LACEY LOWDOWN

Two Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier games were played on Monday night. Mt Albert Grammar won at Liston College 81-74 and St Kentigern College defended home territory against Westlake Boys winning 89-78.

In the catch up game from Round 7 Mt Albert Grammar led from start to finish at Liston College turning the tables on the hosts who had beaten them 70-59 when the teams last met in Round 2.

For large parts of the game MAGS appeared in total control but every time they threatened to bust the game open Liston, led by Kiani Saxon and Preston Karatau (29 points), would respond and narrow the gap.

When Karatau banked a three from NBA range with three minutes to play the Mt Albert lead, which moments earlier had been ten points, was suddenly trimmed to three (74-71).

Phoenix Sorensen then eased the MAGS nerves with a trey and when Josh Leger converted a neat turn-around jump shot it was 79-71 to the visitors with 90 seconds left.

Liston weren’t quite finished – the hard working Shawn Hickey scored off a neat pocket pass from Sefa Prasad and converted a free throw on the next trip down the floor.

However MAGS were in no mood to let this one slip as they managed the clock in the closing seconds to win 81-74.

Sataan Tawera and Leger dominated the early stages as MAGS built a 22-15 lead in front of a good crowd at St Dominic’s College.

Karatau lit up proceedings in the second scoring 17 points as Liston kept in touch – down 49-41 at half-time.

Saxon and Nate Wilson engaged in a personal dunking contest in the third frame – both players pulling out some athletic plays – 64-59 to the visitors with ten minutes to play.

It was basket for basket in the fourth before Leger and Sorensen made those vital baskets.

Three wins on the bounce for MAGS and a top four berth now within reach.

Liston 74– P Karatau 29, K Saxon 16 S Hickey 12, D Helu 9, S Prasad 8

MAGS 81– N Wilson 22, J Leger 20, S Tawera 19, P Sorensen 7, P Mengistie 7

Westlake guard Josh Kooiman knocked down nine threes at St Kentigern College in what may well be a Prems record three-point shooting performance. All 27 of his points were accumulated from beyond the arc but despite that effort Lake went down 89-78 to the league leaders.

Kooiman got busy early knocking down two first quarter threes but Levic Kerr’s seven points gave St Kent’s a 20-15 early lead.

Reuben Natusch joined in the three-point making for Westlake and Alex McNaught for the hosts. However Kerr and Kazlo Evans kept St Kent’s in the ascendancy, 41-35 ahead at half-time.

Point guards McNaught and Jett Thompson were the main architects of their team’s fortunes in the third both players scoring nine points as the St Kent’s lead narrowed to 57-55 with ten minutes to play.

Kooiman saved his best until last landing five triples in the closing quarter as Westlake tried desperately to snatch the win. However three scores apiece from Shalom Broughton, Evans, McNaught and Kerr, plus a late three from Sam Chan took St Kent’s to victory and maintained their place at the top of the table.

St Kent’s host MAGS on Friday while Westlake will want to arrest a four game losing streak when they visit Macleans College.

St Kentigern 89– L Kerr 21, A McNaught 20, K Evans 17, S Broughton 15, E Watson 9

Westlake 78– J Kooiman 27, J Thompson 19, A Luetich 8, J Wuthrich 6, P Winitana 6

Premier Standings:

8-1 St Kentigern

7-1 Rangitoto

5-3 Rosmini

4-4 AGS

4-5 Westlake

3-5 MAGS

2-6 Liston

0-8 Macleans

St Mary’s College and Westlake Girls strengthened their grip on the top two places in the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier League with decisive victories on Friday.

Westlake defeated Rangitoto College 92-60 whilst St Mary’s beat Massey High 78-64.

Despite Hannah Wentworth (30 points) and Ella Moore triples it was visitors Westlake that made the better start at Rangitoto. 11 points from Emme Shearer and 7 from MaKenzee Boucher took Westlake to a healthy 26-15 lead after 10 minutes.

Kellie Tawhiao scored half a dozen points in the second frame for Rangi but they trailed 35-27 at half-time – Shearer up to 15 points.

Wentworth earned a few trips to the foul line during the third but with Amiya Fotu landing a three and Jess Moors heading to a team high 19 points it was 66-41 to the visitors ahead of the fourth quarter.

The final period became something of a three-point shoot-out. Wentworth and Moneesha Barrett dropped a combined five treys for Rangitoto with efforts from Boucher, Jordyn Maddix (twice) and Rosie Dil dropping for Westlake as they made it six wins from seven outings.

