Knox Raiders players Matt Leigh and Sam Donald check out the Raiders new home court.
A GREAT come-from-behind win by the Knox Raiders was dampened by an injury to up-and-coming guard Justin Aver in the South East Australian Basketball League men's competition on Saturday night.
Aver is likely to miss the rest of season. He scored four quick points in the second term to help initiate the Raiders' comeback against Albury-Wodonga, before going down to what appears to be a serious ACL knee injury.
The Raiders found themselves trailing 19-4 in the first quarter, as Albury-Wodonga flew out of the blocks in front of their home crowd. Knox pegged it back to a nine-point deficit by quarter-time, and narrowed it down to seven points at half-time.
Lester Strong stepped up in the third quarter, adding 10 points and helping the Raiders to a one-point lead going into the final quarter.
The Bandits kept hanging around, but in a three-minute period Sean Carroll scored eight points including two three-pointers, CJ Massingale two points and John Philip a three, pushing Knox out to a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining.
The Raiders continued the strong finish to the game, winning the quarter 28-14, and the game 87-72.
Massingale finished with 26 points leading all scorers, while Strong's 17 points and 13 rebounds were instrumental in the victory.
The win gives Knox outright top position of the South Conference, with a 10-7 record.
The Raiders face the Ballarat Miners at the State Basketball Centre on Sunday at 2.30pm.