In a cliffhanger Senior A Grand Final St Peter’s College needed overtime to see off the challenge of Avondale College before eventually winning 104-99.
In a game of see-sawing fortunes Avondale boasted a 78-67 lead early in the fourth quarter, were still 92-86 ahead with 90 seconds to play and looked destined for an upset win.
However, with their unbeaten record on the line Scott Errey, headed for a game high 43 points, halved the deficit before a Milan Tolich free-throw and an Andrei Manio two tied proceedings.
Blaze Murphy restored the Avondale advantage with 21 seconds remaining only for Dorian Sula to tie proceedings once more and send the game into an additional five minutes.
Errey and Bailey Smith put the Saints 5 points up in the extra spell before the excellent Jimitose Iosia-Sipeli (41 points) trimmed the deficit once more. However another Errey basket and a Manio free-throw sealed the deal for St Peter’s – a 16th straight win.
Earlier it was Avondale that made most the early running as they claimed an 18-16 first quarter lead and stretched the advantage to a 42-36 half time advantage with Iosia-Sipeli and Kabir Bhargava (28) causing most the headaches for the St Peter’s defence.
Manio gave the St Peter’s offence some impetus at the beginning of the third only for Avondale to unleash five threes, in a similar number of minutes, four of them from the hot hands of Bhargava.
St Peter’s preferred to accumulate points in the more orthodox fashion – Smith, Errey and Gus Dallow but Avondale were still in the box seat at three-quarter time ahead 73-68.
The sharp shooting Bhargava made his seventh three of the game to proceed the St Peter’s fight back and a fitting climax to an exciting final.
Both teams will now set their sights on claiming a spot at the Secondary Schools National Champs. Their qualifying campaigns begins on Wednesday.
St Peter’s 104 – Scott Errey 43, Andrei Manio 26, Bailey Smith 12, Dorian Sula 7, Gus Dallow 6, Milan Tolich 6
Takapuna Grammar School defeated Northcote College 78-61 in the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Senior A Grand Final at Eventfinda Stadium.
Paced by 33 points from guard Bailey Flavell Takapuna led at every quarter but Northcote showed commendable resilience – their challenge only overcome in the final quarter.
Qaizden Stephano opened the scoring with a trademark inside jumper – Lizzie May got Northcote on the board but they trailed 17-13 after quarter one.
Amy McKenzie scored 6 second quarter points but it was a ten minute period dominated by Grace Lai and Flavell. Lai scored 8 of her 9 points in the spell while Flavell buried three triples on her way to 11 points in the quarter and 17 at the half.
Takapuna ahead 36-26 at half-time.
With Stephano dominating the paint and Flavell controlling the backcourt Takapuna stretched their lead to 14 before Anna Dyachenko’s added a further three to the advantage.
To their credit Northcote weren’t about to throw the towel in. Triples from DJ Hannah and Lizzie May, plus inside baskets from Lily Morgan fuelled a 10-point run – the deficit trimmed to 8 points late in the spell.
Amy McKenzie righted the ship for Takapuna with a brace of baskets – their lead 58-46 at three-quarter time.
Any thoughts of a fourth quarter Takapuna comeback were short lived as Flavell knocked down triple number eight and Manaia Watson connected from deep also.
Both teams will now set their sights on claiming a spot at the Secondary Schools National Champs. Their qualifying campaigns begins on Wednesday.
Takapuna 78 – Flavell 33 (8 made 3-pointers), Amy McKenzie 20, Qaizden Stephano 10, Anna Dyachenko 9
Northcote 61 – DJ Hannah 25, Lily Morgan 11, Grace Lai 9, Lizzie May 8
Westlake Girls High School underlined their status as the number on basketball team in the region with an emphatic 87-54 victory against Mt Albert Grammar School in the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grand Final on Thursday night.
The early signs were encouraging for MAGS as they went toe-to-toe with the unbeaten regular season champions – Waimanu Clarken and April Liu ensuring it was only a one point deficit at quarter-time (16-15).
