Sawbridge hailed for his ‘unbelievable’ performance

And yet as Skipton triumphed 68-66 in the closest Division One match so far this season, the outcome relied upon another ranged threat, Andy Stephens, landing a clutch three-pointer in the last 15 seconds.

LMS had been leading by one until then and hurried to find an answer, but a missed shot spelled doom.

That tense finish concluded a thrilling game where Sawbridge had excelled throughout – he had also fired six three-pointers and hit nine free throws from 11.

Losing captain and Guernsey Basketball Association president Pete Beausire simply had to credit Sawbridge’s ‘unbelievable’ game and welcome the incredibly close competition.

‘Great spectacle to watch, great for Guernsey basketball – shows how close the teams are,’ he said.

LMS were on the front foot initially, winning quarter one 23-17.

Although Skipton went four up swiftly through Nico Robinson, LMS hit back hard as, primarily through their own big man Mike Beausire, Dan Marriott and Max Hamon, they conjured 17 points in under four minutes. Sawbridge’s first three-pointer was all they conceded in that time.

After closing the quarter strongly, the purple-and-whites drew level early into the second, prompting another LMS fightback.

The blues scored 10 unanswered – including teenager Harry Sykes contributing a three – only for Hamon to rally his team with another shot from beyond the arc, catalysing an even bigger run.

Skipton scored 15 points nearly uninterrupted, the exception being a sole Marriott basket, to lead 40-35 at half-time.

They then dominated until midway through quarter four to make it 63-46.

LMS finally seemed to settle in the nick of time – having forsaken unproductive changes to restore their starting five – and they consequently almost monopolised the scoring until the final minute.

That was when Skipton moved the ball smoothly down court to set up Stephens, who scored a wonderful winner.

‘Unfortunately, I think if the game was 30 seconds longer, we may have had a different result,’ Pete Beausire added.

‘If we had upped our game maybe early on... we wouldn’t have found ourselves in this position.’

Both teams had their absences, with LMS missing point guard Ashly Ward and Skipton going without influential captain Aaron Walden.

Walden was instead on the sidelines coaching and was rather pleased with what he saw.

‘Matt led the team on all counts,’ said the currently-injured Walden.

‘Defensively the team were solid, with the whole squad playing their part. Intensity and communication was key.

‘LMS fought back in the last quarter and some nerves crept in for Skipton, but Andrew made a huge three-point shot to seal the game in the final minute.

‘There is more to come from Skipton and we will look to make it 4-1 versus Edmundson Electrical Chargers later on this month.’

Sawbridge was the only Skipton player to make double digits – with Mike Beausire focused on marking other threats – while Marriott (21) and Hamon (16) came out top for LMS.

In Division Two, LMS Used had a close battle with Cannon Guernsey Expats, edging a 59-52 victory after defying a late comeback from some much-improved opponents. Joseph Benevidez hit five three-pointers as he scored 24 points for Expats.

Mavericks ran out 80-52 winners against Black Rock after shutting them out for much of quarter three.