Saints fell agonisingly short of opening the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association's Division 1 men's season with victory, losing to Olympians by a point.

Leading the match by two points with seconds to go, Saints appeared to have the game won.

However, a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Mitch Sheppard sealed the victory for Olympians, winning 82-81.

Despite the loss, Saints coach Matt Leske said he was pleased with his side’s efforts.

“It was a great game but obviously a disappointing result,” Leske said.

“I thought we had stolen the game from them but then they stole it from us. But it was good fun and definitely a great start to the season.”