A week after pipping Auckland Grammar at the post Rangitoto College won another heart-stopper this time at the expense of St Kentigern College in the 4th Round of Boy’s Premier League basketball in Auckland.
An in-bounds pass on the baseline from Lucas Payne with 0.7 seconds left on the clock found Zeke Priest who gleefully converted the shot to give Rangitoto an 80-79 win.
The good players score points when it matters and that’s what St Kentigern College guard Dontae Russo-Nance did on as his team prevailed 78-73 at Rosmini College on Monday night.
Russo-Nance scored 19 of his game high 40 points in the final period to ensure St Kent’s overcame a determined Rosmini in an entertaining contest that wasn’t decided until the final 90 seconds.
When Kane Murphy and Charlie Dalton scored back to back threes with less than three minutes to play the hosts had stolen the lead and momentum, 71-67 ahead .
That momentum swing was stopped in its tracks as St Kent’s scored 11 of the final 13 points to seal the win. Kazlo Evans scored in transition, Kaea Rangihaeata made an inside basket and Russo-Nance did the rest with a couple of buckets and a brace of free-throws.
Earlier Rosmini had held a three point advantage at quarter-time with Tom Beattie (28 points on the night) quickly into double figures.
Evans and Caleb Mattison got in on the scoring in the second although Cole Johns provided Rosmini with a couple of handy buckets and proceedings were tied 35 points apiece at half-time
The third frame became a grind with neither side able to gain the ascendancy – an Evans triple gave St Kent’s a narrow 49-48 lead at the last break.
Rosmini began the fourth term with a 10-2 run courtesy of the impressive Beattie and Matt Drury. However that was quickly cancelled out by the visitors as Evans and Russo-Nance wrestled control.
Murphy tied proceedings with 3:30 to play and when he and Dalton scored consecutive baskets from beyond the arc a Rosmini victory looked a distinct possibility.
The good players assert their authority when it matters – Russo Nance did just that in the closing minutes.
Epsom Girls lost their unbeaten record in Round 3 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girl’s Premier League leaving Westlake Girls and Baradene College as the only unbeaten teams.
It was Westlake that spoilt Epsom’s good start to the season with an 83-71 away win.
Unfortunately the scoresheet I received didn’t have the numbers of the scorers recorded for the first part of the game.
I can report that Westlake made a strong start getting out to a 31-15 first quarter advantage. Thereafter it was pretty close with Epsom winning the middle two periods to close to 62-57 at the three-quarter mark before Westlake pulled away again in the fourth to make it three wins in three outings.
Epsom 71
Westlake 83
Also making it three from three were Baradene College who recorded a comfortable 88-60 win at Carmel College.
An entertaining opening quarter saw Baradene carve out a 32-18 lead with Summer Faleafa and Ritorya Tamilo doing the bulk of the damage.
Baradene forged further ahead in the second – Tamilo going past the twenty points mark.
Carmel guard Jemma Cammell was outstanding as the hosts put up a spirited display in the second half. She went on to score a game high 30 points and along with Kate Linstrom gave the home support plenty to cheer.
Lilly Parke (pictured) also capped a fine display nailing 13 points in the final period to put the seal on the Baradene victory.
The Mt Albert Grammar contest against St Mary’s College looked to be headed to an interesting finale at three-quarter time. At that stage MAGS trailed 52-46 but the final period was dominated by the visitors, St Mary’s charging away to win 76-52.
8 points in the home run from Faith Ualika and a couple of key buckets from Layla Aholelei helped St Mary’s pile on 24 points to finish with a flourish.
Earlier it had been Kodee Sefo (18 points), Ualika and Trinity Atiga (both 16 points) that had given the visitors their narrow lead with Taya Lewis and Breanna Waka both in double figures for MAGS.
MAGS 52 – Taya Lewis 11, Breanna Waka 10, Danae Tait 8, Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie 8 St Mary’s 76 – Sefo 18, Atiga 16, Ualika 16, Jess Fleming 8
A strong opening 23-10 opening quarter from Rangitoto College set the platform for an 82-66 home win against Massey High School – 9 points for Emily Blythe in the opening period.
