Rangers snatch vital win

By Paul Pickering
MUST-win games are rare in April, but the Dandenong Rangers could not afford to lose their Good Friday clash with Knox at Stud Road.
And they didn’t, thanks to a clutch three-pointer from point guard David Godfrey (8 points) in the dying seconds.
The Rangers, sitting 1-4 on the bottom of the SEABL East conference, were trailing the 3-3 Raiders by one point when Godfrey landed the go-ahead triple with 15 seconds to play.
Knox import Lester Strong (14, 17 rebounds) had an opportunity to win the game with a buzzer-beating jumper, but misfired to hand his old side a crucial 88-86 home victory.
It was a fitting end to the first league meeting between the traditional rivals in five years.
The game began without two of its main drawcards, with imports Vince Inglima and C.J. Massingale missing through injury.
Dandenong’s Inglima tweaked a hamstring at training last Tuesday, but his absence prompted an improved contribution from some of the Rangers supporting cast.
Fellow import Dusty Jura (24, 9) and star centre Brent Hobba (13, 7) played their part as per usual, but understudies Gavin Illangakoon (15, 7), Jeremy Kirtley (9) and Jadranko Jusufagic (9) were the difference-makers.
The Raiders were led by NBL talents Mick Hill (23, 5) and Cam Rigby (22, 8), but got just two points from their bench.
Knox led at every change, but could not withstand a late charge from the desperate Dandenong outfit.
Rangers coach Warren Dawson was relieved to be on the right end of another close result, having dropped three games by less than nine points.
“I think it’s a huge win,” he said.
“Not only from the aspect that 2-4 is a lot better than 1-5, but more importantly because we’ve had three close losses where we probably should have won.
“The fact that we were missing an import and still played smart enough to get the win will give us some confidence.”
Dawson was particularly pleased to keep the star-studded Raiders below 90 points, having labelled his defence ‘woeful’ last week.
The Rangers are likely to be without Inglima for Saturday night’s clash with win-less Nunawading at Stud Road.
Meanwhile, Dandenong’s Lady Rangers defeated Knox 73-59 on the back of a virtuoso performance from Faith Probst in Friday night’s curtain-raiser.
Probst exploded for 30 points and 12 rebounds, outshining Raiders recruit – and WNBL Ranger – Caitlin Cunningham (22, 6).
Megan Moody had 13 points and six boards for the home side.
The Dandenong women will play the Spectres from 5.30pm on Saturday.