Westlake Boys High maintained an unbeaten start to their Prems season with a keenly fought 78-71 road win at Mount Albert Grammar School on Monday night. Hamza Zahran’s game high 21 points paced the Westlake effort with Rocco Chang (18 points) and Daniel Ottenhoff (14 points) providing valuable support.
Originally scheduled for Round 3 the re-arranged contest was decided either side of three-quarter time.
Westlake closed out the third period with a 10-2 run to lead 60-57 at the last break. With Luke Don landing consecutive triples they then opened the final 10 minutes with a 12-3 run, to lead by 12 (72-60), a lead that proved too difficult to overcome for the hosts.
Will Leger, and the Dante’s – Matakatea and Tapula’ala – did make some inroads narrowing the deficit to 7 points late in the fourth – Rocco Chang and Daniel Ottenhoff ensured it got no closer.
The two teams had gone toe for toe in the first twenty-five minutes, neither side able to wrestle the advantage. Victor Keil and Kade Cartwright went back-to-back-to-back with triples to end the first half but 15 first half points from Zahran endured Westlake held a narrow 37-35 interval lead.
Consecutive scores from Harri Coker-Gray were cancelled out by a pair of long threes from Chang. Coker-Gray also produced the loudest cheers of the night, from the large home crowd, for an athletic defensive block. However, Mikal Maiquez quietened the local support with a triple and that decisive Lake run was underway.
Dante Matakatea, ahead of his trip to Doha with the New Zealand U17 National team, tallied a nice stat line of 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block. NZ open their Asia Cup campaign against Kazakhstan on Sunday June 12. Go well Dante!
The fourth round review of the Auckland Schools Boys Senior A games, brought to you by Dynamic Sport New Zealand, features wins for Manurewa High School and the colleges of St Peter’s, Northcote and Aorere.
A game high 35 points from Aaron Sievert propelled Northcote College to a 77-59 home win against Mount Roskill Grammar School. The sharp shooting guard had 16 points in the opening half as the hosts established a 31-18 advantage.
Alfred Kerr sparked a scoring surge from Roskill and with Mitchell Greenaway and Ngawaka Rakete chipping in with useful points the visitors edged the third period, although they still trailed 50-38.
Sievert’s sixth triple on the night and points from Ethan Ring and Tom Bates snuffed out the possibility of a Roskill comeback, Northcote moving to 3-1 on the season.
Sievert has now amassed an impressive 139 points in the opening four games of the season.
Northcote 77 – Sievert 35, Tom Bates 14, Tane Cook 6, Ethan Ring 6, Marley Rennie 6
In the game of the round Macleans College almost pulled off the comeback win of the season against Aorere College. Down 12 points in the middle of the final period they rattled off a bunch of threes to take the lead with 60 seconds to play.
Aorere somehow wrestled back the initiative with Franklyne Gordon tying the game before brother Christopher Gordon made the buzzer beating winner!
The Gordon brothers scored a remarkable 69 points between them to take Aorere to a first win of the season.
The other intriguing stat is that Macleans made 16 threes in the game, six of those during that fourth quarter revival. Declan Puffy made the last of them, plus the go ahead two, only to see his efforts cancelled out by Chris Gordon.
Jamie Carville scored a team high 18 points for Macleans, one of six different players to land at least one triple for the hosts. Levi Smyth and Puffy were the other players in double figures.
Macleans 81 – Carville 18, Smyth 16, Puffy 12, Teegan La Grange 9, Christian Mutti 8
Aorere 83 – F Gordon 37, C Gordon 32, Eletise Eletise 5, Moroki Tauhara 4
Manurewa came out firing and by the end of the first quarter had a 13-point lead while holding Dilworth to a single figures (22-9). Ryan Ancha and Jarell Tuheg both nailed triples in the opening period.
Damon Kitchen was in double figures by half-time but Macleans trailed 50-24 at that stage. Alex Hughes led all scorers at the break with 14 points.