Massey responded well in the second quarter, courtesy of Maya Taingahue and Zhoey Tilby-Woods, to trail by just five points at half-time (35-30).
A free scoring third frame was something of a shoot-out between Shaz Henry and Taingahue for Massey and Aroha Riley and Kellie Tawhiao for Rangitoto – the hosts ahead 60-52 with ten minutes to play.
Tahlya Waikiki kept the score ticking over for Massey in the final period but Aroha Riley put the result beyond the visitors as she knocked down four triples in the frame on her way to a game high 34 points.
Rangitoto 82 – Riley 34, Blythe 17, Tawhiao 16
Massey 66 – Taingahue 24, T Waikiki 19, Henry 10
Premier League Standings
3-0 Baradene, Westlake
Epsom, St Mary’s
1-2 Rangitoto, Massey
0-3 Carmel, MAGS
Senior A Results:
Northcote College 60 – Lizzie May 16, Lucy Shepherd 12, Ashley Healey 10, Bri Hadley 10
Pakuranga College 36 – Jordan Koteka 10, Eden Vaka 10, Izzy Reeve 8
Pukekohe HS 59
One Tree Hill College 71
Mt Roskill GS 52 – Tikara Jallow 16, Petra Chanchui 13, Eden Ili 10
Lindsay Tait and his Auckland Grammar team will be lamenting a squandered opportunity to inflict a defeat on Rangitoto College after going down 88-86 in the Bays.
Grammar had led by as many as 16 points at one stage but gave up a game tying basket to Zeke Priest with 14 seconds to play.
It appeared that Grammar had the final possession to engineer a winning play but poor execution presented Rangi with a game winning opportunity – a fast break layup was gleefully accepted by Ethan Skelton for the win.
Earlier Grammar had opened up a 26-16 first quarter advantage, extended to 47-33 at the interval – Caleb Landon and Jamal Todd, 23 points apiece on the night, doing most the damage.
Captain Skelton dragged Rangi back into the contest scoring 15 points in the third as Grammar’s lead was cut to 68-64 with ten to play.
Todd continued to make buckets as Grammar protected their advantage but some poor shot selections presented the hosts with opportunities Skelton and Priest made the most of.
AGS 86 – Landon 23, Todd 23, Cody Brown 15, Toby Caldwell 9, Luka Vea 7
*Rangitoto guard Zach Skelton was away on duty with the Auckland Huskies.
All twelve Westlake Boys High players scored at least 4 points as they overpowered St Peter’s College 122-64.
With Jack Donnelly at his elusive best and Owain Leigh making a couple of scores St Peter’s hung tough in the opening period to trail by single figures 28-19.
Thereafter it was all Westlake as Boston Caldwell dropped 30 (3/5 3PG), the promising Hamza Zahran scored 20 and Christian Martin produced another impressive stats line.
Following on from his 34 points against Rosmini last week Martin came up with a triple-double threatening 19 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Scott Erey gave Donnelly good support with 15 points but it was Westlake’s all-round depth that won the day.
Mt Albert Grammar also had all twelve players on the scoresheet as they defeated Liston College 98-53.
Taona Chataira scored eight first quarter points for Liston but five straight points from Ron Henskes gave the hosts a 22-15 lead after ten minutes.
Aki Luamanuvae-Sua quickly took his score into double figures and Phoenix Sorensen landed three triples as MAGS dominated the second period to lead 49-27 at the break.
The scoring tapered off in the third before MAGS unleashed 33 points in the final frame. Deon Helu scored 10 points in the fourth to take his tally to 17 but he couldn’t prevent MAGS cruising to victory.
Are we witnessing a slight changing of the guard in Girl’s Premier League basketball in Auckland? Westlake Girls will be in the mix but expect Baradene College and Epsom Girls Grammar to also be in the shake-up at the business end of the season – all three teams off to a two-game winning start.
