By Trevor Jackson
THE Mount Gambier Pioneers men kicked off their 2024 NBL1 South competition in the best way possible, with two wins on the road over the weekend.
The Pioneers faced the Sandringham Sabres on Saturday night and claimed a comfortable 97-79 victory.
They backed that up on Sunday with a hard-fought 67-63 win over the Waverley Falcons.
Against the Sabres it was a 27-11 second term which set the win up off a late 13-0 run, after an even 28-25 opening stanza.
Mount Gambier was well served by five players in double figures.
Akech Aliir topped the list with 22 points and nine rebounds in his debut for the Pioneers, along with three blocks.
Nick Marshall continued his classy game with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the weekend.
New import Christian Peevey dropped 19 points, Austin Shelley 12 and Titus Robinson 10.
The Pioneers then had to tough it out against the Falcons, this time with a third-quarter run which opened the margin somewhat.
With scores tied up at the long break, the pioneers came out in the third term and banged on 16 points to the Falcons’ nine, which provided enough breathing space down the stretch to hold on, as Waverley outscored them in the final stanza by three points.
Marshall was a rock, with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Shelley was again among the points with 12 to his name.
Robinson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
While Aliir only contributed four points, he pulled down 13 rebounds to provide plenty of opportunities for the Pioneers, with 12 of those at the defensive end of the floor.
He also added another four blocks to his opening game haul.
For coach Richard Hill it was a pleasing first round and more than he expected.
“They very good results,” he said.
“We have a lot of room for improvement, which is also good.
“Against Sandringham, the last part of the second quarter we went on a 13-0 run and our defence was really good.
“It had been pretty even up to then.
“We got it out to 20 at half time and it stayed about that.
“We won the game in that patch.
“They were missing some high-level players, which was expected because three of their guys had just finished playing in the NBL final, but they still put a really good team on the floor.
“We played better than I expected.”
Sunday’s clash with the Falcons was a totally different game, with both sides playing strong defence, limiting the other’s scoring opportunities.
Hill said it was a “tough, unbelievable battle” as both teams looked for chances to score.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well and they didn’t shoot the ball well.
“Both teams defended really well and in the end we just had a bit too much for them.
“Akech was vital down the stretch for us.
“His rebounding and shot blocking was outstanding for us.
“He didn’t have a great offensive game, but none of us did, except for Nick who carried us offensively.
“Akech had a massive weekend, which was really good for him.”
Likewise, Hill praised Marshall for his work around the basket.
“By his own admission he would have liked to have shot the ball better from the perimeter,” he said.
“But in a game where everyone else on the floor struggled to score from both teams, he shot the ball at a decent percentage.
“He was unbelievably valuable for us.”
At the end of the day, Hill said he was pleased to go on the road and win both games at this early stage of the season.
“It is massive for us,” he said.
“You want to win 14 games to make the playoffs and to get two off on the road against good teams is really pleasing.”