Rangitoto 60– H Wentworth 30, M Barrett 13, K Tawhiao 6, E Moore 5

Westlake 92– J Moors 19, E Shearer 15, R Dil 11, M Boucher 10, J Maddix 7

Sisters Jazz and Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu combined for 49 points as St Mary’s College extended their unbeaten run at Massey High School winning 78-64.

A competitive opening quarter was edged by Massey – Meya Taingahue scoring 8 points as they led 18-17.

The Kailahi-Fulu’s, aided by Leata Te Nana Williams, dominated the second period as St Mary’s forged a 39-27 half-time lead.

Shauna Povey scored six points for Massey in the third but Alex Moore matched that figure as St Mary’s took a firm grip on the contest leading 60-38 at three-quarter time.

Ramona Fuaivaa and Alyesha Schuster helped Massey win the final quarter 24-15 but St Mary’s had banked enough early points to make it seven wins on the bounce.

Massey 64– S Povey 19, R Fuaivaa 12, A Schuster 8, M Taingahue 8

St Mary’s 78– Z Kailahi-Fulu 25, J Kailahi-Fulu 24, A Moore 10, L Te Nana Williams 9

At the bottom of the table 26 points from Rikki Fiatau paced Mt Albert Grammar to a solid 72-40 win against Auckland Grammar.

Hina Fifita and Laetitia Tuaiti scored from beyond the arc for Auckland but Fiatau had nine points in the opening minutes and Monica Kelly six as Mt Albert built a 23-17 lead, extended to 36-26 by half-time.

Leah Patuwairua scored all but three of AGS second half points as Kelly, Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie, Harmony Brown and Fiatau took charge of proceedings.

MAGS up and running with their first win of the season.

Mt Albert 72– R Fiatau 26, M Kelly 17, T Cocker-Lemalie 14, H Brown 6

AGGS 40– L Patuwairua 21, L Tuaiti 10

Premier Girls Standings:

7-0 St Mary’s

6-1 Westlake

4-3 Massey

3-3 Carmel, Rangitoto

1-6 MAGS

0-7 AGGS

Return of Sataan Tawera boosts MAGS

Auckland Grammar School and Westlake Boys High found the going tough without their respective Junior Tall Blacks in Round 8 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier League on Friday.

Jaga Mete (Grammar) and Sam Mennenga (Westlake) are in France with the New Zealand team preparing for the upcoming FIBA U19 World Cup and their presence was understandably missed by their respective teams. Westlake lost at North Shore rivals  Rangitoto College (93-65) and Auckland lost the battle of the ‘Grammars’ going down 74-57 at Mt Albert.

Despite 11 points in the opening quarter from Auckland point guard Connor Ngan it was hosts Mt Albert, capitalizing on a 16-0 run, that led at quarter time (25-15) with forward Josh Leger picking up 12 points.

A low scoring second period was edged 11-8 by the visitors – Luka Vea making a couple of timely baskets for Auckland.

MAGS had begun the season with five straight losses and it’s no coincidence that their fortunes have improved with the return from injury of Sataan Tawera (22 points). The influential guard lit up proceedings early in the third with 11 straight points including three scores from beyond the arc.

Further baskets from Leger and Phil Mengistie carried MAGS to a position of dominance at three-quarter time – ahead 58-39.

Ngan and Caleb Landon combined for 11 points in the fourth but Tawera and Leger, on his way to a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, took MAGS to a second straight win ahead of the rearranged game against Liston College on Monday.

MAGS 74– S Tawera 22 (5/10 3PG), J Leger 21/16r, N Wilson 10/19r, P Mengistie 8

AGS 57– C Ngan 22, C Landon 12, L Vea 8, I Tela 5

At Rangitoto College Jett Thompson, with a couple of slicing drives, gave Westlake the early lead but consecutive threes from Obadaiah Paea tied proceedings at quarter time – 20 points each.

Rangitoto gained some ascendancy making a 15-3 run to open the second frame with Paea and Zach Riley at the heart of the action. Antonio Luetich and Caton Silbiger responded for Westlake but a bucket from Liam Judd and a corner three from Ethan Skelton on the stroke of half-time meant that Lake had been outscored 27-9 in the period and trailed 47-29 at the break.

Skelton started the second half as he finished the first with a corner three. Another three, this time from Tommy Te Puni, was proceeded by a trey from Thompson to open the Lake response after the interval.

When Skelton scored consecutive layups off turnovers Westlake Head Coach Zac Fitzgerald needed a timeout with his team 58-34 in arrears.

Joe Wuthrich scored on the resumption but Te Puni and Skelton had all the answers – the hosts ahead 74-45 at the last break to the delight of the vociferous home supporters.

