The Mount Gambier Pioneers again split the wins on the weekend as they hosted the Sandringham Sabres at the Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre in round seven NBL1 South conference action.
The OneFortyOne Pioneers women opened proceedings with a 16-point win over the Sabres, but the Castec Rural Pioneers men could not make it a double for the night, going down by 15 in a tough match.
The women welcomed back young gun Imogen Rock from injury, but again took the court without captain Cassandra Brown.
Both sides traded baskets for the majority of the opening quarter, with neither able to pull away to a decent lead.
With two minutes remaining in the quarter the Pioneers managed to build a five-point buffer, however the Sabres rallied and went on a 7-0 scoring run to hold a one point lead at the first break.
The Pioneers fought back in the second to level the scores early before Sandringham again took control and pushed out to a five-point lead.
The Mount Gambier side refused to give in, again drawing scores level but the Sabres took a two-point lead into the main break.
Sandringham pushed the lead out to six in the first two minutes of play in the third quarter, but from there the Pioneers took charge, snatching the lead halfway through the stanza, outscoring the Sabres 25-10 to hold a 67-54 lead at the last break.
The Pioneers dominated the boards, leading by 24 points with five minutes to play, before the Sabres sharpened their claws to cut it back to a 16-point margin at the final whistle.
Head coach Matt Sutton again delighted the crowd by sending local youngsters Stella Mobbs, Ava Collins, Cara Nulty and Summer Millard onto the court.
The Pioneers were led by Miela Goodchild who top scored with 27 points, with Haliegh Reinoehl securing a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Isabella Brancatisano contributing 18 points and Sherrie Calleia 17.
In the men’s game, the Castec Rural Pioneers again took the court without injured tall Jacob Lampkin and were quickly overrun by the Sabres who raced to a 19-4 lead in the first four minutes of play.
The home side regrouped and started to find the net, but still went to the break down 20-36.
Three pointers from captain Kane de Wit, Dylan Marshall and Nick Marshall were not enough to diminish the lead, but the Pioneers kept in touch with the Sabres, despite the early scoreboard damage, going into half time down 45-63.
Nick Marshall had contributed almost half of the Pioneers’ score, sitting at 22 points for the two periods.
The Mount Gambier team outscored the visitors in the third quarter, knocking down 20 points to the Sabres’ 18, and managing to reduce the deficit to 13 with a minute left on the clock.
But Sandringham kicked off again and held a 16-point lead at the final break.
The Pioneers were determined to close the gap in the final quarter, going on a 9-0 run in the opening three minutes of play to reduce the buffer to nine.
They managed to send down 19 points for the quarter, holding the Sabres to just 14, but the damage had been done in the opening stanza, leaving them with an 84-95 loss.
The defeat sees the Pioneers slip down to seventh on the ladder.
Nick Marshall top scored with 33 points and 14 rebounds, while Leonard Harper-Baker also recorded a double double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Dylan Marshall contributed 15 points and Austin Shelley 10.
Head coach Richard Hill said it was a tough game on the home court.
“They were a very good team, we were down on numbers, but they got off to a really good start,” he said.
“We were terrible in the first few minutes, it was out to 12-2 before we could blink and then it was
19-6.
“From that moment on we actually won the game, but that does not count for much.
“The guys fought hard, but they just had a bit too much for us.”
