By James Woite

The Sturt Sabres Men have won their first Premiership since 2002, after defeating the West Adelaide Bearcats 91-82 in a brutal and unforgiving clash at the Adelaide Dome.

Despite looking the better team all night, the Sabres had to fight off a spirited Bearcats challenge in the fourth quarter. Sturt led by as much as 21 during the third quarter and still by 16 at ¾ time, but saw their lead quickly dwindle, before some clutch shooting from 19 year old Guard Tom Daly (11 fourth quarter points) saw them hang on for victory. Daly finished with a game-high 26 points, to go with 4 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.

As he was a fortnight ago, Jacob Holmes was again the Bearcats’ nemesis, finishing with a monster game of 22 points, 24 rebounds, and 10 assists, and was subsequently named the Grand Final MVP. Holmes was also involved in an ugly incident late in the third quarter with West Point Guard Anthony Spadavecchia, in which both players picked up unsportsmanlike fouls. Darren Ng had 19 points, but shot just 31% from the field whilst Corey Maynard scored 9 points on 9 shots.

Chris Molitor was fantastic for West with 25 points and 11 rebounds whilst Brad Davidson had a near triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. Young gun Josh Bond showed his enormous potential, coming off the bench for 17 points and providing a spark when it was most needed. However former 36er Blake Truslove struggled, finishing the game with just 4 points. It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise sensational season from the underdog Bearcats, who became the second club in as many seasons to have both their women’s and men’s team bail out in the Grand Final. Sturt, on the other hand, hit their stride at the right time of the season, making up for last year’s heartbreak.

A fortnight ago when the teams last met, Sturt stunned West by scoring 18 of the game’s last 20 points to win by 2. In the early going, it was apparent this game was still playing on the minds of the Bearcat players as they fell behind 15-4 in the first 5 minutes. Darren Ng hit two 3-pointers in the run (one a banker to beat the shot-clock, the other a fast-break swish), whilst Holmes and Daly were also heavily involved. The younger Sabres were well on top of their generally more experienced counterparts, however the introduction of one of Westies’ own young guns got them back into the game. Bond had not played a lot in the Bearcats’ other two finals but after Chris Molitor’s triple, Bond hit one of his own, before dishing off to Davidson for another. West had scored 9 points in 3 possessions and the margin was back to 4. Bond hit another 3 late in the quarter, with the ¼ time score of 22-20 suggesting the spectators would be in for a magnificent game.

The teams were neck and neck for the first 4 minutes of the second quarter with Sturt young guns Daly and Nathan Spehr, playing against his former club, trading baskets with Truslove and Molitor. Maynard then knocked down a 3-pointer giving the Sabres a 7-point lead. But once again, West found something; an 8-0 run capped off by a Davidson free throw giving them a 32-31 advantage with 3 minutes left in the half. However, the Bearcats’ only lead lasted a matter of 32 seconds, as Sturt finished the half on an 11-2 run to take a 42-34 lead into half-time.

The Sabres began the second half the way they finished the first, dominating the boards and scoring the first 6 points of the half. Signs of frustration were evident on the faces of the West Adelaide players. A Molitor 3 was the only bright light for the Bearcats, with 3s from Centre Jan Warbout and Darren Ng helping Sturt build a 17 point advantage. Darren Ng then made his 5th and 6th free throws of the quarter before another basket from Spehr gave Sturt a 62-41 lead with 4.08 to go in the quarter. Adam Pearce knocked down a 3 for Westies on the following possession before the teams continued to trade blows throughout the remainder of the quarter.

Then, late in the quarter, Holmes secured a tough rebound before passing upcourt to Darren Ng for a layup. Spadavecchia and Holmes were trailing the play and multiple clashes both during and after Ng’s layup resulted in both receiving unsportsmanlike fouls.

At ¾ time, the score was 69-53 in Sturt’s favour, but West were far from done. Westies went with a zone defence for the first time in the match and Daly missed a 3 on the opening possession. Molitor then hit a 3-pointer before knocking down another 34 seconds later. Darren Ng’s missed 3 on the next possession caused a long rebound which Davidson collected, before dishing up court to Molitor who finished off with a lay-up. Within a bit over 1 ½ mins, Molitor and the Bearcats had scored 8 points to halve the Sabres’ lead.  Holmes’ free throws coming out of the timeout steadied the ship for Sturt before the ‘Cats missed two opportunities to again claw within single figures. Daly’s free throws pushed the buffer out to 12 with 6.55 to go and the margin stayed at double figures for more than 5 minutes. The margin floated between 10 and 13 points during this period; the Sabres always with the answers, despite the best efforts of Davidson. Daly, Maynard, and Warbout all scored at least once each during this patch of play, with the youngsters displaying poise right when it mattered most.

However, the resilient Bearcats showed why they were the top team at the end of the regular season, reducing the deficit to 9 with 1.39 to go, following a basket from Spadavecchia. By now, West were playing a full court trap and forced numerous turnovers on their now tense opponents. 7 seconds after Spadavecchia’s score, Mark Bauer turned the ball over but for not the first time, the ‘Cats were unable to make the most of their extra opportunity, with Spadavecchia failing to connect. Spadavecchia then dived after the ball again, but picked up his fifth foul in process. Holmes connected on 1/2 foul shots, which made it a 4 possession ball game with 1.28 remaining.

Holmes missed on the next possession, giving the Bearcats a vague glimmer of hope. Kurtis Phillips then threw up a rushed 3-pointer that was well off the money, but 2 missed free throws from Bauer kept the game somewhat alive. Davidson then missed a 3, before 2 Daly free throws pushed the lead back out to 12. After a Sturt time out, a Holmes turnover was pounced on by Bond, who knocked down his third 3. However, two free throws from Daly and then another two from Bauer ensured the Sabres would hold on for a 91-82 victory.