Rangitoto forward Dallas Clayton had the satisfaction of scoring against his former teammates with a neat left handed finish before Paora Winitana, making a welcome return following six months on the sideline with injury, put some points on the board for Westlake. However it was little consolation as the Swans slipped to a third straight loss.

Rangitoto 93– O Paea 24, E Skelton 18, Z Riley 13, H Payne 6

Westlake 65– J Thompson 21, A Luetich 15, P Winitana 8, J Kooiman 5

Rosmini College were made to work hard by an injury depleted Macleans College before eventually running out winners 105-83.

Visitors Macleans could only field six fit players but despite that handicap only trailed 26-21 at quarter time. Kraus Reyes scored their first six points and but for missed free-throws Macleans could well have led after ten minutes.

Tyler Martin and Terence Abdon hit a pair of threes apiece but Macleans, or more precisely Jesse Manuel and Harry Smith, kept in touch trailing 54-43 at half-time.

Smith and Manuel  would go on to score an impressive 32 points apiece but they could do little to stop Rosmini dominating the third period.

Martin, Abdon and Taine Murray shared seven threes in the quarter (12 in the match) as the Rosmini lead climbed to 85-59 by the three-quarter mark.

Marvin Williams-Dunn, Jett Marshall and Thomas Morgan continued Rozzas three-point barrage butthe highlight of the game came in the closing minutes and belonged to big man Jack McGregor.

Picking up the ball on the elbow of the key the Macleans forward threw down a rim rattling two handed dunk much to the delight of the Macleans bench. Their obvious delight and togetherness epitomised the effort of coach Adrian Boyd’s charges.

Rosmini 105– T Murray 31, T Martin 18, T Abdon 16, B Robb 10, M Williams-Dunn 7

Macleans 83– J Manuel 32, H Smith 32, K Reyes 14

Shalom Broughton with a game high 30 points and Alex McNaught with 21 points on his birthday led St Kentigern College to a 100- 83 home win against Liston College to stay level with Rangitoto College at the top of the Prems ladder.

Desmond Helu knocked down three triples in the opening quarter but despite Sefa Prasad also landing from deep Liston trailed 26-17 at the ten minute mark – all five St Kent’s starters on the scoresheet.

The hosts reeled off 34 points in the second quarter to take a stranglehold on the game. Levic Kerr was at his dominant best and with Broughton and McNaught in support St Kent’s forged a 62-28 half-time advantage.

Elliot Watson scored 8 third quarter points but with Kerr in foul trouble it meant Liston, with parity on the boards, were able to stage a recovery led by Shawn Hickey and Preston Karatau.

Down 82-58 at three-quarter time Liston continued to battle away and again won the last quarter (25-18) as Kiani Saxon, Karatau and Hickey picked holes in the St Kent’s defence.

St Kentigern 100– S Broughton 30, A McNaught 21, L Kerr 18, E Watson 14

Liston 83– P Karatau 17, S Hickey 17, S Prasad 15, D Helu 13, K Saxon 9

Premier Standings:

7-1 Rangitoto, St Kentigern

5-3 Rosmini

4-4 AGS, Westlake

2-5 Liston, MAGS

0-8 Macleans

Tayla Dalton scored 56 points as Carmel College beat Massey High in Auckland Premier League Round 7 action on Monday night.

There were also wins for the top two teams Westlake and St Mary’s College.

In other news Botany Downs Secondary College have withdrawn from the Premier League.

There was something of a one-woman show at Massey High as Tayla Dalton amassed 56 points as Carmel College beat the hosts 95-75.

Allyah Leusogi-Ape scored six first quarter points for Massey but Qaizden Stephano bettered that by two as Carmel forged an early 20-15 lead.

Ramona Fuaivaa, Shazaleah Henry and Maya Taingahue led a second quarter Massey fightback – the hosts ahead 34-30 at half-time.

Alyesha Schuster reeled off 18 of Massey’s 22 third quarter points yet they were outscored by 14 as Carmel put their collective foot down.  Stephano and Katie Linstrom notched a couple of baskets but the Dalton storm was gathering momentum as she nailed 19 points in the period.

The Dalton storm became a tornado as a further 22 points followed in the final period – the last two buckets a brace of threes to put the exclamation mark on a stunning individual performance.

Massey 75– A Schuster 23, A Leusogi-Ape 18, R Fuaivaa 13, Y Tevao 6

Carmel 95– T Dalton 56, Q Stephano 12, E Davidson 6

If it was an individual scoring storm at Massey it was a collective hurricane at Westlake as the hosts blew past Auckland Girls Grammar 138-21 in a totally one-sided affair.

