July 16 Report

Canterbury Ram Marques Whippy stirred up another formidable Gators performance as his side demolished Pioneer Pacers 92-59 in the Men’s Premier fourth round basketball championship to take a commanding lead in the race for a quarter-final berth on August 27th. American Stephen Nosworthy and former Tall Black Jeremy Kench both with 16 points makes Gators a tough ask.The defeat left the Hoben trophy winner Pioneer languishing at the bottom of the ladder, along with Atami without a win. Filipino big man Ariel Mepana (14) and Marty Davison 13 carried the workload for Pioneer.

A sharp shooting first half effort from Sam Smith who scored all his 22 points in the first, gave Lincoln University just enough of a buffer to outlast the second half comeback by Wolverines. Missed free throws and poor shot selection ultimately cost Wolves the chance to complete their comeback as LU held on to win 78-67, and also remain unbeaten in the championship round. Depth in the Lincoln University team saw James Levings and Ben Williams slot 13 points apiece and Nick Erwood 12, while James Cawthorn struggled to find his range. In the absence of key scorer Taylor Britt it was left to Croydon Thompson and Kieran Ball who scored 15 apiece for Wolverines, while Mike Kinley worked hard for 12 rebounds.

Checkers, with the services of both Tall Black Ethan Rusbatch (27pts, nine rebounds) just returned from the Olympic qualifying tournament in the Phillipines, and his brother Ram Bede Marsters (12) dominated Atami. Also coupled nicely, was robust play from American bound Joe Cook-Green (18), which ultimately meant that Atami had no answers. Despite having twice as many turnovers as Atami, the Checkers shot with accuracy while Atami only managed 28% from the field. Atami’s veteran Ritchie Howell managed 17 points and eight rebounds but lacked support.

University of Canterbury had a non-competition game against a make-shift Canterbury Under 23 side pulling away in the second spell to win 97-68.

 

Patron’s trophy winner and 2014 champion Lincoln University moved into a dominant position in the Women’s Premier championship beating Gators Women 66-34 with a strong second spell while their UC counterparts struggled to maintain a share of the lead as they were lucky to put away new side Wolverines, edging home by 57-51 after Wolverines tied the scores at 51 all in the dying stages of the game. Wolverines were led by Samaria Thompson (17) and Letitia Mullaly (11).

Pioneer made a determined effort to upset North Canterbury leading 21-12 at the first break and 36-29 at half time but a strong surge from North Canterbury led by player-coach and Wildcat Hayley Gray with 22 points and Tactix Netballer Gemma Hazeldine (20) which saw North Canterbury slip home 68-64 to maintain third placing. The Northerners were without key player Mary Goulding.

 

Results were:

Men's Premier Championship Round four:

Gators 92 (Marques Whippy 22, Stephen Nosworthy 16,  Jeremy Kench 16,  Jordan Duggan 13, Sam Lees 12) def Pioneer Pacers 59 (Ariel Mepana 14, Marty Davison 13, Cam Costley 10). HT: 44-32   

Lincoln University 78 (Sam Smith 22, 10R,  James Levings 13, Ben Williams 13, 7R, Nick Erwood 12) def Wolverines 67 (Croydon Thompson 14, Keiran Ball 13, Shou Nisbet 10). HT: 47-25

Checkers 81 (Ethan Rusbatch 27, Joe Cook-Green 15, Bede Marsters 12, Josh Paurini 10) def Atami 58 (Ritchie Howell 17, Patrick Roger 11). HT: 39-31

Non-competition: University 97 (Tony Tolovae 26, Matt Campbell 25, Justin Kent 16, Rohan Russo 11, Simon Reeves 11) def Canterbury Under 23  68 (James Levings 12, Raghav Pratap 12, Nick Erwood 10). HT: 44-38

Points table after 4 rounds with games played in parenthesis: Gators 8 (4), Lincoln University 6, (3), Wolverines and Checkers each 6 (4), University 4 (3), Pioneer 3 (3).

 

Women’s Premier Championship round four:

University 57 (Lily Nicol 13, Rosana Katene, Barrine Ross 10) def Wolverines 51 (Samaria Thompson 17, Letitia Mullaly 11). HT: 31-23

North Canterbury 68 (Hayley Gray 22, Gemma Hazeldine 20, Tyler Courtney 10, Ash Fane 10) def Pioneer 64 (Ashley Gayle 21,  Jo Casey 14 ). HT: 29-36

Lincoln University 66 (Courtney Hamblin 19, Tessa Morrison 18) def Gators 34 (Harriet Fenwick 9). HT: 26-15

Minties  v Halswell deferred. 

 

Points table after 4 rounds with games played in parenthesis: Lincoln and Canterbury Universities 8 (4), Nth Canty 7 (4), Pioneer 6 (4), Gators 5 (4), Halswell 4 (3).

 

Report courtesy of Sharon Erwood




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