THOSE who did not head over to the Icehouse on Saturday night missed out on two thrilling games of basketball.
A sold-out crowd filled the iconic stadium for the Pioneers men and women’s final minor round outing of the 2019 Basketball SA Premier League season.
Both matches were top-of-the-table encounters and the home club claimed all the bragging rights on offer for the night.
The women broke a deadlock in the final 10 seconds of play to secure a two-point win, while the men came from behind in a massive fourth-quarter effort to seal their top spot on the ladder.
To add to the occasion, long-serving men’s coach Richard Hill celebrated his 200th game with the club, while women’s coach Matt Sutton received quite the birthday present when his team made its last-minute dash across the line.
The nail-biting women’s clash left plenty to live up to and when the Eagles’ men opened strongly to lead by 17 points at the first change, things looked dire for the Pioneers in the second game of the night.
However, the hosts put foul trouble and missed shots behind them and clawed back the deficit to be within a point at the main break.
American import Kentrell Barkley was the main culprit as he fired from both inside and outside the three-point arc to finish with 18 points for the quarter.
A three-point bomb from captain Tom Daly put the Pioneers in front to start the third term, but former Pioneer Kane deWit answered with his own shot outside the arc to put the Eagles back in the lead.
From there the home team was unable to push ahead and at the final change Forestville held a nine-point buffer.
A hearty effort was required to turn the game around and the Pioneers delivered, outscoring their rival 37 points to 15 in the fourth quarter to run away with a 13-point victory, 106-93.
A key to that run was Brad Rathjen’s solid start to the term, which received praise from Hill, while prolific Forestville scorer Majok Deng was held to just six points to limit the Eagles’ assault on the hoop in the final stanza.
Overall it was a spread of contributors which resulted in the Pioneers’ success.
The team had three players score more than 20 points, led by Barkley who put in a solid effort of 38 points and 14 rebounds.
Daly was not at his most accurate, but still managed to pile on some points and finish with a respectable 22.
American DayJar Dickson was probably the most consistent on the night, shooting at 76pc from the field to finish with 20 points, while also pulling down nine rebounds – five from the offensive end.
Rounding out the double-figure scores was Rathjen, who contributed 14 points – many at crucial moments – as well as five rebounds.
For the Eagles, Deng top scored for the night with an impressive double-double of 42 points and 17 rebounds.
However, Brendan Teys was the next best scorer with just 15 points, which in the end was the downfall of the guests.
Hill said it was a “crazy” game and was pleased to see his team recover after it was put on the backfoot early.
He said it was no surprise Forestville came out of the gate stronger, due the Pioneers having had a relatively easy run over the last couple of months.
“I thought it would take us a little while to find the tempo of the game,” Hill said.
“I did not expect to be that far down a hole though – we were down as many as 19 points and 17 at the end of the first quarter.
“But to the guys’ credit they kept their heads and did not lose the plot.”
Hill was impressed with the turnaround in the second term, while even more so with the fourth-quarter effort which won the game.
“Brad Rathjen had a tremendous start to the last quarter,” he said.
“It was only about two minutes into the quarter and we had sort of wiped off the deficit.
“It happened pretty quick and I think they were a bit shell-shocked by that.”
Despite the bragging rights and the mantle of minor premiers, the Pioneers men now face a three-week break due to a bye in round 20 and the first week of playoffs.
Their next game will be the semi-final on August 3, which is not the ideal scenario in terms of carrying momentum into their playoff campaign.
However, Hill is confident his team is up to the task and looks forward to their next hit out.
