Raiders’ Craig Simpson scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds on Saturday night.THE Knox Ford Raiders have started their men’s championship title defence with a gritty 93-88 win against SEABL newcomers, Southern Districts Spartans.
Played in front of a record round one crowd of 1295, the Raiders defied a lack of height and some dubious decisions to register just the second first-up win in coach Damian Cotter’s eight years at the club.
Leading by one point at quarter-time, import CJ Massingale found his rhythm soon after as the Raiders stormed away in the second period to lead 50-36 by the long break.
Despite opening up a double-figure lead on at least three occasions in the second half, the gutsy Spartans kept fighting back, thanks largely to former Raider Gerard Leonard.
The Raiders put a disappointing third period behind them, where they were outscored 25-14, and did just enough down the stretch, particularly from the foul-line, to snare the win.
The 2006 grand final MVP winner Craig Simpson was outstanding for Knox and duly collected man-of-the-match honours for his tireless work ethic at both ends of the floor.
With big import John Bryant set to join the Raiders in the next fortnight, coach Cotter was pleased to get the win under his belt and move forward with plenty to like about his team’s chances this season.
“It’s always nice to get that first win out of the way,” said Cotter, adding, “we saw enough tonight to suggest we will get better as the season unfolds, especially with our younger, emerging players.”
Recruit Tom Burns was impressive on debut with 10 points, while developing junior Ben Healey enjoyed his first run in the SEABL with a number of good moves.
Top performers for the Raiders included Massingale (28 points), Simpson (19 points, 16 rebounds) and captain Glenn Siegle (17 points), while Leonard (22 points) and Peni Nasalo (22 points) were the Spartan’s form players.
In the earlier game, Knox’s women were unable to prevent the Spartans from scoring their first SEABL win, going down 55-70.
After an even first half, an overall lack of experience cost the Raiders dearly in the third period when the Spartans jetted clear with a 23-4 run, pushing the margin to an unassailable 20 points at three quarter-time.
With the Raiders missing big names Hollie Grima and Emma Randall, the bulk of the team’s scoring was left to guards Andrea McMahon (17 points) and Julia Tan (10 points), while Holly Smith impressed for the Spartans with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Both Knox teams are back at Knox Converse Stadium this week, with the women playing Nunawading (Friday, 8pm) and the men hosting Frankston (Saturday, 8pm).
SEABL Men
Knox Raiders 24 50 64 93
Southern Districts 23 36 61 88
SEABL Women
Knox Raiders 17 33 37 55
Southern Districts 18 34 57 70