Baradene made a strong start against St Mary’s leading 13-8 after the first ten minutes and 27-17 at half-time – Lilly Parke, Ritorya Tamilo and Deyna Topia all making telling contributions.
Kat Leslie tried to get things going for St Mary’s but 8 points in the third from Summer Faleafa ensured Baradene had an unassailable 48-29 lead at the three-quarter mark.
Sarah-Joy Aruwa scored 10 points in the opening quarter as Epsom Girls established a 22-16 lead at Rangitoto College.
Aroha Riley was also in double figures for Rangitoto who were still in touch at the interval trailing 33-29.
Epsom broke the game open in the third, threes from Flo Dallow, Draun Forbes and Lauren Boxall-Hunt helping them tally 30 points in the period and a 63-45 lead with ten minutes to play.
Kellie Tawhiao joined Riley on the 20-points mark but Epsom were cruising in the fourth.
Mt Albert Grammar made a strong start against Massey High School but eventually went down 70-63.
Breanna Waka, Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie and Danae Tait scored a couple of baskets apiece as MAGS forged an early 20-13 lead.
However Massey piled on 30 points in the second quarter as Aylyah Leusogi-Ape and Manya Taingahue cut loose.
The two teams went hammer and tongue in the third period sharing 40 points in a high scoring frame – Taya Lewis led the MAGS effort but Massey held firm to win the closest game of the round.
Results from Round 2 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier and Senior A fixtures:
With a half-time score of 39-37 in favour of Rosmini College at Westlake Boys High it looked as if a close encounter was on the cards.
However Westlake, or more precisely Christian Martin, had other ideas. Westlake swept Rosmini aside 31-8 in the third period, Martin piling on 16 points of his own on his way to a dominating 34 points.
Rosmini restored an element of respectability to the score in the final quarter, courtesy of Matt Drury (22 points) and (Charlie Dalton 25 points), but were second best on the night going down 94-78.
Tom Beattie and Kane Murphy got Rosmini off to a good start (23-19 ahead at quarter time) before Martin and Wade Mackenzie began to work up a head of steam in the second.
Martin was unstoppable in the third and with Boston Caldwell and Rocco Chang lending good support the result was beyond doubt at the three-quarter mark.
Westlake 94 – Martin 34, Caldwell 22, Chang 12, MacKenzie 7, Hamza Zahran 6
St Kentigern College had little trouble against Liston College winning 102-51 with Kazlo Evans adding a lazy 29 points to his 47 in round 1.
He received fine support from Merrick Rillstone (22 points) and Caleb Mattison (21 points) as St Kent’s built on a 31-13 first quarter lead, winning every quarter.
Desmond Helu’s 13 points was the standout performance for Liston.
St Kent’s102 – Evans 29, Rillstone 22, Mattison 21, George Turner 7, Kaea Rangihaetee 7
*St Kent’s guard Dontae Russo-Nance was away on duty with the Auckland Huskies and scored 19 points against the Canterbury Rams.
Auckland Grammar came away from their visit to Mt Albert Grammar with a crucial 96-69 win.
Louis Uru dropped a three-pointer late in the opening period to edge MAGS to a 19-18 lead before AGS put their collective foot down in the second. They won the stanza 25-12 with skipper Caleb Landon and Toby Caldwell prominent.
Ben Skelton and Aki Luamanuvae-Sua kept MAGS in contention in the third but a timely three from Jamal Todd gave AGS a 18-point buffer (70-52) at three-quarter time.
Luamanuvae-Sua went on to record a game high 25 points but a more balanced scoring effort from the men from Mountain Road claimed the spoils.
Four players combined to amass 119 points at Rangitoto College as Zeke Priest’s 36 points and Ethan Skelton’s 33 trumped Jack Donnelly’s 33 and Scott Erey’s 17 to propel the hosts to a 105-64 win against St Peter’s College.
The first quarter favoured Rangitoto 26-19 but it was one way traffic in the second frame as St Peter’s were outscored 30-7. The visitors were restricted to single figures again in the third as Rangi established a vice like grip on the game and record a second straight win of the season.
