In a Senior A Round 8 catch up game on the north shore, Northcote College defeated Aorere College 84-66 to stay withing touching distance of league leaders St Peter’s College – the two meet in a top of the table clash on Friday.
Northcote made a fine start rattling up a 28-17 lead courtesy of Aaron Sievert’s 14 points.
Franklyne Gordon scored 13 first half points for Aorere but also managed to foul out before the break which saw Northcote ahead 45-32 at the interval; Shunta Shinzaki scored 13 of his 19 points in the second quarter.
Chris Gordon picked up his fifth foul in the third to join his brother on the bench leaving the bulk of the scoring in the hands of Moroki Tauhara. He responded in style with 11 third quarter points but half a dozen from Tom Bates and a couple of threes from Shinzaki meant the hosts had a 17-point buffer (70-53) headed into the last period.
The scoring dipped in the fourth but there was time for Tanielu Taito and Marley Rennie to exchange threes.
Northcote 84 – Sievert 21, S Shinzaki 19, T Bates 13, Rico MacPherson 7, Tzion Manoa 6, Ethan Ring 6
Aorere 66 – M Tauhara 20, F Gordon 13, C Gordon 12, T Taito 12, E Eletise 6
Standings:
8-0 St Peter’s
7-1 Northcote
5-3 Avondale, Manurewa
3-5 Mt Roskill, Aorere
1-7 Dilworth
0-8 Macleans
LACEY LOWDOWN 