IT was another stunning performance at the Icehouse when the Mount Gambier Pioneers hosted Diamond Valley Eagles in Round 3 of South East Australian basketball on Friday night.
Despite missing three of the starting five players – Tom Daly, Majok Deng and Luke Jamieson – the Pioneers were not troubled in the clash, with Erik Burdon standing tall in his 200th game, finishing with 29 points.
Kyle Tipene chipped in with 22 points, while Lewis Thomas managed 16.
But it was Kane De Wit who lit up the crowd, only managing six points, but pulling down 13 rebounds and grabbing plenty of loose balls, throwing his body around to give the Pioneers every opportunity to attack.
In the end it was a 32-point victory and yet another display of the side pulling together under adversity.
Brad Hill returned to floor this week and opened proceedings with a three-point bomb to set the scene, but Daniel Camp responded for the visitors with a two.
With just over two minutes gone the Eagles tied the game up, but a big three from Burdon, followed up by a free throw for a four-point play reclaimed the lead for the home side
Thomas was accurate from the charity stripe early and tough around the basket, with a defensive rebound setting Tipene up for his first triple of the night.
Tipene followed that up with another three less than a minute later and the Pioneers were looking every bit as solid as last round, despite the lack of personnel.
The Eagles closed the margin to four points with four minutes to play in the term, but the Pioneers were out to a 12-point advantage late in the term, before Diamond Valley closed it down to seven at the first break.
The margin fluctuated early in the second quarter, with Chol Luk having an impact for the Pioneers.
However, mid-way through the term the Eagles would simply not go away, applying plenty of pressure to keep within seven points.
A De Wit two-pointer seemed to spark something, with Tipene adding another three to stretch the advantage to 12.
The Eagles responded with a couple of baskets, before Thomas dunked and the Pioneers were back on track.
Luk finished the term off with a regulation layup and the lead was 15 points at the long break.
From there the visitors lost touch and struggled to keep up with the running Pioneers.
By the final break the margin had snuck out to 22 points and the the home side was in control.
A dunk to Camps in the opening seconds of the final stanza, along with a three to Matt Reynolds gave the visitors some hope of closing the gap.
Burdon responded, but again the Eagles hit back.
However, with five minutes to play Dellon Brown drained a three and the Pioneers were all-but home.
A Burdon triple from a metre outside the three-point arc saw the crowd rise in unison, with the perfect result coming minutes later for his milestone game.
Burdon subbed out of the game proper to full time, taking a well-earned rest to the applause of the crowd.
