Tim Braban | 23rd July 2011  The Chronicle

INJURIES couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Toowoomba Mountaineers, with two winnable Queensland Basketball League games this weekend.

The Mountaineers travel to Caboolture tonight to take on a Suns outfit sitting below them in 13th place.

But with Anthony Dickerson expected to join brother Charles on the sideline after injuring his shoulder during the week and centre Stephen Kluck unavailable for the clash, coach Pop Dickerson has no choice but to field a makeshift line-up.

“We’re just really down on troops,” Dickerson said. “But Mike McDaniel is back so he’ll be right to play.”

Despite having only limited players to call on, Dickerson is confident his players can deliver tonight.

“They’re below us on the ladder ... anybody below us on the ladder we should be able to beat,” Dickerson said.

Tomorrow the Mountaineers clash with Bundaberg which is sitting in ninth place on the QBL ladder, with a 50 per cent winning average.

But with the USQ Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre unavailable, the Mountaineers are returning to their traditional Water St home for the clash and Dickerson feels this gives his team a decided advantage.

“They’re going to hate playing there. That’s a big home court advantage,” he said.

But Toowoomba has to be on high alert against the QBL’s leading rebounder Willie Shackleford, who is averaging 21.4 points and 17.6 rebounds per game.

“But they’ve also got (Matthew) Hanson and (Shane) Davis too,” Dickerson said.

For the women, tonight’s match against Caboolture appears the most winnable match, with the Suns sitting only two places above them in 12th place.

But third-placed Bundaberg presents a much different proposition tomorrow, with the in-form Bundaberg defeating Caboolture 85-46 last Saturday.