Points became harder to come by in the second period for MAGS whereas Westlake gave it the full throttle to rack up 29 as their lead climbed to 46-26 by half-time.
Mackenzie Chatfield orchestrated affairs with deft touch assists for teammates or scoring makes of her own. Amy Pateman and Rebecca Moors were beneficiaries of Chatfield assists and when Sarah Moors knocked down an arching three the lead was twenty points and MAGS were clinging on.
Any prospect of a MAGS comeback were put to bed immediately after the break as Westlake opened with an 11-2 run – Pateman with five of those.
Danae Tait nailed a deep three for MAGS but Chatfield sunk a couple from beyond the arc in response – the Westlake lead 73-45 at three-quarter time.
Waimanu Clarken worked tirelessly for MAGS with the NZ U17 representative tallying 23 points but the offensive prowess of Westlake was just too potent on the night.
Both team will now prepare for the National Champs Qualifying Tournament commencing on Wednesday although Westlake will have to do so without Chatfield who will be with the New Zealand U18 team preparing for a trip to India for the upcoming FIBA Asia Championships.
Westlake 87 – Chatfield 25, Pateman 16, R Moors 15, Amiya Fotu 9, Jaelah Clayton 9, S Moors 8
An entertaining, keenly fought, Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grand Final went the way of Rosmini College with a 61-54 victory against Auckland Grammar School on Thursday night.
When Cody Brown, In front of a boisterous crowd at Eventfinda Stadium, gave Grammar their first lead of the game early in the final period it was the away fans that had most to cheer.
There was even more for those fans to celebrate at the mid-point of the fourth when forward Will Shortt connected from beyond the arc to stretch the Grammar lead to 5 points (49-44).
Having been held to just 13 points in the previous 15 minutes the Rosmini offense suddenly sprung to life. An inside basket from Julius Halaifonua proceeded a game tying triple from Tom Beattie and a go ahead basket from Jameer Reed to put Rosmini ahead 51-49 with 2:30 to play.
The two team had struggled to shoot the ball consistently throughout the game and the trend continued in the final couple of minutes as both relied on trips to the foul line for points.
Shortt and Beattie exchanged free throws but inside the final 60 seconds a couple of Grammar turnovers proved costly as they were punished by Rosmini – Dalton and Beattie making no mistake from the charity stripe on both occasions.
Josh Muggleston made a late three but it was too little to affect the outcome.
Earlier Rosmini had opened with a 12-2 burst and were still ahead at quarter time (16-10).
Brown and Ryan Hunt featured strongly for Grammar in the second but Dalton and Halaifonua maintained the Rosmini advantage at half time (31-22).
Grammar began to find some offensive fluidity in the third – Shortt and Jackson Kiss helping narrow the deficit to 41-38 at three-quarter time.
Muggleston and Brown quickly erased the arrears at the start of the fourth to set up a tense finish.
Rosmini 60 – Beattie 24, Dalton 14, Halaifonua 11
AGS 54 – Muggleston 15, Brown 13, Shortt 12, Kiss 6
The Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade Grand Final next Thursday will be between Westlake Girls High and Mt Albert Grammar after Westlake defeated St Kentigern College 110-29 and MAGS overcame Baradene College 53-50 in semi-final ties at Eventfinda Stadium on Friday.
The Senior A Grand Final will be an all North Shore affair with Takapuna Grammar taking on Northcote College.
Due to my commitments to the Women’s D League (Saturday) and Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa (Sunday) the wrap on the semi-finals is a little less detailed than normal.
The Westlake against St Kentigern College matchup was a disappointingly one-sided affair won 110-29 by unbeaten Westlake. The Lake lead was 25-9 at quarter time and grew steadily throughout the contest.
In contrast the other semi-final wasn’t decided until the final possession of the contest, a go-ahead banked three from Danae Tait with 12 seconds to play proving to be the game winner.
Having trailed 45-32 half way through the final quarter, and shots not dropping, Baradene looked dead and buried.
However back-to-back scores from Ritorya Tamilo plus an And-1 play from Summer Faleafa sparked a Baradene revival.
