It was a thrilling weekend for the Castec Rural Pioneers as they headed across the border to take on two quality NBL1 South teams.


Both matches went down to the wire with the barest of margins – just a one point difference in both games.


The double header weekend kicked off on Saturday night against Kilsyth in what was a high scoring and even contest, with both sides starting strong.


The Pioneers were able to grab a small lead coming out of the opening term as the Cobras trailed by just four points.


The Pioneers were able to build on their lead in the second term as their defence led the way.


Kilsyth were held to just 17 points in the quarter while the Pioneers put up 21, despite shooting just one for five from three point range.


At the major break the Pioneers still held a slim lead of eight points.


The high powered offences from both sides were at their best in the third term, which was another high scoring stanza.


The Pioneers had a drastic improvement in their three ball as they hit five in the quarter off eight shots.


Despite both sides keeping the scoreboard ticking over, the Pioneers still had control of the match as they headed into the final term with a nine point lead.


The Cobras responded well in the final term and got themselves back into the contest.


They were able to chase down the Pioneers’ lead and hit the front a couple of times in the final few minutes of the game as Khadim Sy landed three straight threes for the hosts.


However the Pioneers stayed resilient despite the hot shooting of the Cobras and won the match at the free throw line as Jack Haggett and Dylan Marshall knocked down some crucial shots to help secure the one point victory.


It was another all-round performance from the team with five players scoring in double digits.


Austin Shelley led the way, scoring 23 points with Akech Aliir chipping in with 17.


Mount Gambier defeated Kilsyth 100-99.


On Sunday afternoon it was another intense battle as the Pioneers took on the Knox Raiders in a highly anticipated top of the table clash.


It was a close contest in the opening term and the two sides could not be separated, with the match all tied up 20 apiece after 10 minutes of play.


The second term was similar to the first as Mount Gambier and Knox traded shots throughout the quarter.


However it was the Raiders who got the slight edge over the Pioneers as they were able to establish a small six point lead going into half time.


It was another close contest in the third as both sides were able to get points on the board.


However the Pioneers struggled to slow down Knox on offence as they did a lot of damage from deep.


Despite the Pioneers still put up 27 points while Knox scored 30.


Heading into the final quarter of regulation time the Raiders held a nine point lead.


The Pioneers rallied themselves back into the match in the final term as great defence and coming up big in the clutch gave them a shot of winning the game.


It was Titus Robinson – who returned to the side this weekend from injury – who proved the difference maker down the stretch, scoring six straight points to give the Pioneers a two point lead with 51 seconds left.


The Pioneers had a chance at adding to their lead in the dying seconds of the match as Joe Palmer was out on the fast break with an open lay up.


However Palmer suffered a leg injury and was unable to convert the shot as he was out for the rest of the match.


It was a tough next possession for the Pioneers as they fouled Knox’s Henry Sewell who hit both free throws to send the match into overtime.


In overtime the Pioneers just could not keep up with the Raiders when they needed to as they were able to build very slim leads in the five minutes of play.


However they struggled to stop the Raiders on offence as they only missed one shot in overtime and the Pioneers came up short by one point.


It was an overall tough day for several players with Robinson leading the scoring with 22 points and nine rebounds with Akech Aliir having a double double of 15 points and 13 rebounds while Kane de Wit was solid off the bench with seven points and a game high eight assists.


Knox defeated Mount Gambier – 106-105.


Overall Pioneers head coach Richard Hill thought his side performed well across the two games on the weekend.


“We had good opponents, in the Kilsyth game we had a lead of five to 10 points most of the game,” he said.


“It was a tough game and then they took the lead at around a minute thirty which is pretty challenging when you have had the lead all the way.


“We were able to play well down the straight, make some free throws and got some really good defensive stops.


“Titus (Robinson) got a good stop on the last play, so I thought we played pretty good.”


With the return of Robinson to the side, Hill thought he performed well in both games.


“Titus was very good in both games, he was excellent both defensively and offensively,” he said.


Hill also thought the bench performed well in Sunday’s game against Knox.


“Our bench was really good on Sunday, we had about 40 points off the bench and they had zero so our bench was really good,” he said.


“We got a lot from Amarco (Doyle) and Dylan (Marshall) and Kane (de Wit) had a really good game on Sunday.


“So it was encouraging to get good production from our bench.”


The Pioneers are back home this weekend as they face the Melbourne Tigers on Friday night.