Buoyed by the support of the home crowd Dilworth surged back into contention in the third as they reduced the Manurewa advantage to 12 at the end of the period (66-54). Owen Pattison led the comeback with 18 of his game high 28 coming in that quarter.
Manurewa were able to find another gear in the fourth – William Passi, soon headed to Doha with the New Zealand U17 National team for the Asia Cup, moved his tally to 25 points while Annun Leng provided the finishing touches to the win with a pair of late threes.
Dilworth 65 –Pattison 28, Kitchen 16, Ivan Kerr 8
Manurewa 91 – Passi 25, Hughes 24. Ancha 16, Richard Campbell 15
Nine points in the opening quarter from Jimitose Iosia-Sipeli helped Avondale College to a 25-15 lead at St Peter’s College.
Skipper Scott Errey scored 8 points in the second for the hosts but scores from Blaze Phillips and Kabir Bahgrave kept Avondale in the ascendancy – ahead 37-33 at half-time.
St Peter’s made their move in the third quarter piling on 28 points with Errey, on his way to a game high 32 points, Andrei Manio and Dorian Sula dominating the scoring.
Trailing 61-52 at the three-quarter mark Connor Gleeson and Andrew Murphy did their best to wrestle the initiative from the hosts but more points from Errey and late contributions from Christian Donne and Cobain David carried the Saints to a fourth straight win.
St Peter’s 94 – Errey 32, Manio 13, Sula 11, Bailey Smith 10, Toby Cox 9
The 4th Round review of the Auckland Schools Girl’s Senior A games, brought to you in conjunction with Northern Kāhu, features wins for Northcote College, Takapuna GS, Massey High and Auckland Grammar.
Penetrative incursions from DJ Hannah and solid work under the boards from Lily Morgan propelled Northcote College to a handy 21-12 early lead against Mount Roskill Grammar.
A triple from Grace Lai was the highlight of a low scoring second quarter – hosts Northcote 32-14 to the good at the interval.
Nellie and Bree Ioane were at the heart of Roskill’s good moments but Cote cut loose in the third piling on 35 points. Morgan, on her way to a game high 23 points had 13 of those in the period and with Hannah and Lizzie May also cutting lose Northcote were on their way to a fourth straight win.
Northcote 86 – Morgan 23, Hannah 18, Nikki Gear 13, Lai 11, L May 10
Mt Roskill 39 – N Ioane 17, B Ioane 14, Journey Cassidy 4
A season high 28 points from Amy McKenzie propelled Takapuna Grammar to a convincing 80-52 win against previously unbeaten Manurewa High School.
McKenzie scored 10 points in the opening 10 minutes, and with Qaizden Stephano tallying 8 points the Takapuna advantage was 24-14.
Despite Sela Uluheua making scores for Manurewa, McKenzie, Stephano and Bailey Flavell were scoring at twice the rate to propel Takapuna to a 48-24 half-time lead.
Manurewa shaded the third stanza 16-14 but a comeback of major proportions didn’t materialize. With a 4-0 record Takapuna remain top of the table alongside Northcote.
After missing last week’s game Angelica Vahai returned to the One Tree Hill Colleg lineup and gave them the scoring boost they needed. On her way to 27 points, she scored 13 in the opening period as OTH edged ahead of Massey High 18-16.
The second quarter was a tight, low scoring affair – Harriate Heta and Allyah Leusogi-Ape traded threes in the shadows of half-time. The scores were locked at the interval at 29 points apiece.
The third quarter proved pivotal as Massey gained the ascendancy courtesy of 14 points from Leusogi-Ape and contributions from Kortni Waikiki and Cyntalia Schuster.
Ahead 50-41 at three-quarter time Massey extended their lead in the fourth but it was far from straightforward against a resilient One Tree Hill.
The fourth round review of the Auckland Schools Girls Premier Grade games, brought to you by Northern Kāhu, features wins for Saint Kentigern College, Mt Albert Grammar and unbeaten sides Westlake Girls and Baradene College.