Emma Pugh led the way for Westlake with 27 points while Jordyn Maddix continued her good perimeter shooting form with six triples on her way to 22 points.

Leah Patuwairua scored 15 points for Grammar.

Westlake 138– E Pugh 27, E Shearer 24, J Maddix 22, I Pugh 16, P Manolas 15, C Leyson 11

AGGS 21– L Patuwairua 15, M Fonohema 4

St Mary’s continued their unbeaten run with a comfortable 75-40 win against Mt Albert Grammar.

Paced by a game high 22 points from Jazz Kailahi-Fulu St Mary’s won every quarter except the last.

MAGS forward Rikki Fiatau scored six early points but so did Kailahi-Fulu as the hosts won the opening period 17-13.

The second stanza was far more convincing with St Mary’s rattling off 29 points to lead 46-23 at half-time. Leata Tenana-Williams had joined Kailahi-Fulu in double figures by the break.

After the interval Riana Matiseni found her range from deep and with Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu scoring inside the lead grew to 64-28 with ten minutes to play.

MAGS to their credit won the final quarter (12-11), Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie leading the way with a team high 15 points.

St Mary’s 75– J Kailahi-Fulu 22, L Tenana-Williams 13, Z Kailahi-Fulu 11, R Matiseni 11

MAGS 40– T Cocker-Lemalie 15, R Fiatau 13, M Kelly 6

Last Friday the Round 6 fixtures had seen wins for Westlake, St Mary’s and Massey High.

Westlake cruised to another easy win defeating local rivals Carmel 111-48 with Rosie Dil scoring 20 points in a game transferred to Eventfinda Stadium.

Westlake 111– R Dil 20, M Boucher 13, P Manolas 11, H Williams 10, J Maddix 10

Carmel 48– E Broomfield 12, E Davidson 9, J Cammell 5

There was also an easy win for St Mary’s as they comfortably took care of business against Auckland Grammar winning 81-39. Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu led all scorers with 20 points although Imogene Noble performed admirably in a losing cause scoring 17 points.

St Mary’s 81– Z Kailahi-Fulu 20, M Malolo 14, L Tenana-Williams 10, T Tevaga 9

AGGS 39– I Noble 17, L Patuwairua 8, P Vae 6, M Seuiavatele 6

Massey High School entertained Rangitoto College in a much tighter affair with Massey prevailing 85-75.

An even first quarter ended with Rangitoto one point to the good (20-19) – three triples from guard Hannah Wentworth the feature of the period.

Massey exerted some control in the second frame with Yzabelle Tevao and Allyah Leusogi-Ape scoring ten points apiece for the hosts to lead 39-30 at half-time.

Aroha Riley knocked down a couple of threes for Rangi in the third and with Kellie Tawhiao and Wentworth chipping in the Massey lead was narrowed to 60-53 at the last break.

Wentworth sunk her fifth triple and Emily Blythe made a couple of plays but Shauna Povey and Shazaleah Henry saw Massey to the win.

Massey 85– S Povey 24, Y Tevao 13, R Fuaivaa 13, A Schuster 10, A Leusogi-Ape 10

Rangitoto 75– H Wentworth 30, A Riley 16, K Tawhiao 12

Premier Girls Standings:

6-0 St Mary’s

5-1 Westlake

4-2 Massey

3-3 Carmel

3-2 Rangitoto

0-6 MAGS, AGGS

St Kentigern College completed a notable double during the latest round of Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier Basketball.

Rangitoto College and Auckland Grammar were also in the winner’s circle in Round 7 action whilst the Liston College v MAGS fixture was postponed until next Monday.

St Kentigern defeated Rosmini earlier in the season and on Monday night, on their home court, again overturned the defending champions winning 79-73 despite Sean Murphy scoring 35 points for the visitors.

The industrious Elliot Watson opened the scoring for St Kent’s and his six points along with an identical contribution from Martin Gan took their team to a 21-17 first quarter lead.

The rapidly improving Levic Kerr (23 points) and Shalom Broughton (21 points) were a constant menace on the offensive boards, the pair scoring 15 consecutive points for the hosts in the second. Rozza were relying heavily on Murphy as his 19 first half points kept them in touch at the main break trailing 40-36.

Kerr and Alex McNaught fired the opening shots in the third stanza and when Sam Chan dropped a long three in the shadows of three-quarter time the St Kent’s lead was a healthy 60-48.

Rosmini rallied at the outset of the fourth as Murphy, Cian Emery and Thomas Morgan struck from deep. With the lead reduced to two points (62-60) St Kent’s Head Coach Aaron Young needed a timeout.