Rangitoto 105 – Priest 36, Skelton 33, Lucas Payne 12, Jacob Fotu 7
St Peter’s 64 – Donnelly 33, Erey 17, Toby Cox 8
*Rangitoto guard Zach Skelton was away on duty with the Auckland Huskies and scored 7 points against the Canterbury Rams.
Senior A Results:
Macleans College 89 Avondale College 107
Mt Roskill GS 89 (Kennedy Matenga 32, Anthony Beaumont 10) Aorere College 48 (Feloni Ngata 11, Devean Danielson 13)
Long Bay College 73 (George De Felice 16, Sam Love 13, Nouh Taher 12) Massey HS 59 (James Anderson 15, Oscar Dickson 12)
Sacred Heart 116 (Josh Stewart 34, Adam Davies 23) Northcote College 76 (Aaron Sievert 38)
Large score lines were the feature of the opening round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girl Premier League fixtures.
Rangitoto College got off to a flying start at St Mary’s College leading 22-13 at quarter time. However, despite 32 points from Aroha Riley, it was all downhill for the visitors thereafter with St Mary’s running out 81-56 winners.
Kodee Sefo scored a fine 19 points for the hosts who had four players in double figures.
St Mary’s 81 – Sefo 19, Kat Leslie 17, Faith Ualika 14, Alex Moore 13, Trinity Atiga 9
Baradene College began their campaign with a solid 81-50 victory against Mt Albert Grammar School.
Danae Tait posted 18 points for MAGs whilst Baradene, paced by 26 points from point guard Deyna Topia, never looked back after taking the opening ten minutes 18-9.
Westlake Girls High School proved far too good for Massey High School recording a 118-68 victory.
Westlake enjoyed a bunch of major contributions with Mackenzie Chatfield’s 21 points the highest score. Allyah Leusogi-Ape matched that but Massey were always struggling after incurring a 10-point deficit in the opening period.
The highlight of Week 1 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier League competition undoubtedly came at St Kentigern College where Kazlo Evans scored a stunning 47 points against Mt Albert Grammar School.
The St Kent’s guard dropped a remarkable 12 three-pointers, six of them in the first quarter in a 106-81 win. It may not be the most points scored in a single game but it is the highest individual tally for a number of seasons.
Phoenix Sorensen battled his way to a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for the visitors.
St Kent’s 106 – Evans 47, Dontae Russo-Nance 15, George Turner 14, Merrick Rillstone 11, Caleb Mattison 8
MAGS 81 – Sorensen 16, Aki Luasmanuvae-Sua 16, Harri Coker-Grey 12, Louis Uru 7
In a one sided affair Rangitoto thumped Liston College 102-43 for an emphatic road win with a 26-4 opening quarter setting the scene for the contest.
Zeke Priest led the way for Rangi with 31 points with the victory achieved without the services of Zach Riley.
Liston 43 – Rasheed Tahiru 9, Preseti 8
Rangitoto 102 – Priest 31, Lucas Payne 17, Ethan Skelton 16, Jacob Fotu 14, Baxter Riley 9
Westlake Boys also recorded an away win defeating Auckland Grammar 88-73.
Boston Caldwell was the star of the show for Westlake knocking down six shots from beyond the arc to record a game high 30 points. Luka Vea scored 22 for AGS biut it was a night when they were always second best.
AGS 73 – Vea 22, Josh Mugglestone 10, Cody Brown 9, Will Shortt 8
Westlake 88 – Caldwell 30, Christian Martin 22, Liam Spencer 13, Rocco Chang 8
Rosmini College got their season off to a winning start defeating St Peter’s College 94-70.
Jack Donnelley and Scott Errey combined for 51 points for St Peter’s but the collective efforts of Rosmini led by Tom Beattie (19 points) carried the day.
Rosmini 94 – Beattie 19, Kane Murphy 16, Charlie Dalton 15, Pita Maxwell-Topia 12, Lucas Schnuriger 10
St Peter’s 70 – Donnelly 28, Errey 23, Jacob Nola 5