By Lachlan Onions
The Mount Gambier Pioneers Men’s team claimed an important win over the Nunawading Spectres on Saturday night at the Icehouse to remain in second place on the ladder.
The Pioneers got off to a flyer in the first quarter as Nick Marshall and Tom Kubank teamed up to take an early 10-0 lead.
“We set up the win in the first three or four minutes,” Pioneers coach Richard Hill said.
Despite the sizeable height disadvantage, Mount Gambier was able to dominate the paint early in the game to set itself up strongly for the remainder of the match.
In the first quarter, Mount Gambier scored 16 points in the paint, to the Spectres’ four.
The Pioneers led by 12 points at quarter time and there was no way back for the visitors.
Hill said it was the first time his side have had a great first quarter.
“Our defence was pretty solid, as was our rebounding, so that really set up the win and it was an arm wrestle from then on,” Hill said.
With a comfortable lead, Mount Gambier began to show why it is one of the most versatile sides in the competition.
The Pioneers’ impressive ball movement was on full display in the second quarter when Marshall drove to the rim before passing the ball backwards over his head to Michael Harris, who knocked down the corner three.
Nunawading managed to reduce the lead to 10 points at the main break but Mount Gambier remained in control.
In a low-scoring third quarter, the Pioneers extended their lead to 17 points with just over two minutes to play in the quarter.
However, by the end of the term, Mount Gambier’s lead was cut-down to 13 points.
Clevon Brown and Harris started the final quarter strongly to give the Pioneers a 17-point lead again with just under seven minutes left.
A late surge in momentum saw Nunawading reduce the lead to just 10 points with five minutes to play as the Spectres eyed off a potential miracle comeback.
However, Marshall stemmed the flow with a layup at the other end to keep the Pioneers on top.
In the end, Mount Gambier was too strong for Nunawading to win 80-69.
“It was a good win, I was very pleased,” Hill said.
“We made some good steps forward in areas we needed to.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well but we were still able to win and we kept them to 69 points, which was one of our better efforts from defence.”
Marshall was dominant as he scored 25 points, which included four three-pointers from seven attempts.
He also recorded six rebounds, three assists and a block in an impressive all-round display.
“Nick Marshall was outstanding, he has been playing some tremendous basketball,” Hill said.
“He was matched up against a guy who had 35 points in the previous week against Hobart.”
Marshall kept CJ Asuncion-Byrd to just 13 points with only three field goals from 17 attempts.
Hill praised Marshall as he often got a basket for the Pioneers whenever the Spectres began to get back into the game
Harris scored 18 points and was strong on deck as he recorded 10 rebounds for a double-double.
“Michael Harris had a solid game, outside of shooting,” Hill said.
Tom Kubank scored 15 points, while Brown scored nine points, made two blocks and caught nine rebounds, despite being tasked to handle the height the Spectres had with Dain Swetalla, Callum Barker and Daniel Baxter.
Hill praised Jordan Rawls, Kubank and Brown for their defence against the size of the Nunawading players and said what could have been an issue, did not turn into a problem for the Pioneers.
“Collectively those three guys did a pretty good job,” Hill said.
“I knew size could be an issue for us but we defended well.
“Clevon was excellent, he gave us great rim protection, as well as being able to defend his man.
“The other two gave us what they normally do, which is solid play.”
Rawls played an important role off the bench as he scored seven points and recorded seven rebounds.
The Pioneers boast the best offensive record in the league and are currently second on the ladder with a game in hand on first and third.
With 12 wins on the board and six games to play, Hill said the goal is to get to 16 wins for the season.
“I think Hobart will finish top, if we can get 16 wins we will probably finish second and that will be great,” Hill said.
“There isn’t any easy games left, every single win is going to be crucial for us.”
Mount Gambier will return to the Icehouse this Saturday when it takes on North West Tasmania.
“We need to get better again, we played better but it is not championship winning basketball,” Hill said.
He said he wants more of the same from his side when they take on North West Tasmania.
Hill said the opposition will not be as big as Nunawading but have talented NBL-level guards.
