IT was a heart wrenching loss for the Mount Gambier Pioneers Friday night in Round 10 of the South East Australian Basketball League season, as they went down to Kilsyth by three points in extra time.
It was almost a must-win for the reigning champions after a season decimated by injury.
But unfortunately it was not to be, with just the final minute of extra time deciding the Pioneers’ fate, with the current ladder leaders holding on after a tough contest.
The night also saw the first full game from American import player Alex Marzette, who came into the side just days before the last hit out at the Icehouse, with little game time that night.
But Friday night he stood up and gave the home fans a glimpse of what to expect, with 18 points and seven rebounds.
However it was captain Tom Daly who top scored for the night with 29 points, while another recent inclusion in the line up Sam McDaniel managed 28.
Lewis Thomas also registered double figures with 12 points.
The Pioneers played catch for much of the first term, despite a three-point jumper from McDaniel to open proceedings.
The Cobras soon claimed the lead and stretched it out to six before the home side could hit back.
Mid-way through the therm the margin was back to two points off an Erik Burdon triple, then a pair of successful free throws to Marzette tied the game up soon after.
But the Cobras hit back again.
A two from Lewis Thomas and a triple to Marzette saw the Pioneers claim the lead by three, with Daly adding a two to stretch the margin to five.
However, as the clock wound down the Cobras were able to make the most of the play, with three free throws to take back the lead, but a buzzer-beating triple to Marzette saw the home side with a tentative two-point advantage at the first break.
The arm wrestle continued early in the second term, with the Cobras able to open a seven-point margin after four-and-a-half minutes of play.
From there the game went basket for basket, until a Burdon three and a Marzette two had the margin back to two points, with the latter adding two successful free throws to tie the game up again.
However, in the final minute of the term the Cobras went on a 7-0 run to go to the long break with that margin.
The third term saw much of the same, with McDaniel finding an early three and Daly a two to close the margin.
The Cobras responded, but another triple to McDaniel had the margin back to a solitary point.
Again the visitors responded, but a Thomas dunk had the crowd roaring.
However, again the Cobras won the final minute of play to take a handy nine-point advantage to the final break.
With their season all-but on the line, the Pioneers opened the final term with a dunk to Marzette to remain in the contest.
Thomas soon added a two, with Daly contributing the same for a six-point deficit.
When Thomas dunked the crowd rose and the game was again in the balance.
However, whatever the Pioneers put up, the Cobras answered, until back-to-back threes to McDaniel gave the home side the lead mid-way through the term.
With 30 seconds remaining in regulation time the Pioneers were up by three, but the Cobras tied the game and with less than a second on the clock a missed attempt from Marzette sent the contest to overtime.
Five extra minutes were placed on the clock and neither side could make a decisive break.
As time ran down it was the Cobras who took the advantage and with a pair of free throws late in the game sealed the contest.
Coach Richard Hill said it was a disappointing result, considering the effort displayed by his side.
“It was one of those games where the guys put a lot of effort in and didn’t get any reward for it,” he said.
“We could have won it in regulation, but we were a little bit unlucky and we made a couple of mistakes.
“We were five up inside two minutes and really, we had the game in our control.
“When you are having a good season it doesn’t matter that much, but when you need to get a lot of wins in a short period of time, the mistakes are magnified – they hurt a lot more.”
Apart from the last term and overtime, Hill said a few other areas of the game made a win hard to come by.
“We had a patch in a minute and a half before the three-quarter-time buzzer where we went from two down to nine down,” he said.
“In a game that close you can’t afford to do that.
“To the guys’ credit we were able to go from that nine down to five up on the back of some tremendous defence and some really good shooting.
“We were in a hole a few times and kept digging ourselves out, then we put ourselves in a position to win and didn’t know how to win it.”
However, with a team that has been complete for just two games, up against the top side in the competition, the performance was certainly credible, leaving the question – how good could the team have been this season had all gone to plan?
Obviously the structure would have been different, but in its current form the Pioneers showed the ability to mix it with the best in the competition, despite the disruptions of the season.
However, to have some hope of competing in the post season the Pioneers need to start winning, with four games in eight days kicking off Friday night in Bendigo.
That will include Ballarat the following night – both on the road – before returning to the Icehouse to face Nunawading on Thursday and Frankston on the Friday night.
Of those four teams only Frankston is not in playoff contention, with the results set to decide the Pioneers’ fate.
But Hill still holds hope for the season.
“I really like the group we have,” he said.
“It is just going to take time to come together and we don’t have any time, so we are hoping to get on a roll and string together some wins.
“That is a tough ask, but if we play like we did Friday night in every game we can win.
“There won’t be one game we play in for the rest of the year we won’t think we can win.”