When Baradene point guard Deyna Topia scored inside the last three minutes it was just a three point deficit (47-44). Wai Clarken (25 points) extended the MAGS advantage to five but Baradene were on a roll.
A Tamilo score preceded a Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs make and when the same player found herself unmarked for an open layup Baradene were ahead 50-49 with 32 seconds left on the clock.
The next MAGS possession seemed to be fizzling out until Tait’s 3-point effort found the net via the backboard.
Baradene couldn’t make anything of their final possession – Clarken, at the other end, icing the game from the foul line to see MAGS home in a thrilling finish.
There was no such drama in the Senior A semi’s with Takapuna Grammar and Northcote College advancing with almost identical scorelines. Takapuna defeated Manurewa High 73-49 with Northcote winning 73-51 against Massey High.
Takapuna were given some trouble by Manurewa in the early stages, their lead only 16-12 at quarter time and 25-16 midway through the second.
It was Sela Uluheua and Bella Manu-Moore providing most the scoring firepower for Manurewa who were still in the contest close to the three-quarter mark.
However a 10-0 Takapuna run, either side of that mark, broke the Manurewa resistance. Takapuna were paced by a game high 26 points from Amy McKenzie with Qaizden Stephano and Bailey Flavell the other double figure contributors.
Manurewa 49 – Sela Uluheua 19, Bella Manu-Moore 11, Zhendy Li 9
Northcote College bossed proceedings throughout against Massey High School who were hampered by having just five players.
With Lizzie May and Nikki Gear in good touch Northcote had a 22-11 lead at quarter-time, 42-22 at half-time and 59-33 at three-quarter time. The result was not in doubt at that stage but to their credit the ‘Massey Five’ were competitive to the end and took the fourth period 18-14, Allyah Leusogi-Ape their top scorer with 20 points.
Northcote with the win and a grand final date with Takapuna on Thursday.
Northcote 73 – Lizzie May 22, Nikki Gear 17, DJ Hannah 13, Lily Morgan 10
Etco Auckland Dream have been crowned the 2022 Women’s D League champions after defeating the Otago Gold Rush 74-60 at Eventfinda Stadium on Saturday.
The victory was far from straight forward with a resolute Gold Rush out of the blocks the quicker opening up an 11-6 lead, extended to 16-10 at the quarter mark.
In a contrast of styles the guard dominant Dream were being outworked by the front court orientated Gold Rush but made an adjustment in the second. Moving to a two-forwards axis produced immediate dividends as Coola Baudry and Trinity Paeu combined to reduce the deficit to one point.
Baudry gave the Dream its first lead of the game – a dominant second spell meaning they held a 34-29 lead at half-time.
The momentum remained with the Dream at the start of the third with the guards taking their turn to inflict damage – Summer Jean Motufoua, Darci Finnigan and Riana Rangi-Brown taking them to a 45-33 lead.
The response came from Hannah Beede and Sophie Adams (14 points and 18 rebounds), although Rangi-Brown (11 points in the quarter) had the last say of the period – 56-44 the Dream lead with 10 minutes to play.
Twenty points down at the mid-point of the fourth Otago weren’t throwing the towel in – Hannah Matahaere initiated a 7-0 run to fuel the optimism of the travelling supporters.
Fittingly player-coach Darci Finnigan and Tournament MVP Rangi-Brown (25 points) were the next two scorers as the Dream snuffed out the Gold Rush challenge to deservedly take the title.
The Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade Grand Final next Thursday will be between Auckland Grammar School and Rosmini College after AGS defeated Westlake 78-56 and Rosmini overcame Rangitoto College 88-65 in semi-final ties at Eventfinda Stadium on Friday.
St Peter’s remain undefeated in Senior A after downing Manurewa High 76-59 and now face Avondale College in the championship game after they prevailed 90-77 against Northcote College
Due to my commitments to the Women’s D League (Saturday) and Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa (Sunday) the wrap on the semi-finals is in a little less detail than normal.
Auckland Grammar were locked in defensively holding Westlake to 18 points at half-time to lead by 15 points.
