By Roy Ward
DANDENONG Rangers men established themselves as a contender for the South East Australian Basketball League east title with two wins over the weekend.
The Rangers beat highly rated Nunawading Spectres 98-82 at Nunawading Stadium on Saturday night and then backed it up with a comeback 93-84 win over Mt Gambier Pioneers at Dandenong Stadium yesterday.
Rangers coach Darren Perry said his side had struggled yesterday to maintain the excellent form they showed against the Spectres.
“We played at such a high level last night the guys were a bit flat today and not on the same level defensively,” he said.
“In the fourth quarter, I was trying to find a line-up that would defend like we needed to, and luckily we found it with five minutes to go. To fall behind in the fourth quarter, then get what was an ‘almost’ comfortable margin is a good sign.”
Rangers point guard Andrew Harms led the way against the Pioneers with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, including a match-winning scoring spurt midway through the fourth quarter to regain the lead.
Rangers import Tony Lewis struggled offensively against the Pioneers but was a match winner against the Spectres with 30 points.
Lewis gave home fans a memorable highlight late in the Pioneers game, chasing down speedy Pioneers guard Brandon Brown and blocking his dunk attempt just as Brown reached the rim.
“That’s Tony at his best; he is all heart because that late in the game he could have let Brown go but he chased him down,” Perry said.
The Rangers have added guard Ashley Arnott, brother of past Ranger Bryce Arnott, for the rest of the season. Injured forward Oresti Nitsios is back training and will return soon.
The Rangers women also took a win, 65-54, over Nunawading on Saturday night.
■ Dandenong Rangers players Steph Cumming, Carley Mijovic and Tenaya Phillips were named in the Emerging Opals squad last week.
The trio will travel to China to play matches against the Chinese, Angolan and New Zealand national teams from June 5 to 17.
The Emerging Opals squad is made up of players Basketball Australia believes could represent Australia at future major events.
■ The soon-to-be-opened State Basketball Centre at Wantirna South will host the 2012 SEABL grand finals for men and women.
The SBC will have the women’s grand final at 12.30pm on September 8 and the men’s grand final at 2.30pm.
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