LACEY LOWDOWN

It is nice to have another Tall Black to follow in the Spanish League. Guard Kirk Penney has joined Sevilla for the second half of the season. Last placed Sevilla hosted sixth placed Valencia and recorded a much needed 79-72 victory, just their fourth success of the season. Penney eased back into action with 3pts, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Sevilla remain bottom of the table with a 4-15 record. Also in the Spanish League La Bruixa d’Or Manresa travelled up the road to take on FC Barcelona but copped a 101-53 hiding. Despite the flogging Isaac Fotu continued his good form top scoring for Manresa (20 points) and playing the most minutes (27mins). Manresa (5-13) remains 15th in the 18 team league. German club Licher Basket (9th) hosted second placed Weissenhorn in the German B League, South Division but found the going too tough losing 95-71. Weissenhorn were outstanding from three point range landing 14 from 26 attempts compared with the home team’s 2 of 15. Jarrod Kenny scored 6 points and added a brace of rebounds assists and steals. Rob Loe and his Greek team KAO Dramas enjoyed a mid season break. In the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder closed out a sequence of seven of eight games on the road with a pair of defeats. Steve Adams scored half a dozen points in each game as the Thunder lost 100-92 at the iconic Madison Square Gardens against the New York Nicks and 85-74 in Memphis against the Grizzlies. The Thunder got back to winning ways on Tuesday (NZ time) defeating Orlando Magic 104-97 at home to bring their record back to .500, 24-24. Adams had a tidy night securing 4 rebounds and adding a dozen points. On Sunday in Australia the Townsville Crocodiles put up a brave performance against the red hot Adelaide 36ers. The 36ers extended their winning sequence to six and now look certain to secure a top four finish in the NBL. Adelaide won the game 84-77 but was pushed all the way by the men from North Queensland. The Crocs trailed by double figures early in the final quarter but closed to 5 points with just under 2 minutes to play before the 36ers closed the game out. Leon Henry had a strong game filling the stats line with 7pts/2rebs/4a/1stl/2blocks. In the Australian Women’s National Basketball League, the two teams with a Kiwi connection, West Coast and Townsville, both had double-header road trips. Townsville Fire remains first on the ladder despite losing the top of table clash with defending champions Bendigo Spirit, 66-55. Jillian Harmon led the rebounding count for the Fire grabbing 7 boards and adding 6 points. Micaela Cocks was kept quiet, the Tall Fern guard scoring just 2 points (1/6FG). 24 hours earlier the Fire had comfortably disposed of Melbourne Boomers 88-69. The two Kiwis had low-key games, Cocks scoring 6 points and Harmon snaring a couple of rebounds but remaining scoreless. Townsville with a 15-4 record are a win ahead of Bendigo with a game in hand. With just three games to play Townsville are favourites to win the regular season title. Unfortunately the West Coast Waves have slipped to the bottom of the WNBL ladder after losing to Dandenong Rangers and Adelaide Lightning over the weekend. The Waves gave a spirited performance against third placed Dandenong on Saturday losing 87-80 – Toni Edmondson scored 5 points and secured 3 rebounds. The next day Edmondson was kept scoreless as the two bottom teams clashed in Adelaide. Unfortunately West Coast (4-16) lost 71-58 to Adelaide Lightning (5-15), the two losses consigning the Waves to last place on the WNBL ladder. With just two home games remaining in the regular season they look destined for the wooden spoon. As expected Erin Rooney’s Arras team were far too strong for bottom placed Calais in the French League. Rooney, demoted to the bench, scored 2 points, added a rebound and dished 4 assists as Arras maintained fourth place with the 87-69 victory.