Confidence-boosting win

Ararat Basketball Association’s men’s team celebrated its first Country Basketball League victory for the season on home turf.

The Redbacks were too strong for south-west conference opponent Terang, defeating the Tornadoes by 21 points in front of a healthy crowd at Ararat Fitness Centre.

The Redbacks are third on the conference ladder and will take confidence from the victory into this week’s double header.

Ararat will again have the hometown advantage, hosting Mt Gambier Lakers on Saturday night and Portland Coasters on Sunday.

Zac Dunmore, 17 points, and Jesse Poulton, 15, debuted for the Redbacks at the weekend and were shining lights.

The pair was ably assisted by Dominic Di Domenico, 10, with all 11 players contributing to the scoreline.

Coach Steve Cronin will hope his charges retain their form for a tough encounter with competition heavyweight Mt Gambier.

The Redbacks will start favourite on Sunday against Portland, which is still chasing its first win of the season.

This weekend will be the first lot of double headers for the Ararat men.

The women will also take to the court against Portland on Sunday.

The Redbacks fell short of Terang at the weekend, going down 40-62 in a spirited performance.

Chloe Dunmore, 12 points, led the way, with the scoring shared among several of her team-mates.

The Redbacks are sitting fifth with one win from three games and will be keen to chalk up another victory against the Coasters, who have one win from two matches.

The men will take to the court at Ararat Fitness Centre on Saturday night at 8pm.

The women kick off the action on Sunday at noon, with the men to tip off at 2pm.