TWO seasons ago a play-off final defeat to Falkirk Fury 2 saw the Ayr Storm U16 men denied an unbeaten season and promotion to Division 2 - so all were looking forward to seeing how sides matched up in their last meeting.

Storm came out fast and strong and guards Paul Gibbons and Isaac Tomba were enjoying having Matthew Morrison back in the team alongside Mathew Keegan.

This gave them more options on the break - and Morrison and Keegan combined to score 19 of Ayr's 21 points in the opening period. Strong rebounding from Gabriel Lorimer in defence limited Fury's second chances and helped Ayr open up a nine-point lead.

Great defence was the story of period two - Ayr stepped up the pressure on the visitors and ensured they had no time to think and forced turnover after turnover. Cammy Lang and Nathan Bradley came off the bench and keep the energy and pressure going and Fury just could not get close to a basket. This gave coach Gibbons the chance to introduce 2 U14 squad members to the game - Fraser Reid and Jackson Tindle - to get their first taste of Scottish Basketball Championship play. It was not till the last minute of the period Fury got their first open play basket and Storm took P2 14-3 to lead by 20 points at the break.

With a 20-point lead, Ayr followed the recommendation for Division Two and ensured a maximum of three starters were on court ant any one time - it meant more experience gained for the whole squad and some new combinations could be tried.

What it did not mean was a drip in Ayr's dominance as they went on to win period three 15-7 and the final period by 18-12 and move to a win 2 loss 2 record in their debut season in div2.

Full time: Ayr Storm 68 34 Falkirk Fury2

"Last week we relied on Paul and Mathew K to lead our scoring, and it was great to have Matthew M back this week to add a third option," coach Danny Gibbons said.

He added: "This made it harder for Fury to work out where the threats would come from and we could stretch the game. It was great to get the younger U16m and even 2 U14m more involved today and this will benefit us over the season as the squad gets stronger together".

Ayr Squad: P Gibbons (12pts), C Lang, I Tomba (6), F Reid, J Tindle, M Morrison (16), D Pirie (4), M Keegan (23), G Lorimer (6), N Bradley, B Ferguson (1).