Westlake failed to break the shackles in the third, the contest settled by the three-quarter mark with Grammar ahead 58-30.
Hamza Zahran scored 16 points but it was an offensive struggle all game for Lake. Grammar were ably led by Josh Muggleston – 26 points, including 6 triples, for the industrious guard.
AGS 78 – Muggleston 26, Cody Brown 16, Blake Manning 11, Ryan Hunt 9, Will Shortt 6
Rangitoto College made the early running against Rosmini College with Jacob Fotu and Tautoko Wynyard doing damaging inside work – 9 points ahead in the middle of the second and still 4 up at half-time (39-35).
Rosmini blew the game open either side of the three-quarter time break. Tom Beattie and Charlie Dalton were the catalyst behind a 28-2 run that settled the contest.
Rosmini 88 – Beattie 34, Dalton 29, Julius Halaifonua 9, Kane Murphy 8
Rangitoto 65 – Wynyard 15, Arnold Nam 15, Fotu 11, Jimmy Kim 9
In Senior A it was Avondale College that prevailed against Northcote College but the 90-77 margin was far less comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
The scores were tied at 67 points apiece early in the fourth and when Aaron Sievert knocked down a trademark three Northcote trailed by a single point inside the final 6 minutes.
A Kabir Bhargava triple was an almost immediate response although at the 2:30 mark the Avondale lead was still only 6 (80-74).
Connor Gleeson’s accuracy from the foul line shepherded Avondale through the closing stages to set up a Grand Final matchup with St Peter’s College.
St Peter’s, led by Scott Errey and Andrei Manio, saw of a spirited Manurewa High challenge before eventually winning 76-59.
Ahead 40-22 at half-time it appeared as if St Peter’s might cruise to a comfortable win but led by NZ U17 rep William Passi – his baseline drive and dunk one of the plays of the day – Manurewa resisted strongly.
They shaded the third period 23-22 and tied the fourth but St Peter’s had done the hard graft in the first half and deservedly preserved their unbeaten record ahead of the Avondale College challenge next Thursday.
St Peter’s 76 – Manio 27, Errey 20, Luke Thompson 10, Bailey Smith 8
Manurewa 59 – William Passi 14, Alex Hughes 10, Brian Tapu 10, Richard Campbell 10, Ryan Ancha 6
The Women’s D League Grand Final will be a North Island versus South Island affair with Etco Auckland Dream Black taking on Otago Gold Rush on Saturday afternoon at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland.
In the first semi-final on Friday the Etco Auckland Dream comfortably held off the challenge of the Platinum Homes Harbour Breeze winning the Battle of the Bridge 88-65.
Resolute defence and a superior shooting performance got the Dream home. In comparison to Harbour’s 2 from 22 from beyond the arc Auckland had six different players connect from deep for a combined 9 from 22 (40%).
Riana Rangi-Brown led the Dream scoring with 18 points, the livewire guard receiving able support from Summer-Jean Motufoua (16 points). Elianna Tuaiti, Casyn Buchman and Coola Baudry were also double figure contributors.
For the Breeze the Westlake Girls High duo of MacKenzie Chatfield and Izzy Pugh led the way with 20 points and 18 respectively.
The Dream set the tone early on – Rangi-Brown helping herself to 9 points in a 19-11 opening salvo.
Chatfield, having played for the Northern Kāhu in Wellington the night before, made 8 second quarter points for the Breeze but a triple from Dream player-coach Darci Finnigan kept her team in the ascendancy.
Another trey from Buchman helped further – Dream 37-33 ahead at half-time.
Dream quickly established a 10-point lead and when Trinity Paeu hit a baseline jumper the margin was up to 13 (54-41).
Pugh reduced the dficit back to 10 but it was just a brief respite as the Dream 3-point shooting heated up – closing the quarter with a 14-4 run they held all the cards at three-quarter time with a 68-48 lead.
The Breeze made a 6-0 run to threaten a comeback but it was a mere temporary inconvenience for the Dream as they comfortably advanced to Saturday’s final.