A season high 21 points from Valana Pupuke-Robati and 19 points apiece from Danae Tait and Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie propelled Mt Albert Grammar to an 89-44 road win at Carmel College.
The three, along with Waimanu Clarken, were prominent as MAGS sailed to a 42-20 half-time lead.
Without skipper and leading scorer Jemma Cammell, Leighton Esera and Lily Farman carried the bulk of the scoring load for Carmel.
MAGS carried too much scoring weaponry – 8 points in both the third and fourth quarters from Pupuke-Robati propelled the visitors to victory and solidified their top-four position.
In the game of the round Baradene College preserved their unbeaten record with a 70-58 home victory against Epsom Girls Grammar.
Summer Faleafa scored 11 first quarter points as Baradene opened up a 20-17 advantage.
Epsom couldn’t buy a basket in the second, three-point plays from Mila Vikauta and Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs helped the hosts to a commanding 43-20 interval lead.
Maya Fowler and Draun Forbes, who posted a game high 27 points, led the Epsom effort in the third – the two teams scoring 17 points each (Ritorya Tamilo scored 12 of those 17 for Baradene).
Epsom continued to prosper in the final period but scoring just three points in that second quarter left them too much ground to make up.
The 4th Round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier competition, brought to you in conjunction with Dynamic Sport New Zealand, produced wins for Auckland Grammar, Rosmini College, St Kentigern College and Westlake Boys.
Despite being without starters Jacob Fotu and Zeke Priest Rangitoto looked destined to secure a home win when they led 48-30 at half-time.
However, the game swung dramatically in favour of the visitors at the back end of the third and early in the fourth.
Tautoko Wynyard (23 points) had dominated the early proceedings but with his production stymied Westlake were able to gain control.
Nine third quarter points from Luke Don, with good support from Malachi Book and Rocco Chang (a game high 26 points), initiated the Westlake revival.
Chang’s buckets either side of the three quarter time break shifted momentum the way of the visitors – Hamza Zahran and Ned Shearer nudging Westlake ahead.
A triple from Arnold Nam helped the Rangi cause but Lake held their nerve down the stretch to eke out a valuable win.
Earlier it was Wynyard doing early damage supported by a three-point barrage from Jed Barlow and Jimmy Kim. With Michael Ropotini also in good scoring touch it was all Rangi.
Momentum is key in basketball and Westlake went on to harness that priceless commodity in the second half.
Westlake 80 – Rocco Chang 26, Hamza 14, Dan Ottenhoff, 9, Don 9, Malachi Book 7
Mt Albert Grammar trailed by just four points at half-time (39-35) but 7 points apiece from Tom Beattie and Julius Halaifonua helped Rosmini establish a 14-point lead in the third.
An emphatic dunk by Will Leger, in the shadows of three-quarter time, and a Dante Matakatea And-1 play at the start of the fourth reduced the Rosmini lead to single figures.
Zion Anderson, Beattie and Halaifonua kept MAGS at bay although when Leger scored with five minutes to play (66-58) the away fans sniffed a chance.
A 10-2 run from Rosmini doused that optimism – MAGS needing to regroup quickly for a Monday night showdown with Westlake in a rearranged fixture.
Earlier Rosmini, after speeding to a 22-14 lead, were pegged back in the second quarter – Matakatea scoring a dozen points and skipper Victor Keil nailing a couple of threes.
Charlie Dalton also had a dozen for the hosts (courtesy of four triples) before heading to the airport at half-time to link up with the New Zealand U19 Beach Volleyball team flying out to Thailand late Friday night.
Auckland Grammar were dominant from the opening tip at Sacred Heart – scoring at will, denying, shots at the defensive end and generally using their size and speed to great effect. Ahead of his trip to Doha with the New Zealand U17 National team Will Shortt was the scourge of the Heart offence, blocking shots (8 was the conservative estimate) and denying the hosts any offensive flow.
Grammar established a 25-9 opening quarter advantage – Shortt and Josh Muggleston scoring all but five of the twenty-five.
