MOUNT Gambier Pioneers men continued their march towards the top of the Basketball SA Premier League table, with a comfortable win over the North Adelaide Rockets at the Icehouse Saturday night.
However, it was a tough grind early, with little in the contest until the final term.
In the end the Pioneers claimed the win by 17 points, two more than the Rockets had won by in round one.
But it was anything but a simple achievement, with the home side down at the first break to the tune of three points.
The Rockets had come out hard, despite the first basket of the game to Kentrell Barkley within the first five seconds of play.
Barkley continued on in the opening stanza to record 10 points, while fellow American DayJar Dickson also worked hard around the hoop with five of his own.
Erik Burdon started the night inside with a two-point layup, before heading out to drain a three late in the quarter to tie the game up.
However, the Rockets took the lead to the first break with a late three.
Brad Rathjen began to find his range early in the second quarter, as did Lachie Hunter, while Barkley simply continued to go hard to the hoop.
With a minute to go before the long break Hunter put the Pioneers up by 10, but late baskets saw the Rockets reduce that to five.
The Rockets were first on the board in the third term, but Tom Daly stood up with a pair of two-point jumpers to keep the Pioneers ahead.
Sam Daly then completed a three-point play, before a Dickson dunk ignited the crowd.
The Pioneers continued to hold sway and took a 10-point margin to the final break.
But the Rockets were not done and reduced the margin to six points early in the final stanza.
However, that was as close as they would come, with the Pioneers running out 17-point victors.
Barkley topped the statistics with 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Dickson also managed a double-double with 19 and 10.
Tom Daly contributed 24 points and Brad Rathjen 11.
For coach Richard Hill the winning margin was an important statistic, which may come into play later in the season as the playoffs approach.
Should the two sides finish equal, the Pioneers now have the upper hand in the head-to-head standings.
“It was a very good win,” Hill said.
“They are a decent team and gave us their best shot.
“To win by 17 was good because that covers the margin they beat us by.
“That is why the game was played out so seriously right to the end.”
The contest was again highlighted by an up-tempo style of play, with both Barkley and Dickson bringing plenty of pace to the floor, along with the likes of Tom and Sam Daly.
“DayJar and Kentrell fit in with what we try to do,” he said.
“We want to play at high speed and Kentrell in particular is perfect for that because he is really small for his position.
“He is really a guard playing as a forward.”
Hill said the defensive effort under the hoop from Barkley was also impressive, with the American currently leading the league in rebounds.
His 15 rebounds came at the defensive end of floor, which created plenty of offensive opportunities.
“Every time he rebounds it creates instant offence for us,” Hill said.
“That is key, it is a big part of how we want to play.
“He is leading the league in rebounding and if he continues to rebound like that he will create an enormous amount of opportunities for us at the other end.”
Hill said as the game wound down in the final term, the side simply continued to push hard and focused on achieving the victory, rather than the required winning margin.
“We spoke about reaching the tipping point where they would not be able to keep up with us,” he said.
“I think that happened about half way through the last quarter.”
The Pioneers now have a break until a double header on April 27-28 up in Adelaide.