In the second semi the all-South Island dual went the way of Otago Gold Rush defeating Canterbury 80-69.
Sophie Adams posted a big double-double of 24 points (9/12FG) and 13 points – Tyler Mitchell also played a good hand with 14 points. Hannah Matehaere joined Adams in double-double territory with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Caitlin O’Connell was within a point of a DD with 9 points and 10 rebounds. The rebounding numbers were heavily in favour of Otago as they won the battle on the boards 63-45.
Gemma Etheridge (9 points and 10 rebounds) and Hannah Mischewski (9 points) supported Nicole Gleason’s team high 21 points but it wasn’t quite enough to see off their southern neighbours.
Adams had 13 points to her name as Otago edged the opening quarter 21-19.
Gleason scored 9 points in the second period and with Tatiana Kaumoana draining a long three it was the Cantabs with the half-time advantage (36-33).
That lead was quickly erased by Matehaere before Annabelle Ring gave Otago the lead. Tyler Mitchell (14 points) made some telling scores as Gold Rush took the third 20-12 to lead 53-48 at the last break.
A Karereatua triple three minutes into the fourth pulled Canterbury to within a point (61-59) and a grandstand finish looked on the cards.
However Otago, as they had in the quarter final win against Waikato, controlled the closing minutes. They outscored Canterbury 11-2 over the following five minutes to establish a 72-61 advantage.
Canterbury were unable to put a dent in that lead, Otago marching on to a Dream final!
There was plenty of action on Day 2 of the Women’s D League at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland on Thursday.
After four Preliminary Quarter-Finals in the morning and Quarter-Finals in the second half of the day the 12 team field has been narrowed to four with Friday’s semi-finalists being Canterbury, Otago Gold Rush, Auckland Dream and Harbour Breeze.
In the all South Island tie Canterbury enjoyed 20-point performances from Nicole Gleason and Karereatua Williams as they recorded a decisive 95-62 victory.
A competitive first period was edged 19-15 by Canterbury before Southland were held to just 10 points in the second quarter to find themselves 44-25 in arrears at the interval.
Canterbury eased away in the second half to book their semi-final berth.
Southland 62 – J O’Connell 16, M Hunter 12, M Tinnock 11
Canterbury 95 – N Gleason 24, K Williams 21, G Etheridge 11, L Pale 10
Defending champions Rotorua Lady Geysers were ousted 95-62 by Etco Auckland Dream.
The Dream powered to a 27-15 first quarter lead, increased that to 45-25 by half-time and built that steadily throughout the second half.
Riana Rangi-Brown paced the Dream effort with 31 points.
Auckland 99 – R Rangi-Brown 31, C Buchman 14, W Clarken 11, T Paeu 8
Rotorua 56 – A Haumaha 17, C Lacey-Rameka 13, M Mapengo 13, P Pene 7
In the game of the day Otago Gold Rush held off Waikato Wizards to win 70-64 in a tight finish.
Trailing 64-63 with 90 seconds to play Otago held their nerve down the stretch to clinch the tie in an exciting finish.
Otago forward Hannah Matehaere, on her way to a game high 25 points, made the go-ahead scores. With Caitlin O’Connell and Hannah Beede solid from the foul line and Waikato held scoreless Otago prevailed to earn a semi-final match up with Canterbury.
With Ariel Cowley in good touch Waikato opened up an 8-point lead after half-time only to be pegged back by the three-quarter mark – 51 points apiece at that point.
It remained a one possession game throughout the fourth before Matehaere and Otago sealed the victory to earn a semi-final match up against Canterbury.
Otago 70 – H Matehaere 25, H Beede 12, C O’Connell 11, A Ring 7
Waikato 64 – A Cowley 15, S Walker-Pitman 12, R Walker-Pitman 12, H Moala 11
SealesWinslow Taranaki Thunder made a bright start against Platinum Homes Harbour Breeze before going down 70-47.
The Thunder, with Daneka Tu’lneau dominating inside, were ahead 15-12 at quarter time. Still all square early in the second, the Breeze then grabbed the initiative to lead 37-30 at half-time – Yume Negishi impressing for Harbour.
