Sturt came agonisingly close to pulling off another huge upset at Pasadena on Saturday night, the home side going down 86-92 to fall just short of knocking off league pace-setters West Adelaide in front of a vocal home crowd.

The Sabres remained in touch for longer than expected against the Bearcats, especially given 36er Daniel Johnson’s return to the line-up after a two game absence.

Yet despite the return of the Bearcat’s superstar it was Sturt who jumped out of the blocks in the first quarter.

Sam Daly produced another strong start with 9 points in the first ten minutes getting the home side rolling early. However West managed to reign in the burgeoning lead with some timely three-pointers from Jason Cadee (21 points) and Patrick Thomas (10 points) to ensure only a two point deficit at the first change.

Far from deflated at their lack of reward on the scoreboard, Sturt maintained their aggression in the second. Young “big men” John Marriot (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Adam Gavranich did well to curtail Johnson’s influence for the remainder of the half.

Despite the flow of play being in Sturt’s favour, the home team were unable to create any separation from the ladder leaders. The visitors bench ably assisting Cadee and Johnson to ensure a tied game at the major break.

Dougherty (19 points) and Daly continued to do their best to inspire their team in the third quarter. Sam Daly brought the house down with a thunderous alley-oop dunk off an Adam Gavranich assist mid-way through the period as part of his dominant 28 point, 8 assist haul for the night.

Six unanswered points from young Jordan Heading at the start of the fourth gave the Sabres an unexpected ten-point buffer, but the lead was short lived. West Adelaide’s offensive firepower again quickly stripped the margin back to 2 with four minutes remaining.

From there onwards West Adelaide’s experience proved pivotal.

The result was ultimately decided at the free-throw line, Sturt going 2/8 in the final three minutes to West Adelaide’s 6/6. Sturt were unable to prevent Cadee and Johnson from getting to the line in the closing stages.

The win will be important for the Bearcats who are set to lose both Cadee and Johnson for the next few games whilst they are on national duties.

Sturt will need to muster another big performance to take down the Lions at Starplex in a fortnight.

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By Lachlan Sellar