MOUNT Gambier’s Pioneers claimed a comfortable 25-point win over Ballarat Miners Saturday night at the Icehouse in Round 13 of the South East Australian Basketball League season.
But it was not without digging deep, with star American import player Daniel Alexander sitting on the bench after the first few minutes of play with three personal fouls to his name.
Alexander has played a major role in the Pioneers success this season, but was forced to sit out until the second quarter, before returning to the floor with Mount Gambier trailing by two.
Alexander then lit up the scoreboard with nine points in three minutes of play to put the Pioneers back in front.
From there the Pioneers turned a two-point quarter-time deficit into a 22-point half-time lead and never looked threatened.
The game was played in pink playing strips in support of the Breast Cancer Awareness Group, with a big crowd showing up to support the cause and the side.
Apart from the early foul trouble, the Pioneers matched their fancied rivals shot-for-shot in the opening stanza, with neither side able to make a decisive break and stake a claim on the final result.
After five minutes of play the Miners were out to a two-point advantage, before John Jones made a basket to level the scores, then Erik Burdon hit a three to open that slightly.
The margin then hovered around the three-point mark before a basket in the final three seconds of the term gave the visitors the lead.
Ballarat seemed to have early momentum in the second term, but once Alexander returned to the floor that swung in favour of the home side.
When Alexander returned to the bench, Luke Jamieson, Kane DeWit and Brad Hill were prominent, finding three and twos, with a buzzer beating triple from Hill taking the home side to the long break in a dominant position.
While the Miners staged a come-back in the third term, outscoring the Pioneers 19-13, they still trailed by 16 at the final break, with plenty to do to challenge for the win.
But the Pioneers returned to their best in the last quarter, claiming the term 27-18 and the game.
For coach Richard Hill it was a good win, with the score not reflecting the toughness of the contest.
“It was tougher than 25 points suggested,” he said.
“Most of those 25 points came in the last five minutes of the second quarter.
“We stretched the lead from about six or seven to 22.
“That was the decisive bit of the game – the rest was pretty tough.”
Hill said the foul trouble for Alexander was not an ideal scenario, but something his side was capable of countering.
“It is not something you really want to deal with,” he said.
“We needed to get him out of the game, but John (Jones) came in and did some good things, then we moved Brad (Hill) to the four spot which is when we did most of our damage.
“We turned what was a difficult situation into a good one.”
Despite having Alexander on the bench, Hill said it was not a major issue.
“Daniel is a good player, but the other guys in the team are pretty good too,” he said.
“He is only one cog in the wheel.
“If you are reliant on one or two guys, you leave yourself open for disaster.
“When it comes down to it you need to trust everybody and I guess Saturday night was a good example of that.”
After having a solid lead at half time, Hill said he expected a big challenge after the break.
“We were very aware if we could put on the most of that game in a burst, they were certainly capable of doing the same thing,” he said.
“You can’t get ahead of yourselves.
“They came pretty hard at us in the third but to our credit we were able to get the momentum back and then outplayed them in the last quarter.”
While the Pioneers still sit top of the East Conference ladder, Hill said there were still areas to improve as the play-offs beckon.
“I guess it is all going to plan,” he said.
“But our rebounding and turnover counts are still areas we need to continue to work on.
“The stats will tell you they had significantly more shots than us.
“To be able to win a game of basketball with that against you is a pretty good effort.
“That can’t be the norm so we need to do a better job there.”
At the end of the night Brad Hill topped the scoresheets with 28 points and a big 15 rebounds.
Jamieson also contributed a double-double, with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Daly contributed 15, while Alexander (12) and Madgen (10) also reached double figures.
The night finished with an auction of Brad Hill’s playing strip, which raised $500 for the Breast Cancer Awareness Group.
