The third round of Auckland Secondary Schools Premier basketball competition was played on Monday and with the way results have gone to date it appears to be the most open race for some seasons to claim a top four play-off spot.
Only Rosmini College remains unbeaten after pulling away in the second half to beat Avondale College 108-77. Rosmini were led by guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt who tallied 34 points.
Rosmini guard Terrence Abdon scored the first five points of game followed by a brace from Taine Murray making it 9-0 and Avondale coach Kevin Goodwin needing a timeout.
Armand Donaldson (18 points in the first half) got Avondale on the scoreboard with a couple of baskets.
However a series of turnovers forced Goodwin to burn his second timeout inside the first five minutes as Rosmini darted to an 18-6 lead. Jaga Mete and Jack Childs reduced the arrears as Avondale trailed 27-22 at quarter-time.
Perrott-Hunt opened the second quarter scoring to initiate a 10-0 start for the hosts before a Mete steal and dunk cut the Rosmini advantage to 37-28.
A Kainoa Lepou triple and a Reimar Cruz drive extended the Rosmini lead (54-34) although Avondale had the better of the closing stages of the first half. A three from Preston Karatau and six straight points from Donaldson meant the visitors were just eleven points adrift (57-46) at the break.
Karatau’s jump shot and a score from Zakiah Puia looked promising for Avondale before Marvin Williams-Dunn notched a couple of baskets.
Perrott-Hunt landed a pair of threes either side of seven straight points from Sean Murphy as Rosmini took control of the game to lead 79-61 at three-quarter time.
Donaldson returned to the fray after sitting out for a long spell due to foul trouble. He and Mete kept the score ticking over for Avondale but not at the same pace as Rosmini who made it three wins from three outings.
Rosmini 108 – K Perrott-Hunt 34, T Murray 22, S Murphy 13, T Abdon 12
Avondale 77 – A Donaldson 22, J Mete 21, P Karatau 9, K Eteru 8
New boys on the block St Peter’s College secured their second win in four days with a hard fought 75-72 win against local rivals Auckland Grammar.
The win was built around a strong third quarter performance from St Peter’s who, after leading by just two points at half-time (35-33), stretched their lead to 56-44 with ten minutes to play. A combined 14 points from Phoenix Leupolu and Luke Buckingham fuelled a 21-11 advantage to St Peter’s in that period – a three from Isaiah Franklin also helpful.
Ilaisa Tela and Anzac Rissetto led a frantic Grammar recovery in the fourth but St Peter’s hung on for a first-time victory at senior level against their near neighbours.
It was a performance that delighted St Peter’s head coach Leyton Haddleton.
“I’m just really proud of the effort that boys put in. After the game on Friday I was concerned the team may come out flat.
“The game itself was a very physical battle and to stay disciplined under pressure shows a lot of character of the team. The turning point of the game was at the end of the third quarter where we managed to get all the loose balls and convert them to points. Every win at this level is precious so we will take that momentum to Friday against St Kent’s,” Haddleton added.
Earlier three triples from Leupolu propelled St Peter’s to a 16-13 quarter-time lead. Tela led the scoring effort in the second period as Grammar closed to within two points (35-33) at half-time.
St Peter’s 75 – P Leupolu 27, L Buckingham 20, W Parata 9, J Errey 9
AGS 72 – A Rissetto 28, I Tela 20, T McCarthy 11, D Boyd 6
Thirty-two points from Max Shorter ensured St Kentigern College protected home court advantage with a 94-84 win against Westlake Boys.
A late first quarter three from Shorter gave St Kentigern an 18-13 lead at quarter time. A collective four threes in the second quarter from Paora Winitana, Jackson Port and Ethan Clark for Westlake was countered by a trio of treys from Zac Chan to keep the hosts ahead 44-34 at half-time.
St Kent’s built on that advantage after the break as Chan took his tally of triples to five and Shalom Broughton and Shorter continued to find their way to basket – the lead was a healthy 73-52 with ten to play.
Westlake made a strong showing in the final stanza as Tom Cowie (21 points) and Sam Mennenga (19 points) ensured St Kentigern had to work hard for their second win of the campaign.
St Kentigern 94 – M Shorter 32, S Broughton 17, Z Chan 17, L Kerr 10
Westlake 84 – T Cowie 21, S Mennenga 19, P Winitana 15, J Port 9
Harry Payne returned to the Rangitoto College lineup for their home game against Mt Albert Grammar. The Under 17 World Cup bound shooting guard scored 28 points but it wasn’t enough to prevent MAGS recording an 88-74 win.
Rangitoto dug itself a big hole in the opening quarter giving up a massive 31-9 advantage to the visitors as guards Chayse Pinono and Sataan Tawera led the Mt Albert onslaught.
A barrage of threes from Brady Fox, Payne and the Ethan’s, Mandeno and Skelton, helped Rangitoto reduce the arrears but they still trailed 51-32 at half-time.
The scoring slowed in the third – six points from Nate Wilson the main feature.
Wilson and Theo Younger shared 14 points in the final quarter as MAGS protected their twenty-points three-quarter time advantage to record their second win of the season.
Rangitoto 74 – H Payne 28, E Skelton 17, E Mandeno 14, B Spencer-Powell 7
MAGS 88 – C Pinono 17, N Wilson 14, S Tawera 13, R Laumatia 10
League Standings
3-0 Rosmini
2-1 St Peter’s, St Kentigern, Auckland Grammar, Mt Albert Grammar
1-2 Westlake
0-3 Rangitoto, Avondale
Senior A Results
Macleans 100 Northcote 80
Birkenhead 69 Massey 85
LACEY LOWDOWN 