The chat worked a treat as McNaught knocked down a triple and Broughton reeled off three straight buckets and when Josh Child put down a two handed dunk the hosts were ahead 75-67 with three minutes to play.

Murphy moved his outstanding contribution into the thirties with a fifth three but to the delight of the home support Broughton put the icing on a solid victory with an alley-oop play off a McNaught pass.

St Kentigern 79– L Kerr 23, S Broughton 21, A McNaught 10, E Watson 10, M Gan 8

Rosmini 73– S Murphy 35, M Williams-Dunn 10, T Abdon 9, T Martin 6

In a high scoring affair at Westlake visitors Auckland Grammar prevailed 113-104 with the Junior Tall Blacks pair of Sam Mennenga and Jaga Mete in sensational shooting form.

The duo will be teammates when they board a plane on Wednesday headed to the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece but on Monday engaged in a pre-tournament shoot-out.

Westlake forward Mennenga scored 42 points while Mete went a couple better scoring 44 points for Grammar. For a while it looked as if they may be upstaged by AGS guard Connor Ngan who scored 35 points including six made threes.

Grammar made a lightning start amassing 34 first quarter points to lead by 16 at the first break. Ngan and Mete did most the damage but a couple of baskets from Caleb Landon were also handy.

Stung into action Westlake outscored the visitors 35-22 in the second with Mennenga scoring 19. A timely trey from Dylan Wilkie pulled the hosts to within three points at half-time (56-53).

The two teams traded baskets in the second with Grammar relying mainly on threes – Mete made four and Ngan three from the land of plenty. Not to be outdone Reuben Natusch, Liam Spencer and Mennenga joined in the three-point shooting exhibition – Westlake down (82-77) at three-quarter time.

Mennenga, Wilkie and Jett Thompson provided scoring impetus for Westlake in the final period but it’s tough to get a win when the opposition back court duo rack up a combined 79 points – the pair made twenty of those in the closing ten minutes to seal a third straight win for Grammar as they moved into a share of third place on the ladder.

Westlake 104– S Mennenga 42, D Wilkie 14, J Thompson 13

AGS 113– J Mete 44, C Ngan 35, D Boyd 9, C Landon 8

A 27-11 opening salvo up in the Bays set the tone for a comfortable home victory as Rangitoto College won every quarter on their way to a 111- 41 victory against Macleans College.

Phoenix Leupolu, settling into his new surrounds, scored 7 early points and Ethan Skelton 6.

Liam Judd enjoyed a profitable second quarter making 11 points and Joon Back knocked down a couple of threes to extend the Rangi lead to 54-23 at half-time.

It was a similar story in the second Half as Harry Payne compiled a game high 23 points – Daniel Powell. Leupolu and Judd joining him in double figures.

Kraus Reyes was a stand out for Macleans scoring 21 points and Regan McGregor made 9.

Rangitoto 111 – H Payne 23, P Leupolu 15, L Judd 14, D Powell 14, J Back 9, D Clayton 8

Macleans 41 – K Reyes 21, R McGregor 9

Premier Standings:

6-1 Rangitoto, St Kentigern

4-3 Westlake, Rosmini, AGS

2-4 Liston

1-5 MAGS

0-7 Macleans

In Round 6 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier League the only unbeaten team, Rangitoto College, had that record expunged going down 79-77 at St Kentigern College.

Rosmini College defeated Westlake in front of a big crowd at Eventfinda Stadium and there were also wins for Auckland Grammar and Mt Albert Grammar.

St Kentigern College beat Rangitoto College 79-77 as the top two teams in the competition went head to head in east Auckland on Friday.

St Kent’s point guard Alex McNaught (24 points) converted an acrobatic layup to edge his team ahead with 45 seconds to play. Rangitoto created an opportunity for Zach Riley to put up a potential game winner on the buzzer but his three-pointer fell just short – Riley was outstanding compiling a Premier career best 36 points.

The first quarter favoured the visitors as Riley and Harry Payne (20 points) went to work but St Kent’s fought back in the second via McNaught and Levic Kerr (22 points) to close within two points at half-time (45-43).

Heading into the fourth it was just a one point game, 59-58, as the two teams went toe to toe. St Kent’s forward Levic Kerr was proving a handful on the offensive boards and he made 8 of his 22 points in the fourth.

Payne and Riley shared 14 points in the final frame and Tautoko Wynyard chipped in with some handy points but Elliot Watson and Kerr held firm before McNaught’s athletic play sealed the win.

