The result itself was not a surprise, but perhaps the way it happened was.
A commanding performance shot the St Kilda Saints to the top of the men’s club basketball table on Saturday.
They completed a five-match sweep of the league, beating the Mid City Magic 100-71 in the top-of-the-table match.
It takes them to a 5-1 record, unbeaten since a season opening loss to the Magic.
The Saints dominated from the outset. They found scoring from a variety of sources — five players managing between 11 and 17 points — to become the first team in a long time to put 100 points past the Magic.
Defensively, the Saints were solid too, as they have been all season — having conceded an average of just 61 points a game this year.
On Saturday the Magic missed the inside presence of Aaron Roydhouse.
The side has leaned on the big man in tight games in recent weeks, but he was called in to the Otago Nuggets last week.
The Magic will be the biggest benefactor in terms of returning players when the Nuggets get back in a few weeks.
But in the meantime the Saints took full advantage.
Jamie MacDonald (13 points) hit three early three-pointers to get the side going.
Finn Barclay (11 points) chimed in with three baskets of his own late in the quarter to give the Saints a 26-17 lead.
But it was the overall scoring spread that became apparent as the game wore on.
The Saints extended their lead to 50-34 by halftime and the margin passed 20 at 77-55 by the end of the third quarter.
That continued into the fourth quarter, the Saints’ front-court duo of Connor Coll and Lawson Morris-Whyte prominent with 17 points each and James Ross adding 14.
The City Rise Bombers closed out a tight 85-81 win over the Magic Lions.
An impressive 32-point display from Dallas Hartmann put the Lions in a strong position and had the score tied at 81-81.
But the Bombers got to the line down the stretch, hitting four free throws — two by Steve Robinson and one each by Tom Davison and Hayden Russell — to ice the game. Robinson and Davison top-scored with 22 points each.
In the early game, Varsity claimed its first win, beating the Andy Bay Falcons 83-68.
Joseph Euphrat once again showed his class and ability to consistently hit tough shots.
His 29 points, which included seven three-pointers, were key in the Varsity performance.