Cody Brown scored 13 points in the second quarter although Heart were much improved in the period as Adam Davies and Tyler Wilson-Voyce provided some scoring momentum; 44-28 at half-time.
Grammar put the foot on the pedal in the third as Jackson Kiss, Muggleston and Shortt took the game away from the hosts with a 29-point surge.
Ben Blake-Howling rounded out proceedings with Grammar’s tenth triple of the night – both coaches giving extended minutes to the bench players during the closing minutes.
AGS 90 – Muggleston 23, Brown 21, Kiss 18, Shortt 9, Ryan Hunt 7
Dontae Russo-Nance (129 points in three games) kept up his points harvesting form with 39 points as Saint Kentigern saw off a plucky Liston College team 105-73.
Liston held their own in the opening quarter as Dhon Lao, Oliver McElhinney and Rasheed Ieremia made life uncomfortable the hosts.
Up by just two at quarter time (26-24), it was all St Kent’s in the second period piling in 40 points to establish a 66-37 half-time lead.
St Kent’s made six threes in the quarter (12 in the game) with Hunter Te Ratana, George Turner, Merrick Rillstone, Cooper Lepou and Russo-Nance all successful from the land of plenty.
Turner, soon headed to Doha with the New Zealand U17 National team for the Asia Cup, added to his tally whileMcElhinney joined in the three-point fun for Liston. However, the damage had been done in the second, St Kent’s easing to a comfortable second win of the season.
St Kent’s 105 – Russo-Nance 39, Rillstone 23, Turner 14, Cooper Lepou 13, Te Ratana 8
The third round review of the Auckland Schools Boys Senior A games, brought to you by Dynamic Sport New Zealand, features wins for Mt Roskill Grammar, St Peter’s College, Northcote College and Manurewa High School.
The Mount Roskill Grammar versus Dilworth School encounter witnessed Ivan Kerr (Dilworth) playing against younger brother Alfred Kerr (Mt Roskill) for the first time in a high school game.
Many will remember older brother Levic Kerr was a standout performer for Saint Kentigern College in their 2019 Secondary Schools National Championship success.
A couple of baskets from Zach Kemen helped Roskill forge an early 12-10 lead but the platform for their win came in the second period when they held Dilworth to 11 points while the home team poured in 24.
A decisive 17-4 run featured three successive threes – a pair from Ryan Aramoana and another from Mitchell Greenaway.
Alfred Kerr and Owen Pattison were the main threats for Dilworth – Pattison ending the third with a spectacular fade away three, falling into the crowd as he landed, despite having two defenders in his face.
Down by 19 points at three-quarter time displayed plenty of spirit in the fourth but a dagger three from captain Ngawaka Rakete sealed the deal for Roskill.
Roskill with their first win of the season and Alfred with the bigger smile, although you would never guess it from the photo below!
Scoring 30 points or more in each quarter and with five players in double figures Northcote College proved too good for Macleans College winning 129-68.
Northcote and Aaron Sievert in particular set the tone in the opening frame. The shooting guard accumulated 16 points as the hosts opened up a 34-14 lead.
Led by Christian Mutti and Declan Puffy, Macleans gave a much improved showing in the second but still trailed 67-41 at the break.
In addition to Sievert, Northcote enjoyed major contributions from Dontaye Sowman-Faaee, Tane Cook (three triples in his 20 points), Tom Bates and Ethan Ring.
Levi Smyth led the way for Macleans with 15 points but it was a night that belonged to Northcote as they moved into the top-four with a 2-1 record.
Macleans 68 – Levi Smyth 15, Christian Mutti 14, Declan Puffy 12, Teegan La Grange 8
Manurewa High maintained its unbeaten start to the season with an 84-65 away win at Avondale College.
Connor Gleeson and Ryan Ancha exchanged a brace of threes apiece as Manurewa edged the opening 10 minutes 19-16.
Nine points from Richard Campbell, headed for a game high 24 and 8 from Jarell Tuhega, extended the Manurewa lead to 46-32 at half-time.
