The Mount Gambier Pioneers made it two from two on Friday night with both the men’s and women’s teams securing wins over the Kilsyth Cobras in NBL1 South conference action.
The OneFortyOne Pioneers women continued their winning streak, downing the Cobras by eight points, while the Castec Rural Pioneers men returned to the winners list with a comprehensive 22-point victory.
The men’s side welcomed back import Jacob Lampkin from injury, while returning Pioneer Tom Kubank took the court fresh from playing in the Netherlands.
Sharp shooter Nick Marshall remained sidelined through injury.
The tall timber in Lampkin proved an immediate boost for the Mount Gambier side, which had been running small in recent weeks.
Kilsyth opened proceedings with the first score of the match before a three pointer from Lampkin had the Pioneers up 5-4 after two minutes of play.
Another three from captain Kane de Wit helped the home side out to a 17-11 lead with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
But the Cobras rallied and finished the stanza down 23-24.
The Pioneers went on a 7-0 run to open the second quarter, including a three pointer from youngster Austin Shelley, before extending their lead to 12 with just over a minute to play.
Dylan Marshall sent down a three as the clock ran down, with the Pioneers finishing the half up 52-41.
Play was even in the third stanza, despite the Cobras sending down four three pointers, with Julian Pesava and de Wit both landing their own threes.
The Cobras worked to rein in the buffer to eight points with just over three minutes to play, before the home side pushed back to finish the quarter up 75-63.
Marshall and Pesava stepped it up a notch in the final period, each sending down two three pointers to have their side up by 21 half way through the quarter.
Leonard Harper-Baker thrilled the crowd with two successive slam dunks to be up by 25, before head coach Richard Hill sent on local youngsters Ben Young, Zach Nulty and Toby de Wit to close out the match with a 102-80 win.
Pesava led the scoring with 20, while Lampkin secured a double double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, with Shelley scoring 16 points and Marshall 15.
The win bumped the Castec Rural Pioneers up into sixth place on the ladder, with seven wins and five losses.
Hill said it was a good feeling to be back on the winners’ list.
“We played very well which was good, we have been playing okay, we have just been down on numbers,” he said.
“Having Jacob back made a real impact and it was a pleasing result.”
The OneFortyOne Pioneers women got off to a steady start against Kilsyth, with the score sitting at 9-6 half way through the first quarter.
Three pointers to Sherrie Calleia and Miela Goodchild helped to blow the lead out to 10 before the Cobras rallied to get within two with 20 seconds to play in the term.
Imogen Rock sent down a three with five seconds left on the clock to give the Pioneers a 22-17 lead at the first break.
The Pioneers blew the lead out to nine in the opening 90 seconds of play in the second quarter, with Isabella Brancatisano nailing a three.
However the Cobras went on a 9-0 scoring run to draw level half way through the stanza, before briefly snatching the lead.
The Pioneers staved off the challenge to finish the half up 40-39.
The Cobras were not done though, opening the third quarter with a three pointer and keeping the Pioneers scoreless as they opened up a six point lead.
The Pioneers dug deep and managed to draw level at 52-all with just over a minute to play, before edging in front by two points.
The quarter finished at 54-all, setting up the last stanza as a tight contest.
Pioneers captain Cassandra Brown showcased her side’s determination as the final quarter got under way, sending down a three pointer to open play, quickly followed by Calleia with another three.
However the Cobras knuckled down and drew scores level with five minutes left to play.
The Mount Gambier side pushed out to a nine point lead with 2.30 left on the clock, with Brown again finding range from outside the arc.
But Kilsyth continued to challenge, outscoring the home side 12-5 in the last two minutes, however the Pioneers hung on to take the win, finishing up 78-76.
Brown led the scoreboard with 26 points and 12 rebounds, with Goodchild contributing 23.
Head coach Matt Sutton was pleased with his side’s win in front of a good crowd.
“We are happy to win of course, there are some areas we exceeded in but there are plenty of areas to work on which is good,” he said.
“In the third quarter we found ourselves in a bit of a hole but it was pleasing to see the girls work their way out of it.
“We were a bit disappointed with how we finished the game, we were not solid with the basketball and our defence in execution, but they are things we can work on.”
