THE Mount Gambier Lakers men will look to continue their undefeated run in the Country Basketball League 2019/20 season on Sunday when they host the Ararat RedBacks.
It will be the second week in a row the two sides have faced off, with last week’s game providing a big win for the Lakers.
On their home court at the Icehouse the Lakers would start as hot favourites after their last dominant result over Ararat.
In the end Mount Gambier claimed the win to the tune of 32 points, with an even spread of scorers.
Five of the seven Lakers finished with double-figure scores, led by Simon Berkefeld with 21.
Sam Stafford and Kurt Rodis had 19 each, Mitch Hunter 15 and Duncan Reid 13.
Jordan Hollitt finished with nine, while Toby deWit contributed seven.
Only two RedBacks could reach double figures, with the Lakers defensive pressure simply too much for the hosts to handle.
Lakers’ coach Matt Berkefeld said he expected a big challenge Sunday, despite the dominant performance last round.
“They were actually quite competitive for most of the game last week,” he said.
“The boys said it was quite difficult to generate good shots and we struggled a bit early with a few shot-clock violations.
“They have a couple of handy guards we need to keep an eye on – we did a good job of that Saturday and need to do that again Sunday.”
Despite changes to the Lakers’ roster so far this season, they have a deep pool to choose from, with all up to the task.
This week sees Kyle Tipene, Lachie Hunter and Scott O’Connor return, with a full roster expected to hit the floor.
A win will be important, with the Lakers set to face soon Geelong and Horsham.
They are the only other two sides undefeated this season and will provide insight into where the Lakers sit.
So far the ladder is a mixed bag, with some teams having played five to six games, while the Lakers have only had the two.
“After the weekend some of the teams will have played half their games for the season and we are just getting started,” Berkefeld said.
“Our coming games will be against Geelon g and Horsham and according to the results they look like they will finish up the top of the ladder.
“But even with Ararat, they beat Millicent in their first game so we will not take them lightly.
“I think in the next few weeks we will find out where we sit.”
Ararat also faces a double-header road trip to make the job on Sunday a bit tougher.
The RedBacks head to Millicent on Saturday to face off against the Magic and will look to claim another victory, with the first clash between the two sides favouring Ararat, but by just four points.
All is set for another strong performance by Mount Gambier, with the game to tip off at 1pm at the Icehouse.
