A HUGE third-quarter effort set up another South East Australian Basketball League national title for the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday night.
The impressive 92-85 win came over a tough Dandenong Rangers outfit, with the game in the balance late in the final term as the Rangers fought back.
But after banging on 28 points to 11 in the third stanza and leading by 16 at the final break, the task was always going to be tough for Dandenong.
More than 200 fans from Mount Gambier ventured across the border to witness the victory, with their roar of approval heard clearly throughout the game.
The Rangers drew first blood through Garrett Jackson, but Erik (Eze) Burdon was soon on the board with a big three, which was a sign of things to come from the outside shooter.
Tim Lang drained a three for the Rangers to reclaim the lead, followed by a two-point jumper to Brad Hill to tie it up.
Jackson then went to the line for one of two free throws, before Daniel Alexander stepped in with a layup then a big dunk to put the Pioneers three clear.
Josh Oswald added another single free throw to the Rangers total, before the in-form Burdon stepped up for another three.
While the Rangers continued to find the basket, Tom Daly added a three to keep the Pioneers in front and when Alexander added his second dunk of the night, the Mount Gambier supporters erupted.
Burdon continued his hot hand outside the arc, but with two minutes to play the Rangers claimed the lead.
The Pioneers hit back and Alexander rounded out the term with another dunk to go to the first break three points up.
The Rangers out-scored the Pioneers by four points in the second term.
Coach Richard Hill had gone to his bench for a big part of the quarter, with John Jones and Jack Madgen joining Matt Sutton on the floor for the start of the term.
Magden soon found his range, with an early two-point basket, but the Rangers continued to chip away, with Chauncey Orr claiming the lead two-and-a-half minutes in.
The arm wrestle continued, with the Rangers out to a seven-point advantage late in the quarter.
But two-point baskets to Burdon, Daly and Brad Hill had the deficit back to one at the long break.
After the break the Pioneers began to hit their straps, with Hill, Burdon and Alexander turning the deficit into a six-point advantage just two minutes in.
The momentum had swung, but the Rangers continued to attack.
Threes to Sutton and Burdon then had the Pioneers out to a solid lead, before a Jamieson block kept the momentum in Mount Gambier’s favour.
By the final break the margin was 16, with ample time for Dandenong to steal the championship banner.
However, with Burdon on fire, another three came within the first minute of the final stanza, stretching the margin to 19 for what appeared to be a regulation victory.
But someone forgot to the tell the Rangers it was all over, as they pushed hard for the final term.
Lang, Oswald, Orr and Felix von Hofe were instrumental and when a Jackson two saw the Pioneers lead diminish to just four points, it looked like the momentum was going to carry the Rangers across the line.
But Hill remained composed, with a big three-point bucket, followed by a two-point layup to again open the margin.
Jamieson slammed home a dunk to add insult to injury and the Pioneers were out by 11.
Still the Rangers kept coming and with just 13 seconds remaining the margin was five points, with no time left for Dandenong.
It was the perfect send off for former captain Sutton in his last SEABL game.
Daly was awarded the Hugh McMenamin Medal for Most Valuable Player.
He top scored for the game with 22 points, along with Burdon, who shot an impressive 75pc from outside the three-point arc.
Hill finished with 16 points and some timely baskets that kept the momentum with the victors, while Alexander was dominant around the boards, contributing 15 points and a huge 16 rebounds.
Coach Richard Hill said there were a few moments in the game where his side stood up to the challenge.
“I thought a key part for us was just before half time,” he said.
“They had got it out to seven and had some real momentum.
“Daniel (Alexander) had been on the bench in foul trouble and I took a punt and put him back in the game with a few minutes to go in the quarter.
“We were able to arrest the momentum and go in at half time one down.”
From there the Pioneers stepped up in typical fashion and dominated the third term.
“We played an unbelievable third quarter, which has been our strength all year,” Hill said.
“Our defence was outstanding – we kept them to 11 points and put on 27.”
Hill said his side made its share of errors, which provided the Rangers with scoring opportunities and a subsequent 15-0 run late in the game.
“They got it back to four with about three or four minutes to go – that’s a fair bit of basketball,” he said.
“Brad (Hill) made a really big shot for us which got it back out to seven, then got to the rim and scored again.
“We got it back out to nine or 10 then held sway from there.”
Hill said Burdon’s game was a feature of the night.
“We spoke about the way we were going to attack and we were confident he was going to get some open looks,” he said.
“Eze was able to knock those shots down early, which was crucial for us, then he hit a couple of big shots later.”
While Hill said Daly was a deserved winner of the MVP award, he said there was no shortage of input from the remainder of the side.
“Tom has the ball in his hands a lot and had a great game, no question about that,” he said.
“I also thought Daniel was excellent.
“He defended really well and if he wasn’t in foul trouble, it is fair to say we could have won more comfortably.
“With him and Brad sitting out, it hurt us, but we were able to work through that.
“Suttsy came off the bench and had a good game and we got some key minutes out of John.”
Hill said while Jamieson did not contribute a lot of points, his defence was another key to the win.
“All our starters were pretty solid and we got contributions across the board,” he said.
“Luke defended their big guys unbelievably well and they are things that don’t show up on the stats sheet.
“But that’s our team, everyone does what they have to do and sometimes someone gets the spotlight.
“Tom got the spotlight, but Daniel and Eze had big games.
“Brad had a really good second half and Luke had a very good game on the defensive end.
“You can’t win without that.”
