The two school rivals on the court had squared off just weeks earlier for the Northern title and to qualify for final eight in the state at the weekend’s tournament.

That day Riverside powered away in the last term to win by three points. But on Sunday, it was a reversal of fortunes as Sacred Heart kept pulling away in a 45-31 win.

“It was an amazing game – they played really well and structured,” Sacred Heart coach Jamie Baldock said.

“They were very patient, they passed well, they shot well, they got on the hoop well. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Son Oliver Baldock simply proved unstoppable around the hoop, nailing 28 points for the winners. Lachlan May was the standout shooter for Riverside with 14 points.

Both sides did not drop any of their four games on the way to the grand final, but Sacred Heart never trailed once on its way to the title.

“I wouldn’t exactly say I was expecting it, but winning this was definitely our number one goal, especially since we lost to Riverside in the Northern regionals,” he said. “So I had expectations we’d possibly meet them again.”

Riverside coach Mandy Gibson felt the school had played their best basketball earlier in the morning.

Sacred Heart kept her side to just 31 points, the lowest score the group had been held for more than a year.

“We probably didn’t play our best game, which is probably a little bit disappointing,” she said.

“We played an awesome semi-final this morning where everything came together. This afternoon we had a couple of things that didn’t come together very well. All credit to Sacred Heart – their defence was terrific and it’s what turned the game.”

Trevallyn Primary School certainly earned their way into a junior state basketball grand final on Sunday.

They may have lost 54-28 to an impressive Corpus Christi Catholic Hobart, but Trevallyn coach Jason Gunn confessed the journey had been a great ride.

“They’ve been a great team and they’ve really impressed me,” Gunn said.

“We had a couple of players never played a game of basketball before, actually.

“So to get through to the state final was really impressive. So getting those guys and making sure they got court time was important.”

Noah Hedger (nine points) top-scored for Trevallyn as they pushed hard to level midway through the second term. But the home side succumbed to the scoring pressure of Corpus Christi in the second half.

“It was a really hard-fought final today,” Gunn said.

“They were a great team, Corpus Christi, and they’ve got one particularly player that was outstanding, and in the end we couldn't quite get over the line.”