THE Mount Gambier Pioneers men were pushed for their win on Saturday night, when they hosted the Sturt Sabres at the Icehouse in round 18 of the Basketball SA Premier League season.
Although the final result was a 14-point victory, it took most of the game for the hosts to shake off their opponent.
As has been the usual of late, the Pioneers stormed out of the gate to outscore the Sabres 27-18 in the opening term, but a lapse in the second quarter allowed Sturt back in the game.
A three-pointer drained by the Sabres’ Jack Turnbull two minutes into the second quarter started the comeback and by half time the Pioneers found themselves down by one.
That was enough to spur the home team into action and after some back and forth play early in the third term, the Pioneers took the lead and held it until the final buzzer.
Coach Richard Hill was pleased with how his team turned the game around after it was outscored 29-19 in the second term.
That provided a “wake up call” heading into the third quarter and the Pioneers went on to hold Sturt to just 32 points in the second half.
A below-average offensive game from the hosts saw them score under 100 points for the first time in eight matches.
However, they were able to claim the points and head into this weekend’s final minor round game against Forestville Eagles with a second-place finish their worst-case scenario.
Saturday was also the first time the Pioneers have been without captain Tom Daly this season, who was unavailable due to a wedding.
But that did not prevent a Daly from cleaning the floor on the night, as brother Sam stepped up to score a game-high 29 points.
He has shown solid form of late and was just a single rebound and assist away from a triple double, with nine of each in an impressive all-round performance.
“Sam did a good job – he played really well,” Hill said.
“Brad Rathjen was really solid again and Kentrell (Barkley) put up the numbers, but probably did not have his best game.
“I think by his own admission he was a little bit flat.”
However, a “flat” performance from the American import involved a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Rathjen shot well to finish with a respectable 18 points and six rebounds, while American import DayJar Dickson finished the double-figure scorers with 10 points, complimented by eight rebounds.
Overall Hill said it was not his team’s best performance, but aside from the second term – which he said was the worst quarter they had played since their last loss back in round 10 – the rest of the game went mostly to script.
“I respect what Sturt did – they came in and defended us at a level which other teams have not been able to for the last month,” he said.
“We did not have our best offensive night, particularly in the first half and our defence was a little vulnerable.
“The rest of the game was pretty much following our normal script, but they completely dominated us in the second quarter.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, a top-of-the-table clash with Forestville will likely decide whether the Pioneers finish the minor rounds in first or second position.
The Eagles still have some games in hand, with a round 20 clash with Southern Tigers and a catch up to play after Saturday’s game against Norwood Flames was abandoned due to a roof leak.
However, Hill is confident they should win those matches, leaving the top two positions to be decided at the Icehouse this Saturday.