St Kentigern 79– A McNaught 24, L Kerr 22, K Evans 9, M Gan 9, E Watson 8

Rangitoto 77– Z Riley 36, H Payne 20, P Leopolu 10

In front of a vibrant 1,000+ crowd at Eventfinda Stadium Rosmini College edged local neighbours Westlake Boys 86-80.

Josh Kooiman made a couple of early triples but they were cancelled out by similar efforts from Sean Murphy (20 points) and Tyler Martin to help Rosmini to a 19-15 quarter-time lead.

That lead increased to 43-36 at the main break as Jayden Boucher and Marvin Williams-Dunn (22 points) featured strongly in the second.

Westlake fought back in the third as Dylan Wilkie, Sam Mennenga and Kooiman all hit from deep to lock the scores up at three-quarter time (63-63).

Wilkie, Jett Thompson and Mennenga, who scored a game high 25 points, had the Westlake fans roaring as they controlled the early stages of the fourth frame and when Kooiman landed a prayer as the shot clock expired a Lake victory looked a strong possibility.

However after a brace of buckets from both Boucher and Thomas Morgan, Terence Abdon made a crucial long three to put Rosmini in the ascendancy.

Jason Mitef sealed the win in a game that was a fine advertisement for high school basketball.

Westlake 80– S Mennenga 25, D Wilkie 18, J Thompson 14, J Kooiman 14

Rosmini 86– M Williams-Dunn 22, S Murphy 20, T Abdon 15,  J Boucher 13

Daniel Boyd scored a Premier career best 33 points as Auckland Grammar outscored Liston College 54-20 in the second half to canter to a 90-47 victory.

Boyd had 18 points in the opening half and with Jaga Mete (19 points) contributing 9points Grammar were 37-27 ahead at the interval – Kiani Saxon and Preston Karatau helped keep Liston in touch.

Shawn Hickey (13 points) and Victor Ola’aiga posted points for Liston in the third but they were outscored 29-14 in the frame as Connor Ngan, Luka Vea and Boyd took control.

Grammar cruised through the closing ten minutes to ensure a third win of the season.

Liston 47– S Hickey 13, K Saxon 7, P Karatau 6

AGS 91– D Boyd 33, J Mete 19, C Ngan 15, L Vea 8

A dominant display on the boards from Nate Wilson helped Mt Albert Grammar to their first win of the season. Wilson added 20 points to a colossal 27 rebounds as MAGS beat Macleans College 80-56.

It was all MAGS in the opening quarter as they strode to a 19-11 lead. Tyson Kempton had 8 first half points for Macleans but MAGS steadily built there advantage through Josh Leger (a game high 21 points) and Phil Mengistie.

MAGS welcomed back Sataan Tawera after injury and the point guard helped MAGS control proceedings as they won every quarter to kick start their season.

Jesse Manuel top scored for Macleans with 9 points – Macleans head to Rangitoto College on Monday searching for their first win whilst MAGS take on Liston College in a crucial game.

Macleans 56– J Manuel 9, T Kempton 8, H Hanson 8

MAGS 80– J Leger 21, N Wilson 20, P Mengistie 14, S Tawera 9

Premier Standings:

5-1 Rangitoto, St Kentigern

4-2 Westlake, Rosmini

3-3 AGS

2-4 Liston

1-5 MAGS

0-6 Macleans

In a fast paced entertaining Auckland Secondary Schools Premier League game played on Wednesday night Rangitoto College defeated Carmel College 89-84.

Tayla Dalton, back from her heroics in Mongolia with the New Zealand team that claimed silver at the FIBA U18 3×3 World Cup, scored 44 points for Carmel.  However a more balanced scoring effort from Rangitoto, with five players in double figures, eased them to their fourth win of the season.

Early on it was Carmel that started the stronger building a 14-9 advantage although that was turned into a 21-17 lead in favour of Rangi by quarter time courtesy of a pair of threes from Hannah Wentworth.

The second quarter belonged to the hosts as Aroha Riley and Ella Moore dropped a bunch of triples to take Rangitoto to a 50-33 lead at the main break.

Whatever Carmel coach Gareth Teahan said to his team in the locker room at half-time worked a treat as they almost wiped out the entire 17-point deficit in the ensuing ten minutes.

Dalton did most the damage but Emily Broomfield, Estelle Davidson and Qaizden Stephano were all significant contributors in a revival that saw them enter the final ten minutes just six points adrift (66-62).

Moore made her third triple of the game to open the fourth quarter but Dalton replied with an And-1 play. Young Rangi guard Kellie Tawhiao reeled off 8 straight points as they led 79-68 with 6 minutes to play.