Avondale relied almost exclusively on threes in the third, Gleeson and Jimi Iosia-Sipeli with a pair each. In contrast Manurewa opted for the more orthodox route, mainly via William Passi and Tuhega, to extend out to a 69-50 advantage at the three-quarter mark – their offensive rebounding earning them extra possessions.
The two teams tied the fourth splitting 30 points.
The third round review of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Senior A games, brought to you in conjunction with Northern Kāhu, features wins for Northcote College, Takapuna Grammar and Massey High.
Northcote College, led by Lily Morgan’s 24 points and DJ Hannah’s 21, eased to a comprehensive 91-22 home win against One Tree Hill College.
Morgan, on her way to a season high, and Hannah were in double figures by half-time as the hosts eased to a 47-8 lead.
Kizyra Thompson and Jesse-Lee Upu posted points for OTH but Northcote skipper Nikki Gear (18 points) and Co were untroubled ahead of a match-up with Mt Roskill next week.
Northcote 91 – Morgan 24, DJ Hannah 21, N Gear 18, Grace Lai 14, Misha Aitchison 6
One Tree Hill 22 – Thompson 8, Upu 6, Rosetta Kivalu 4
Northcote huddle.
25 points from Allyah Leusogi-Ape propelled Massey High to a 63-47 victory against Auckland Girls Grammar.
The scores were locked at 11 points apiece after a low scoring opening period but 7 first half points from Kortni Waikiki and a dozen from Leusogi-Ape propelled Massey to a 31-16 lead at the main break.
Grammar responded through Faith Hurt and Grady Nikoia but still had a lot of ground to make up at three-quarter time trailing 45-26.
Leusogi-Ape continued her merry way in the final period, the win capped off by a Cyntalia Schuster 3-pointer.
Takapuna Grammar School made it three wins from three outings with an 85-38 victory at Mt Roskill Grammar.
Adra Kaufusi opened the Roskill scoring with a triple but Qaizden Stephano, on her way to a game high 23 points, and Amy McKenzie got Takapuna off to a flyer – ahead 25-7 at quarter time.
Roskill found a higher gear in the second period, 9 points from Bree Ioane helping them stay with the free scoring Takapuna outfit that led 43-20 at half-time.
Kaufusi knocked down another three for Roskill in the third but Taka were in full flight scoring 25 points in the period – McKenzie, Manaia Watson and Bailey Flavell joining Stephano in double figures.
Anna Dyachenko and Arabella Neville made scoring contributions in the fourth as Takapuna cantered to victory.
The third round review of the Auckland Schools Girls Premier Grade games, brought to you by Northern Kāhu, features wins for unbeaten teams Baradene and Westlake plus a first-up victory for St Mary’s.
In a contest between two of the unbeaten teams Westlake Girls were pushed all the way before eventually prevailing 66-58 at Mount Albert Grammar School.
On the back of a strong third quarter MAGS led 47-44 with ten minutes to play but they were outscored 22-11 in the final stanza – 8 points from skipper Mackenzie Chatfield and four each from Amy Pateman and Rebecca Moors turning the tide in favour of Westlake.
Earlier, Waimanu Clarken, on her way to a game high 27 points, and Danae Tait both made long range triples for MAGS in the opening half but Westlake held a 31-27 half-time lead thanks to 8 points from Jaelah Clayton and 7 points from Rebecca Moors.
The third frame belonged to MAGS – 6 points from Sienna-Rose Tawera and another triple from Tait steering the hosts to a three-point lead with ten minutes to play.
Westlake’s fourth quarter rally means they move to 3-0, ahead of the short trip to Rangitoto College next week.
Westlake 66 – Chatfield 16, R Moors 13, Pateman 11, Clayton 10, Sarah Moors 8
Baradene College also made it three wins from three outings with a 79-44 victory against St Kentigern College although a number of observers felt it was a scoreline that didn’t truly reflect the St Kent’s performance.
