Mountaineers men off the mark with 50-point demolition job on Gladstone

Both the men’s and women’s Mountaineers were at their dominant best in an unrelenting night for Gladstone.

Josh Allen. Picture: Nev Madsen

BASKETBALL: The Toowoomba Mountaineers men have tasted success for the first time in 2021 in style.

Winless through their opening eight games, the Mountaineers brought an emphatic end to that unwanted streak with a dominant 104-53 win over Gladstone at the Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre.

Toowoomba controlled things from the outset, extending their six-point first quarter lead to 20 at the break, before going right on with the job in the second half.

Coach Darryl Allen said it was a deserved win for the efforts of his team throughout the season.

“They’ve stuck with it and it was great to get that first win on the board,” Allen said.

“Hopefully we can continue to come along and ride that wave.

“Our defensive effort was great and we put pressure on them for the whole game. On the offensive front, Josh (Allen) and Noah (Silcox-Smith) both had outstanding games.

“We had Seth Ham out with injury, but Apech (Pac) stepped up with some good rebounds and nice dunks.”

Josh Allen had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the win.

The Mountaineers women made it consecutive wins after accounting for Gladstone 84-54.

Toowoomba opened up a 21-9 lead through the first quarter and never looked back as they led at every change against the Power.

In a sign of their improvements over the last fortnight, the Mountaineers shot the ball at 42 per cent, while forcing 30 turnovers from their opponents.

Raquel Spies was strong again with 15 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, while Lisa Salmi had a team-high 18 points and Despena Dickerson chipped in with 17 of her own.