St. Polten — Kufstein: 85:77, Superliga

Schwarzstall-Pölstal beat Kufstein 85 to 77 in the Superliga on Thursday evening. The hosts kept their ninth-place position after the visitors failed to make a late move. And here's the thing about this result — it's not the kind of game you'd expect given where both sides sit in the table.

Eighty-five to seventy-seven isn't a blowout, but it was enough to keep the home side clear. Kufstein had chances to close the gap in the final quarter, but they ran out of legs. The scoreline tells a simple story: the hosts held firm when it mattered.

We called for a home win before kick-off and gave it 69 per cent confidence. To be fair, that felt right — Pölstal have won four of twenty games this season, but they tend to pick up points against teams lower down. Kufstein have lost three of their last five and weren't going to beat themselves.

Shooting from distance made the difference. The hosts hit eight three-pointers to seven, but they also took more shots inside. Thirty-four field goals against thirty-one for the visitors — it wasn't much, but it was the margin that counted. Kufstein's seventeen turnovers did them no favours either.

Pölstal's recent form has been patchy. They lost to Gmunden and Nord, but beat Furstenfeld and Nord again in March. Kufstein lost to Graz and Wagrain twice, then beat Mattersburg at home. Neither side is on a run, but the hosts had momentum coming into this one.

The table doesn't move much after one game. Pölstal stay ninth with twenty points from twenty matches. Kufstein remain where they were — somewhere in the bottom half, though the exact position isn't worth noting yet. The season is long, but this was a solid result for the hosts.