Harriett Burrell’s three straight baskets propelled Baradene to a 22-11 opening quarter lead but the second quarter was a basket-for basket affair as the two teams split fourty-two points.
Summer Faleafa and Ritorya Tamilo were again in good form for Baradene while Sharmaine Tapling and Anamia Rangihaeata were prominent for St Kent’s that trailed 43-32 at half-time.
The St Kent’s effort faltered in the third – only Ashleigh Tuumaialu could get on the scoresheet. In contrast Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs scored 11 points of her own as the hosts stretched the advantage out to 64-36 at three-quarter-time.
Baradene eased through the final quarter as they look forward to another home encounter next Friday when they take on Epsom Girls Grammar, while St Kentigern will entertain St Mary’s in the clash of ‘The Saints’.
St Kentigern 44 – Tuumaialu 11, Rangihaeata 10, Tapling 9
St Mary’s College gained their first win of the season with a 59-45 road win against Carmel College.
Both teams started slowly with only 17 points scored in the opening period. The pace quickened in the second but there was nothing to pick between the two sides at the main break, St Mary’s shading it 24-22.
Carmel captain Jemma Cammell led all scorers at that stage with 12 points.
The third quarter was telling, St Mary’s outscoring the home team 17-5 to grab control, with Faith Ualika, Christiana Setu and Kodee Williams-Sefo doing the damage.
Hannah Bellett and Zharan Tibbotts gave Carmel a lift at the start of the final frame but any thoughts of a sustained comeback were quickly snuffed out by Trinity Atiga and Sefo-Williams.
Water on the court, brought about by Friday’s stormy weather, caused an early end to the Rangitoto College v Epsom Girls Grammar tie. Epsom had established a healthy 25-8 lead when the game had to be called off at quarter time.
Just two games were played in the third round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier competition on Friday. Brought to you in conjunction with Dynamic Sport New Zealand we review the two games that were completed.
Saint Kentigern made a hot start at Sacred Heart, or perhaps more accurately, Dontae Russo-Nance and Merrick Rillstone were the sharpest out of the blocks. The pair shared all but five of St Kent’s opening 29-points salvo.
Rillstone, making a welcome return to the St Kent’s ranks after recovering from injury, knocked down three triples in the opening spell and would go on to amass a career high 39 points while Russo-Nance followed up his 50-point haul against Rosmini last week with 40 in this one as St Kent’s went on to win a points-fest 110-93.
Adam Davies scored 14 first half points and Jerome Jakeman 11 points but the hosts had a mountain to climb at half-time trailing 64-38.
Undeterred by the size of the deficit Josh Stewart led a spirited third quarter effort as Heart brought the margin back to 11 points.
Rillstone and DRN re-established control and with George Turner and Max Johnson chipping in with points St Kent’s eased to a welcome first win of the season.
St Kentigern 110 – Dontae-Nance 40, Rilllstone 39, Johnson 13, Turner 9
Dhon Lao and Rasheed Ieremia scored early points for Liston College but Rosmini College were out to a 19-10 quarter time lead.
Julius Halaifonua tallied 10 points in the second period, and Tom Beattie 9 as Rosmini stretched out to a 51-18 half-time lead.
Lao and Marvellous Michael battled away gamely for Liston as triples from Kane Murphy, Josh Batty and Kian Durney increased the Rosmini advantage. Zion Anderson and Anton Seuseu made athletic plays in the closing stages, to the delight of the home support, as the hosts closed out an emphatic win.
Rosmini 93 – Beattie 24, Halaifonua 19, Charlie Dalton 10, Anderson 10, Seuseu 7, Murphy 7
Liston 39 – Lao 10, Ieremia 7, Michael 7
The Mount Albert Grammar v Westlake Boys High fixture has been postponed until Monday May 30 (tip-off 6.00pm) due to a bout of illness in the MAGS camp.
Water on the court, brought about by Friday’s stormy weather, forced the postponement of the Rangitoto College v Auckland Grammar tie.
