THE Riverland’s best men’s basketball players came together to take on Mount Gambier in an exhibition game at the Berri Stadium on Saturday night.
Players from all five Riverland clubs were included in the representative team, which fell short by 35 points against a strong Mount Gambier side.
Riverland Basketball Association president Mick Trussell said the game allowed Riverland players to test themselves against strong competition.
“We were a bit undermanned compared to Mount Gambier because we had a few players pull out who were originally in the squad,” he said.
“There was a reasonable amount of people there, which was good, and it was good for the players to be exposed to the quality of basketball in Mount Gambier.
“They are a stronger association than we are, so it was good of them to come up and play a game.
“We have the state country championship coming up in January for the seniors which is a good opportunity to see where they are compared to some of these other associations, especially the stronger ones.”
The game was also livestreamed on Facebook, receiving about 1800 total views.
“All I’ve heard are positive responses to the livestream,” Mr Trussell said.
“We had our A-grade grand finals livestreamed last season, and that was very positive as well.
“It was Mount Gambier’s idea to come up and play the game, and they are hoping to make something more regular of it.”
The Riverland team struggled early, going down 0-12 five minutes into the game, with Mount Gambier holding a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mount Gambier kept up the pressure, growing the lead to 22 at half time and 36 at the end of the third quarter.
The Riverland managed to win the final quarter 24-23, but it proved to be too little in the end.
Barmera’s Dillon Millard and Renmark’s Declan Johnson led the scoring for the Riverland with 15 and 13 respectively, while Kyle Tipene dominated for Mount Gambier, scoring 27 points and making four shots from outside the arc.