Broomfield and Davidson scored the next six points before the two leading scorers in the game, Dalton and Aroha Riley, exchanged scores from beyond the three-point arc.

The impressive Moneesha Barrett put Rangi 89-78 to the good with just under two minutes to play and although Carmel scored the last six points of the contest it wasn’t quite enough to steal the win.

Next up for Carmel is a game against Westlake Girls with that fixture to be played at Eventfinda Stadium (North Shore Events Centre) on Friday. Josh Davis and his charges will  take on Massey High on the same evening with the two teams boasting identical 4-1 records.

Rangitoto 89– A Riley 22, K Tawhiao 20, H Wentworth 16, E Moore 13, M Barrett 11

Carmel 84– T Dalton 44, E Broomfield 15, E Davidson 11, Q Stephano 8

League Standings

5-0 St Mary’s

4-1 Massey, Westlake, Rangitoto

2-3 Carmel

1-4 AGGS

0-5 Botany Downs, Mt Albert

Westlake Girls High School and Massey High School reinforced their Auckland Secondary Schools Premier League top four spots with emphatic Round 5 wins on Friday.

Massey, led by Ramona Fuaivaa (23 points) and Alyesha Schuster (20 points) proved too strong for Auckland Girls Grammar winning 103-56.

An opening quarter lead of 18-9 in favour of the visitors was extended to 43-21 at the break Imogene Noble and Leah Patuwairua did most of the scoring for AGGS but contributions across the board from Massey were the order of the day.

Noble, the game’s highest scorer with 26 points, scored 11 of those in the third quarter but Kharylle Ruiz scored 8 points in the frame as Massey steadily built their lead.

Maxine Seuravatele and Hina Devery chipped in with points for AGGS but Massey had too many weapons and cruised to a fourth win of the season. Allyah Leusogi-Ape, Yzabelle Tevao and Tahlya Waikiki were the other Massey players in double figures.

AGGS 56– I Noble 26, L Patuwairua 12, H Devery 4, M Seuravatele 4

Massey 103– R Fuaivaa 23, A Schuster 20, A Leusogi-Ape 13, K Ruiz 12, Y Tevao 12, T Waikiki 11

Westlake Girls High beat Mt Albert Grammar103-44 in the only other game played on Friday. Jordyn Maddix was on fire from the three-point line draining eight triples. Unfortunately we don’t have any further details of the game.

Botany Downs forfeited their game for the second time this season handing league leaders St Mary’s the two competition points.

The Rangitoto College versus Carmel College fixture has been postponed until Wednesday June 12^th.

In other news Tayla Dalton has been in Mongolia with the New Zealand team that played extremely well to win silver at the FIBA U18 3×3 World Cup. Former MAGS standout Sharne Pupuke-Robati was also in the team alongside Chaerlisse Leger-Walker and Ashlee Strawbridge

League Standings

5-0 St Mary’s

4-1 Massey, Westlake

3-1 Rangitoto

2-2 Carmel

1-4 AGGS

0-5 Botany Downs, Mt Albert

Zach Riley

Rangitoto College are the outright leaders of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier League. Rangitoto beat Rosmini College in double overtime and with St Kentigern losing at Auckland Grammar the ‘Boys from the Bays’ are the only unbeaten team after five rounds of competition.

The Rangi versus Rozza clash was a hugely entertaining game punctuated by extreme fluctuations of scoring form that was eventually decided after 49 minutes and 57.4 seconds of action.

With 2.6 seconds of play left in the second extra period young Rangitoto guard Zach Riley stepped to the free throw line with the scores locked at 99 points apiece. He calmly knocked down his first attempt and with so little time left on the clock intentionally missed the second. Dallas Clayton grabbed the offensive rebound for added security enabling him and his teammates to celebrate a fifth straight win.

Earlier Rosmini had made the better start as Marvin Williams-Dunn found his way to basket on multiple occasions to give the visitors a 24-18 first quarter lead. A fairly even second period ensued – Rosmini still ahead 41-32 at the interval.

The relatively sedate first half was followed by carnage in the third! Inspired by Harry Payne, Jared Thornton and Obadaiah Paea Rangitoto unleashed a 24-0 run , yes twenty-four points to zero, before a Terence Abdon three stopped the bleeding. Rangitoto amassed 33 points in the quarter with the afore mentioned trio sharing all but five of those points.