Taranaki ran out of gas in the third outscored 24-6 to trail 61-36 at three-quarter time – Harbour headed to a Battle of the Bridge against Auckland Dream on Friday.
Taranaki 47 – D Tu’lneau 14, E Trolove 7
Harbour Breeze 70 – Y Negishi 16, I Pugh 16, N Scales 15, H Wentworth 8
Friday’s Semi—Final Draw
Canterbury v Otago
Auckland v Harbour
Preliminary Quarter-Finals Results:
Rotorua Lady Geysers 78 Etco Auckland Dream Blue 64
Auckland Grammar School recorded a 79-65 come from behind victory against Rangitoto College on Sunday.
In the make-up game from Round 10 it was Rangitoto that made the early running – 8 points each from Michael Ropotini and Jacob Fotu carving out a 21-16 lead.
The second quarter was something of a grind – just 12 points scored by each team.
It was all AGS in the third quarter as they turned a 5 points deficit into a 7 point lead.
Josh Muggleston nailed a couple of threes as he scored 10 points in the period and with Josh Howes also connecting from beyond the arc it was Grammar in the ascendancy.
The fourth period was the highest scoring quarter of the game.
Joel Brown and Arnold Nam made scoring incursions for Rangitoto but it was Cody Brown, Howes and Muggleston that ensured it would be a Grammar victory ahead of their semi-final against Westlake Boys.
Rangitoto finished with the same 7-7 record as St Kentigern and Mt Albert Grammar but claim the fourth semi-final spot with a better head-to-head record amongst the three teams.
AGS 79 – Josh Muggleston 20, Ryan Hunt 16, Josh Howes 15, Cody Brown 12
Rangitoto 65 – Michael Ropotini 17, Tautoko Wynyard 14, Joel Brown 13, Jacob Fotu 11
Final Standings
12-2 Rosmini
11-3 Westlake
10-4 AGS
7-7 Rangitoto
——————-
7-7 St Kentigern, MAGS
2-12 Sacred Heart
0-14 Liston
The semi-finals will be played at Eventfinda Stadium on Friday August 19.
The final regular season round of games played on Friday saw Boys Premier League wins for Westlake Boys, Rangitoto College, Mt Albert Grammar and Auckland Grammar.
In the most critical game Rangitoto College defeated Liston College and in so doing collected a seventh win of the season and with it a semi-final berth.
Rangi have a rearranged game against Auckland Grammar to play on Sunday however, with seven wins and the head to head advantage over St Kentigern and Mt Albert (both with seven wins also), the result would appear to be immaterial in terms of the semi-final lineups.
Rosmini will play Rangitoto in one semi-final with Westlake and AGS meeting in the other.
Against Liston College, Rangitoto had six players in double figures as they won every quarter to cruise to a 95-43 home win.
It’s been a tough campaign for Liston but the players deserve credit for playing with commitment and pride throughout the season.
Rangitoto 95 – Jacob Fotu 19, Arnold Nam 13, Tautoko Wynyard 12, Baxter Riley 12, Kaia Kemp 11, Joel Brown 11, Michael Ropotini 9
Liston 43 – Rasheed Ieremia 14, Sebastian Alan 7, Manuel Tuaere 7
In the clash between the top two sides it was Westlake Boys that came out on top registering an 85-74 away win at neighbours Rosmini College.
Malachi Book scored a season high 20 points for Westlake as they got off to a flyer establishing a 21-13 advantage.
Tom Beattie scored 10 second quarter points on his way to a game high 31 points – the period shared 18 points apiece.
The third was just as close – Book and Hamza Zahran countering the scoring of Beattie and Julius Halaifonua – the Lake lead ten points at three-quarter time.
A triple from Charlie Dalton and points from Jameer Reed were encouraging for the home supporters but Daniel Ottenhoff, Rocco Chang and Ned Shearer ensured the Westlake advantage wasn’t squandered.
Rosmini 74 – Beattie 31, