AYR Storm U16 men finished their Scottish Basketball Championship Division Three campaign with a visit to the new national performance centre, Oriam, in Edinburgh for a double header.

Unfortunately it coincided with an injury and illness crisis and only five players fit to start. However, the boys did not let that concern them and got on with the task at hand.

First was a tough game against the taller East Lothian Dragons - and they out-rebounded Ayr at both ends of the court.

This gave Dragons lots of second, and even third chance shots, while Ayr were limited to their first time and picked up few second chances from misses.

FT: Ayr Storm 24 EL Dragons 60.

It was just a 45-minute gap before the team had to go back on court to face a full strength Tayside Musketeers.

The boys found their second wind and with a pair of threes and strong drives to the basket from captain Paul Gibbons, supported by mid range shots from Ben Wigton, they surprised Tayside and won the first period 15:12.

With 12 players available, Tayside increased the tempo in P2 and won it by six points to lead by three at the interval.

Coach Danny Gibbons encouraged his side to give it one last push in P3 to see if they could steal a win - Harry Kerr, Ben Wheeler and Luke Paterson stepped up their defence and this let them feed the ball to Paul Gibbons (28 points) who went on to score all Storm's 13 points in P3 and it was just a two-point gap going into the final period.

Ayr were still in the game with a minute to go, but the five players were run out the game in the final seconds and the win slipped away.

FT: Ayr Storm 43 Tayside Musketeers 51.

Coach Gibbons told Sportscene: "The five boys were awesome and so unfortunate not to get the win in the second game. It was great to see them recognise how they could pace their game and still compete with a full-strength squad."

Ayr Storm's Junior Women won a nail-biter at Belmont Academy against National League Division One opponents Highland Bears. The winner of the game would determine the eighth seed for the end of season Play-offs, with the loser missing out on the trip to The Oriam in Edinburgh.

Internationalists Alix Henderson of Bears, and Rebecca Morrison of Storm, helped themselves to seven first quarter points apiece in a tense affair that saw the visitors edge it 13-12.

It was a run of three threes from the home side at the beginning of the second quarter - one from Morrison and two from point guard Petra Kurcikova, that helped Ayr to a three point half-time lead. The second half was close and as the game drew to a close, a drive and lay-up by Erin Jones levelled the scores at 53-53.

However, Henderson's free throw restored Bears lead with only 34 seconds remaining.

It was end-to-end play that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats, and an outside shot from Jessica Matthewson had the home support on their feet. A quick steal and basket from Kurcikova gave Ayr a three-point cushion with eight seconds left.

Russell took a three point shot with Bears' last play, but it agonisingly bounced off the rim, giving the home side victory. Morrison and Henderson finished as the games joint top scorers with 22 points apiece.

Head coach Laura Nisbet was pleased with the team's attitude and said: "I was delighted the girls found a way to win in such a close, nerve-wracking game. It showed true guts and determination."