St Patrick's Old Collegians-University of Ballarat and Endeavour Hills held each other scoreless for a half in a torrid Victorian Rugby division two C-grade encounter, before Endeavour Hills broke the shackles for two tries.

The Ballarat team refused to surrender, scoring a try in the dying minutes of the match before going down 12-5 in Hoppers Crossing.

"It was a hell of a way out and it was a really good game.

"Everyone in the team walked off the field knowing they'd given their all.

"You can't ask for much more than that," Ballarat coach Steve Leon said.

"The Endeavour Hills guys told us after the game that, based on what happened earlier in the season, they thought they'd run over the top of us.

They said they were getting really frustrated because of how well we played.

"We're pretty happy to have made finals in our first season in metro competition.

"It is one of the youngest sides I've played with so there's plenty to look forward to."

After the scoreless first half and a similar level of pressure for the early stages of the second half, Endeavour Hills spread the ball out to its backline, which stepped around for the first try.

Minutes later, Endeavour Hills forced an overlap which ended in a 60-metre try.

Just before the final whistle Inosi Ravisa stretched the ball over the line for Ballarat's first score.

SPOC-UB secretary Mick Kennedy said the loss should be used as a spur for future improvement.

"We were very pleased to make finals and all the players today showed good spirit," Kennedy said.

"We can't be complacent. We have to use this disappointment of losing as motivation to do better next season."