Picture: TREVOR JACKSON
THE Icehouse was full to capacity long before the Pioneers men stepped on the court Saturday night to take on the Southern Tigers.
In the first home game of a new era in Pioneers basketball, a huge crowd filled the stadium to watch the women record their first victory of the Basketball SA Premier League season.
That set the scene for the men, with the crowd already pumped from the previous contest.
“In my wildest dreams I did not expect that response,” men’s coach Richard Hill said of the crowd.
“It was the biggest crowd we have ever had.”
A lengthy injury delay late in the women’s game put the start of the round three clash back for the men, but from the outset it was apparent the supporters were in for a treat.
The game began at a frenetic pace, with the Tigers posting a triple inside the first minute to kick proceedings off.
Erik Burdon put the Pioneers on the board soon after, but the Tiger responded to maintain the early lead.
Tom Daly then tied the game up on a three-point play after he was fouled going to the hoop and when American import DayJar Dickson dunked seconds later, the crowd erupted.
But the Tigers again hit back and took the lead.
With four minutes gone Daly was again on the board as he built towards a huge personal tally, while Dickson dunked again for the lead.
While Daly began to dominate the game early, Dickson showed plenty of class around the hoop, while young Lachie Hunter began to make his mark.
Sam Daly then came into the contest in his first outing for the Pioneers and all looked on track as the opening stanza wound down.
By the first break the margin was just five points in favour of the home side, after a spirited quarter of basketball.
Tom Daly led the Pioneers to an early seven-point advantage in the second term, but that was short-lived, as the Tigers continued to apply the pressure.
Sam Daly joined in and the brothers kept the visitors at bay, but in the fourth minute of play a pair of triples to CJ Turnage saw the game tied up, then a further three from the same hand had the Tigers back in front.
The Tigers stretched their lead to five points, but a sustained effort by the Pioneers saw the game tied up at the long break, off the back of a Hunter two on the buzzer.
Once again the third term began in a flurry, with both sides on the board early.
The Daly brothers again went to work, with two-point baskets to open the margin slightly, before the Tigers closed it down.
Tom Daly then sunk back-to-back twos, before a dunk from Dickson again excited the crowd.
A three followed from Tom Daly and suddenly the Pioneers were out to an 11-point advantage.
With less than a minute to play in the quarter Erik Burdon drained a big three and the margin had crept out to a decisive 19 points.
The home side headed into the final stanza with a comfortable 17-point margin and looked the goods to claim the honours.
A tough final term ensued, with the Tigers intent on returning to Adelaide victorious.
However, while they closed the margin to seven points late in the game, the damage had been done and the Pioneers held on by nine points to record their second win of the season.
Tom Daly was impressive with his 40 points, Sam Daly with 23, Dickson with 16 and Hunter with 11 in the 108-99 result.
American import Kentrell Barkley had limited time on the floor due to foul trouble, but still managed 14 rebounds, with 12 of those at the defensive end of the floor, plus seven assists, all in just 17 minutes of play.
Hill said despite a slow start, the game overall was entertaining.
He said he was pleased with the result, which came on the back of a big third term.
“To go into half time level was good, but I thought we had a great third quarter,” he said.
“We were up by 17, then got it out to 21 in the last quarter, but they did not give up.
“They kept coming and we may have lost some momentum, then struggled a little bit down the stretch to put the ball in the basket.”
Despite that, Hill said he was pleased to have such a good result in front of the home crowd.
“We have to take care of home court,” he said.
“That has always been important for us.
“It has been difficult for people to come here and win and we have to make it as tough as we can.
“We have three home games in a row now and hopefully we can take care of business.”
Hill made note of a couple of big individual performances throughout the game.
“With Kentrell (Barkely) in foul trouble, I thought Lachie (Hunter) had a big role to play and he did that pretty well for us,” he said.
“I think Sam (Daly) slotted in pretty seamless really.
“He is very talented, made good decisions and did all the right things for us.
“I think DayJar (Dickson) will continue to get better.
“If we can get that sort of production every night we would be really pleased.”
Apart from that Hill said Tom Daly’s performance was “first class”.
“He is playing a different role than he would normally play,” he said.
“We are playing him off the ball as more of a scorer.
“He had 40 points off 21 shots which is a high percentage.
“He was very focused and playing his first game with his brother was probably special for him as well.
“It was a tremendous performance.”
The Pioneers now have a bye before hosting Norwood Flames on March 30.
