By ROY WARD
IT wasn’t pretty but Dandenong Rangers men got back to winning with a grind-it-out win in Canberra on Saturday night.
The Rangers had to fight Canberra Gunners right to the final minute before Daequon Montreal and Andrew Harms made two free throws each to secure an 82-79 victory in the South East Australian Basketball League match.
Montreal had a equal game high of 29 points, a tally matched by Gunners import guard Camontae Griffin, who also had 29.
The Rangers women had a less enjoyable trip to the nation’s capital city, falling to Canberra Capitals Academy 56-48, also on Saturday night.
The Rangers women were in good form coming into the match but shot a dismal 26 per cent from the field while the hosts shot at 41 per cent.
Rangers guard Amelia Todhunter scored a game-high 21 points along with eight rebounds.
Capitals centre Sam Norwood led her side with 14 points while Tessa Lavey added 12.
■ Former Dandenong Rangers junior players Owen Odigie and Venky Jois could earn their Australian Boomers debuts next month after being selected in the Boomers’ 17-man squad on Saturday.
Jois, currently playing with Eastern Washington University, and Odigie, playing with NBL club Melbourne Tigers, were both handed their first Boomers’ camp selections by new coach Andrej Lemanis, who plans to use the Boomers’ four-game series against China to blood future Boomers players.
The Boomers will have a training camp in Perth on June 2, then start the series against China on June 7 with two games to be played in Perth and two games in China.
Lemanis will name a 12-player squad for the series after the camp.
The Rangers men and women return home to Dandenong Stadium this Saturday night to face Sandringham Sabres with the women’s game at 5.30pm and the men’s game at 7.30pm.
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