Rejuvenated by the return of the national league players, the Bombers thrashed the Saints 94-65 in Dunedin men’s club basketball on Saturday.
Otago Nuggets trio, Robbie Coman (21 points), Matthew Bardsley (19 points) and Todd Withers (16 points), proved influential.
But it was as much what they provided on defensive end that did the damage.
The Saints had gone on a run either side of halftime to pull back to 45-42, forcing the Bombers into a timeout.
At that point the Bombers came out in their press, effectively winning the game in the passage that followed.
They kept the Saints without a field goal for more than six minutes, while extending the score to 73-46 late in the third quarter.
At the other end, the Bombers made use of the transition looks, from the turnovers, alongside their outside shooting to pile on the points.
It was the defining run, although the Saints had battled well earlier.
Mike Ruske (20 points) shot well to keep the Saints score ticking over, while Lawson Morris-Whyte (18 points) was industrious.
They helped keep the Saints within five, at 22-17, at the end of the first quarter.
A mini-run from the Bombers took them out to a 42-26 lead midway through the second.
However, the Saints were able to slow down their offence, and capitalised at the other end.
They pulled back to 45-35 at halftime, a run which continued into the second half.
The Bombers called timeout on a James Ross transition layup, the margin at three.
But at that point the Bombers’ press stifled the Saints’ offence, laying the foundation to go on their devastating third quarter run.
In other games, Dallas Hartmann led the Mid City Magic with 21 points in a 67-56 win over the Magic Lions.
Hamish Robertson had 27 points as the Andy Bay Falcons claimed an 87-52 win to keep Varsity winless heading into the final round of the regular season.
