St. Mirren march
to Cup glory
Mark Woods
Some excellent team basketball took St.
Mirren McDonald's to deserved success in the Scottish Men's Cup Final,
held at Glasgow's Kevin Hall. The Paisley side outgunned Edinburgh Burger
Kings 70-62 in a fast paced finale.
Seeking their first major honour in only
their second year in existence, St. Mirren threatened to run away with
the contest, racing off to an early 15-3 advantage. However Edinburgh's
slick passing opened up the match, a 6-0 run late in the first half bring
them to within four points at the turnaround.
Kings even dared to take the lead five
minutes into the second spell at 44-42, their young tyros displaying immense
maturity. But St. Mirren stepped up several gears, their forward Jamie
Devine inspiring 14-2 burst to swing the final back in his team's favour.
The capital side engineered a late 7-0 rally but found the gap too large
to overcome and St. Mirren commenced their celebrations (picture right)
in front of a vocal posse of supporters. 
"I'm lost for words," said an overwhelmed
Saints coach Lindsay Lang. "No one thought that in less than two years,
we could have come from nothing to lift the Cup. We were without two guys
who couldn't play so it was always going to be tough but I cannot praise
my team enough. And the fans who were fantastic and follow us everywhere."
Stuart MacKay led the victors on 16 points,
with Kings Campbell Flockhart capping a determined individual performance
with 14.
