli Redman stepped up to earn his side a tight one-point lead by the first break.
The next term saw high scoring by both teams, with four three-pointers scored, but the Saints increased their lead to five points.
The Tigers roared back into life to reduce the Saints lead with basket-to-basket scoring until the final siren sounded with the scores tied at 45-all.
Overtime was required to decide the winner and the high-pressure stakes saw tight defence halt the scoreboard.
The Tigers were reduced to just three players on the court as Jack Haggett and Cameron Atkinson both fouled out.
This allowed the Saints to take an upset 55-60 win.
The top scorers for the extended game were Harry Mules from the Saints and Max Domaschenz from the Tigers, who both scored 22 points.
