IT could not have been much better for the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday night when they hosted Woodville Warriors for round 17 of the Basketball SA Premier League season.
Both the men and women claimed wins, while a uniform auction after the men’s clash raised over $4000 for the Lifeline foundation.
The starting five men’s and women’s uniforms were auctioned off on the night, with bidders generous in their donations, while the remaining player’s uniforms will be sold online.
“We are hoping the end result will be over $5000 for Lifeline, which would be fantastic,” Pioneers men’s coach Richard Hill said.
“The generosity of the people bidding was outstanding.”
In front of another strong home crowd the Pioneers men put on a show, which opened with a stream of dunks to bring the excitement levels up.
An 11-point opening term from captain Tom Daly set the scene for his game, as he finished up with a game-high 29 points.
He shot accurately to drain six three-pointers from eight attempts and also chipped in with seven assists and five rebounds.
The assists count was high for many players on the night, as the Pioneers shared the ball around with some classy plays bringing the crowd’s applause throughout the game.
It was a different story for the Warriors as they struggled to make the most of their opportunities.
The drain appeared clogged for the guests and they failed to sink their shots when it counted.
As a result the Pioneers had established a 13-point lead by the first change and extended it at every break from there.
The final margin was a convincing 46 points and the triumph marked the Pioneers’ ninth consecutive victory.
On top of Daly’s efforts, American imports DayJar Dickson and Kentrell Barkley were both in their element again under the spotlight.
The pair shot 24 and 21 points respectively, while both pulling in 12 rebounds each.
Barkley created plenty of second chances with five of his boards from the offensive end, while Dickson also played a solid game at both ends of the court.
“DayJar had probably his best all-around game for us,” Hill said.
“He is getting better all the time.
“The same can be said across the board for all of our team – everyone is continuing to grow and get better.”
Lachie Hunter is a perfect example of that, with the rising talent coming into his own over recent rounds.
He played another standout game on Saturday to finish with 11 points and six rebounds.
“I thought he played really well on Saturday and he was the same last weekend, particularly against West Adelaide,” Hill said.
Rounding out the double-figure scorers was Erik Burdon, who had a quieter night with 12 points, but had seven assists in a selfless performance.
Brad Rathjen (six points) and Sam Daly (nine) also played more team-oriented games, with seven and six assists respectively.
The win keeps the Pioneers in top spot on the ladder with two games left to play, with the consistent form of the team a pleasing sign for Hill.
“From a coaching point of view it is a pleasing thing,” Hill said.
“That was our ninth win in a row and every one has been similar.
“We have come out hard and played well with great purpose and speed.”
However, Hill takes the results with a grain of salt and he will be under no illusions heading into the post season.
“In that nine-game run we have only played one team which has been in the top five, so some of that could be a little bit of fools gold,” he said.
Despite that, the Pioneers will enter this weekend’s match against Sturt Sabres as strong favourites once again.
