Mixed results from road double

NAILBITING is the only way to describe the Castec Rural Supplies Mount Gambier Pioneers Men road double, winning their Saturday night clash by one point before going down by the same margin in the top of the table clash on Sunday afternoon.

Despite leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter, the Mount Gambier Pioneers had to come from behind to seal their eventual 100-99 win over the Kilsyth Cobras, securing the necessary points from the charity stripe.

The Cobras were looking to break into the top eight with a win on their home court, while the second placed Pioneers were looking to maintain the rage.

The Pioneers led by four at the first change and eight by the main break.

The third quarter was a veritable scoring spree – not just the umber of points but the accuracy on the finish with the Pioneers converting 12 from 18 and the Cobras putting up a 11 from 19 shooting performance.

Heading into the last, the margin was nine points and it did extend to as much as 13 before the home side decided to make a serious run – a 15-0 run to be precise before the visitors sparked back into action.

The Cobras still led with just over a minute to play – the Cobras fourth quarter onslaught built on bit shots from beyond the arc – but a Titus Robinson rebound and some nerves of steel from the foul line from the returning Jack Haggett and Dylan Marshall sealed the victory.

Austin Shelley put up 23 points, two assists and two steals, while Akech Aliir added 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, Joe Palmer 13 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals, Robinson 12 points, five rebounds and three assists and Marshall 12 points, two boards and two steals.

The clutch Saturday night win set the stage for the clash with top ranked Knox on Sunday and the match did not disappoint, forced into overtime before the home court Raiders secured the one point victory.

While the Pioneers entered the clash on the back of that tough Kilsyth victory, the Raiders were smarting from a loss to the Melbourne Tigers and not surprisingly they could not be separated after a 20-all opening stanza.

The home side forced their way to an eight point half time lead and looked set to take control during the third when they powered to a game high 18 point advantage.

The visitors had worked their way back to a nine point deficit by the final change and then went on an impressive 12-0 run to set up the grandstand finish.

Robinson hit a clutch three to finally give the Pioneers the lead late in the match before the Raiders tied up the contest from the foul line, forcing the match into overtime.

The frenetic extra time saw some stunning three point shooting from both teams as well as some undisciplined errors and in the end, the Raiders were up by one when the final buzzer sounded.

Titus Robinson put up 18 points and pulled in eight rebounds on 8/12 field goal shooting, while Amarco Doyle also recorded 18 points and eight rebounds wit Marshall contributing 17 points and two boards, Aliir 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks and Palmer 12 points and seven boards.

The OneFortyOne Mount Gambier Pioneers Women started the weekend in style with a 15 point win over the Cobras, keeping their campaign to secure a play-off place on track.

The Pioneers led by three points at the first change before both teams struggled to find their range in the low scoring second quarter and by half time the visitors had a five point lead.

An 11-0 run from the Pioneers in the third pushed that out to 15 points and they were never really challenged again to secure the critical victory.

Haliegh Reinoehl put in a dominant showing in the win for the Pioneers with 30 points, 18 rebounds and two assists on 13/19 field goal shooting, while Isa Brancatisano added 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Chloe Hildebrand seven points, and Jayda Jansen six points, five rebounds and five assists.

It was back down to earth for the girls on Sunday though, when the Raiders went on a tear to secure an 81-51 win.

The Pioneers got off to a decent enough start and led by three at the first break before their shooting woes returned and with the Raiders on song, it was the home side turning that three point deficit into a 13 point half time advantage.

There was no looking back for the home side from that point as the Raiders kept extending their lead, showing why they have a 12-3 season record.

The Pioneers now sit at 6-9.

Brancatisano top scored with 15 points and nine rebounds but that was on 4/18 field goal shooting, while Reinoehl ended up with eight points and eight rebounds, Hildebrand seven points and three boards, and Jayda Jansen six points, two rebounds and two assists.

RESULTS:

MEN

Mount Gambier Pioneers 100 (Shelley 23, Aliir 17, Palmer 13) d Kilsyth Cobras 99 (Stith 25, Sy 25, Ahale 22); Knox Raiders 106 (Blake 29, Dufelmeier 24, Nunn 19) d Mount Gambier Pioneers 105 (Robinson 22, Doyle 18, Marshall 17)

WOMEN

Mount Gambier Pioneers 78 (Reinoehl 30, Brancatisano 21, Hildebrand 7) d Kilsyth Cobras 63 (O’Connor 24, Young 16, Bates 9); Knox Raiders 81 (Bell 15, Froling 13, Burrows 8, Bradley 8, Wallace 8) d Mount Gambier Pioneers 51 (Brancatisano 15, Reinoehl 8, Hildebrand 7)