Reeling at the three-quarter mark with a 65-49 deficit Rosmini turned the game on its head at the start of the fourth. Rangi could hardly get the ball out of there own half as the defending champions, inspired by Jayden Boucher’s work, ramped up the defensive effort. They couldn’t quite match the second quarter run of Rangitoto but it was mighty close. 22-2 to be precise as Sean Murphy, Reihana Maxwell-Topia and Abdon capitalised on numerous Rangi turnovers to forge a 71-67 lead.

The regular time drama hadn’t finished. Murphy (32 points) knocked down his third triple of the period to tie the scores (77-77) inside the last two minutes and when Williams-Dunn converted a trademark slashing dive with 10 seconds to play a Rosmini win looked likely. However Payne had the last say – a composed close range finish from the Rangi captain tying the scores. Fouled in the act of shooting, the game’s leading scorer (33 points) saw his potential match winning free throw rim out.

The two teams traded baskets in the first overtime period, a Williams-Dunn triple cancelling out a similar effort from Ethan Skelton –  the raucous crowd given an extra five minutes entertainment with the score locked at 90 points each.

A Thornton tip-in was cancelled out by Maxwell-Topia and despite losing Williams-Dunn, Boucher and Murphy with five fouls apiece Rosmini led 99-97 with 45 seconds to play. However it was the impressive Riley that had the final say, scoring on the next play before landing the all important game winner.

Rangitoto 100– H Payne 33, Z Riley 27, O Paea 17, J Thornton 12, E Skelton 8

Rosmini 99– S Murphy 32, M Williams-Dunn 22, T Abdon 20, R Maxwell-Topia 17, J Boucher 8

Auckland Grammar unleashed a double-barrel assault, in the form of Jaga Mete and Connor Ngan, to inflict a first defeat of the season on St Kentigern College (93-79).

The heaviest shots were fired in the fourth quarter as Ngan released a barrage of threes (he had seven in the game with five landed in the final ten minutes) and Mete took his tally to 45 points with St Kent’s outscored 29-17 in the last period.

St Kent’s, after shading the first half 40-38 were very much in the hunt at the three- quarter mark trailing by a single point (63-62) with Kaslo Evans and Alex McNaught leading their effort.

Josh Child and Kaea Rangiehaeata scored early in the final frame for St Kent’s but once Ngan found his range from beyond the arc there was only one winner.

AGS 93– Jaga Mete 45, C Ngan 28, L Vea 7

St Kentigern 79– K Evans 24, A McNaught 17, M Gan 10, J Child 9, E Watson 7

Despite double-doubles from the forward duo of Josh Leger (23 points and 12 rebounds) and Nate Wilson (20 points and 15 rebounds) Mt Albert Grammar went down 89-63 to Westlake Boys on their home court.

The pair shared 14 first quarter points but 11 in the period from Dylan Wilkie edged Westlake ahead 20-18.

On the back of his MVP performance at the U19 National Championships in Dunedin earlier in the week Sam Mennenga got to work in the second. On his way to a game high 25 points he scored 11 points in the period as Westlake moved out to a 44-32 half-time lead.

Campbell Atkinson was prominent for Westlake after half-time and although Phil Mengistie dropped a triple for MAGS they still had a lot to do at the last break trailing 71-53.

Wilkie landed his fifth trey of the game and Reuben Natusch another for good measure as Westlake eased to a fourth win of the season and equal second on the table.

MAGS 63– J Leger 23/12r, N Wilson 20/15r, P Mengistie 7, M Aiono 6

Westlake 89– S Mennenga 25, D Wilkie 17, C Atkinson 12, J Kooiman 11

Harry Smith and Richard Jiang combined for 53 points for Macleans College but a more balanced scoring effort from Liston College propelled them to a 100-80 victory.

Smith had 11 points in the opening stanza but threes from Logan Hamilton, Ben Grant, Ryan Fabian and Desmond Helu gave Liston a 25-22 lead. The scores were tied by the interval (43-43) as Tyson Kempton had the last say of the half.

Preston Karatau (25 points) made three of his five triples in the third and with Helu making useful points Liston were 68-60 to the good at three-quarter time.

Sefa Prasad scored all his 12 points in the fourth as the hosts put their foot down (winning the period 32-20) to record a valuable second win of the season.

Liston 100– P Karatau 25, K Saxon 16, D Helu 15, S Prasad 12, S Hickey 11

Macleans 80– H Smith 28, R Jiang 25, K Reyes 7, T Kempton 6, R Dio 6

In other news Taine Murray is currently attending the Nike Asia Camp in Shenzen, China.

Premier League Standings after 5 rounds:

5-0 Rangitoto

3-1 St Kentigern, Westlake

3-2 Rosmini

2-3 AGS, Liston

0-5 Mt Albert, Macleans