Pioneers' perfect start after Marshall heroics

Adelaide 36ers swingman Nick Marshall has started his NBL1 South campaign in blistering fashion, leading his Mount Gambier Pioneers to two big wins on the road last weekend.

Mount Gambier started their season in Sandringham and were too strong for the Sabres 97-79, Marshall with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pioneers exploded with a 27-11 second quarter to break the game open  at half time, NBL24 development player Akech Aliir also strong with a game-high 22 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Less than 24 hours later, Mount Gambier were  back on court against Waverley Falcons, Marshall again the catalyst with 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks as the Pioneers won a thriller 67-63.

Mount Gambier outscored the Falcons 16-9 in a decisive third quarter display, Aliir hauling in a game-high 13 rebounds, to go home with a perfect 2-0 start to their season.

Waverley were led by DJ Vasiljevic, who scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the loss to Mount Gambier.

The Falcons started the season 0-2 after Waverley fell to Bendigo Braves 90-73 on Saturday night with Vasiljevic scoring a game-high 22 points.

In NBL1 West, Sunday Dech scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished five assists as East Perth Eagles won their first match of the season, a 99-83 success against Eastern Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

The Eagles overcame an opening quarter deficit to take charge of the contest across the second and third stanzas for the 16-point success. Dech missed East Perth’s 104-87 loss to Warwick Senators at home on Saturday night.

Sturt Sabres continued to sit on top of the NBL1 Central standings after an impressive second half performance in a 92-77 win against Norwood Flames at The Arc in Campbelltown.

Jacob Rigoni again was a shining light for the Sabres, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds, while training player Jack Stanwix had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Flames.

Sturt outscored Norwood 50-26 after the main break for the 15-point victory which keeps them in first place in the standings with a perfect 3-0 record.

South Adelaide also remains undefeated after the Panthers defeated North Adelaide 104-82 at Mitchell Park Sports Centre on Saturday night.

Power forward Alex Starling scored 22 points, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, had five steals, dished four assists and had two blocks as the Panthers used a 53-36 opening half outburst to collect the 22-point win.

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Training player Tom Kubank was everywhere for the Panthers, scoring 23 first half points to finish with a game-high 33 to go with 10 rebounds and four assists, while Curtis Scott added five points and three assists.

North Adelaide were well led by Durrell McDonald, who scored 27 points with nine rebounds and Koop McCalop added 21 points with nine rebounds and three blocks.

Harvey White went off with a knee injury just before half-time in Southern Tigers 108-81 loss to Forestville Eagles at Morphett Vale Stadium on Saturday night.

White was leading the Tigers from the front in the opening half, scoring seven points and dishing three assists, while Uche Dibiamaka added 15 points and six rebounds for the Eagles.