Round 11 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade, brought to you in conjunction with Dynamic Sport NZ saw wins for Auckland Grammar, Rosmini College, St Kentigern College and Westlake Boys.
Westlake Boys had Daniel Ottenhoff and Hamza Zahran, for securing a hard fought 83-76 home win against Rangitoto College.
Ottenhoff made five triples as he compiled 22 points while Zahran, named to the Tournament Team at U17 Nationals a couple of weeks ago, scored a game high 26 points despite having to negotiate some foul issues.
The opening quarter was the Zahran-Wynyard show as the Westlake forward scored 13 and Tautoko made 8 as Westlake forged a 23-16 lead.
With Ottenhoff delivering from deep on three occasions in the second it looked as if the hosts would run away with the contest. However, with Wynyard a constant threat inside and Joel Brown and Michael Ropotini scoring with slashing drives Rangi were hanging in at half-time only down 41-35.
The picture was even rosier for the visitors mid-way through the third as back to back baskets from Jacob Fotu gave them a 52-49 lead.
Rocco Chang’s breakaway dunk provided the disappointingly small crowd the highlight of the quarter – Westlake ahead 59-56 with ten minutes to play.
Jimmy Kim’s triple tied proceedings before Westlake gained a degree of control – ahead 71-63 with five minutes to play.
Rangi responded through Brown and Ropotini and when Fotu made a pair of freebies the Westlake lead was reduced to 73-72 with 1:57 to play.
A trademark baseline jumper from Zahran was answered by Wynyard’s finish at the rim. Inside the last minute it was Ottenhoff’s fifth triple of the night that gave Westlake some breathing space at 78-74.
Ropotini kept things interesting before a heads up play by Chang secured Westlake an extra possession which he an Ottenhoff turned into game winning points from the foul line.
The win strengthens Westlake’s top-4 aspirations while Rangitoto face an important rescheduled fixture against Auckland Grammar on Monday.
Westlake 83 – Zahran 26, Ottenhoff 22, Book 13, Chang 11
Rangitoto 76 – Wynyard 22, Brown 15, Fotu 12, Ropotini 10
It was an equally tight contest at Mt Albert Grammar where Tom Beattie’s 30 points secured Rosmini College a hard earned 69-65 victory.
MAGS were down 53-48 at three quarter time and it remained a two possession game for most of the fourth quarter. An inside basket from Will Leger with !:24 to play made it a 4 point game (64-60 in favour of Rosmini).
Jameer Reed’s reverse layup gave Rosmini an additional buffer but that was short lived as Louis Uri nailed a high arching three with 57 seconds to play.
Leger cancelled out Beattie’s pair of free-throws but the home side were unable to come up with the finish the home support were hoping for.
The win keeps Rosmini at the top of the Premier ladder – MAGS probably needing to win all three remaining games to book a semi-final berth – next week’s clash with St Kentigern looking pivotal.
MAGS 65 – Uri 15, Matakatea 12, Leger 11/9rebs, Cartwright 9, Coker-Grey 9, Elia 9
Rosmini 69 -Beattie 30, Halaifonua 10, Johns 8, Schnuriger 7
Dominating all facets of the game Auckland Grammar eased to a comfortable 91-65 home win against Sacred Heart College.
The win keeps AGS well inside the Top-4 ahead of a busy schedule as they have two rearranged fixtures with Rangitoto College to play.
The tone was set in this one in the opening period as Grammar eased to a 31-11 lead – Cody Brown with 14 of his 26 points in the first ten minutes.
AGS were up 56-32 at half-time, moving further ahead after the break. Kahuranaki Treacher, Josh Muggleston and Ryan Hunt joined Brown in double figures.
Josh Stewart, as he has been weekly this season, was a pillar of strength for Sacred Heart – a game high 30 points for him with Adam Davies, Matthew Fautuaalii and Preston Tuaputa scoring 9 points apiece.
AGS 91 – Brown 26, Muggleston 13, Treacher 10, Hunt 10, Petzer 9, Shortt 9
Sacred Heart 65 – Stewart 30, Davies 9, Fautuaalii 9, Tuaputa 9
Saint Kentigern College also enjoyed a straight forward victory winning 80-54 against Liston College.
Liston’s Dhon Lao scored 6 points and Sebastian Alan 5 points in an opening frame won 22-18 by St Kent’s.
St Kent’s won a low scoring second quarter 14-8 to lead 36-26 at the half way point – Dontae Russo-Nance with 16 at that stage.
St Kent’s eased away in the second half as Merrick Rillstone, named MVP at U15 Nationals last week, Cooper Lepou and George Turner joined DRN in double figures.
Liston 54 – Lao 12, Ieremia 8, Alan 7
St Kentigern 80 – Russo-Nance 28, Lepou 15, Rillstone 13, Turner 12
Current Standings:
10-1 Rosmini
8-3 Westlake
7-2 AGS
6-5 St Kentigern
5-4 Rangitoto
5-6 MAGS
1-10 Sacred Heart
0-11 Liston
LACEY LOWDOWN 