The second round review of the Auckland Schools Boys Senior A games, brought to you in conjunction with Dynamic Sport New Zealand, features wins for Avondale College, St Peter’s College, Dilworth School and Manurewa High School.
The Manurewa High contest against Mount Roskill Grammar was the game of the round.
In a defense dominated encounter Manurewa High School edged Mount Roskill Grammar by the narrowest of margins 56-55 at Pulman Arena.
For Mount Roskill, Mitchell Greenaway, on his way to a game high 23 points for the second game running, dropped three triples in a close first half that ended with Manurewa 27-25 ahead.
Ryan Ancha and Ngawaka Rakete exchanged threes in the opening minutes of the third period, Greenaway and Haisem Osman giving the visitors a narrow 44-41 three-quarter time advantage.
It was nip and tuck throughout the fourth with the game not decided until the final twenty seconds of the contest.
William Passi made 8 points in the final quarter, including a tough And-1 in traffic, before a frantic final couple of minutes ensued.
Ryan Aramoana had given Roskill the lead (55-54) before Ancha launched a final assault for Manurewa. His pass found Alex Hughes in the lane, the go-ahead layup converted with 5.5 seconds on the clock.
Roskill advanced the ball from a timeout but a desperate last play came to nothing and Manurewa could celebrate a second straight win. In contrast Mt Roskill will reflect on two close losses.
Manurewa 56 – Passi 20, Hughes 15, Brian Tapu 10
Mt Roskill 55 – Greenaway 23, Osman 11, Rakete 11
A career high 39 points from Owen Pattison propelled newly promoted Dilworth School to a 90-78 win against Macleans College.
He had 15 points in the opening quarter as Dilworth jumped out to a 30-18 lead.
Levi Smyth, on his way to a team high 25 points, kept Macleans in the hunt but with Ivan Kerr also in double figures Dilworth were in the box seat at the interval with a 53-32 advantage.
Macleans, with six players scoring between six and eight points enjoyed the better of the third frame, Teegan La Grange and Quinn Hakaraia helping Smyth reduce the deficit.
Ahead by 12 points at three-quarter time Dilworth pushed on in the fourth with Isaac Rameka and Kerr (23 points) steering the team to victory.
Macleans 78 – Smyth 25, Jamie Carville 9, Declan Puffy 8, Louis Nelson 8, Christian Mutti 7,
Avondale College enjoyed double figure scoring contributions from five players in their 93-70 road win at Aorere College, a result that was only decided in the final quarter.
Avondale had increased their half-time advantage (39-34) to 61-52 at the three-quarter mark but with Chris Gordon (22 points) in good form the result was still in the balance.
Eight different players contributed to Aorere’s final quarter scoring effort but Kabir Bhargava, Connor Gleeson and Andrew Murphy made the difference as Avondale made it two wins on the trot.
Aorere 70 –C Gordon 22, Moroki Tauhara 10, Franklyne Gordon 6, Addison Nielsen 6, Eletise 6
Avondale 93 – Bhargava 16, Gleeson 16, Murphy 15, Jimi Iosia-Sipeli 12, Xavier Tinielu 8, #10 Kaliomiha Talamahina 14 (apologies if this is the wrong player but the scoresheet is unclear).
St Peter’s College also made it two wins on the bounce with an emphatic 101-61 home win against Northcote College.
Andrei Manio chalked up 13 points in the opening quarter won 25-16 by the hosts.
Northcote were struggling to put the ball in the hoop, Scott Errey and Gus Dallow capitalising to push the Saints advantage out to 47-28 at the interval.
Aaron Sievert and Tane Cook helped Northcote’s improved third quarter showing but St Peter’s powered on, enjoying plenty of contributors to accompany Errey’s game high 26 points.
St Peter’s 101 – Errey 26, Manio 19, Dallow 8, Bailey Smith 7, Milan Tolich 7, Owain Leigh 7
Northcote 61 – Sievert 15, Shinzaki 14, Ethan Ring 9, Tane Cook 8, Tom Bates 8
LACEY LOWDOWN 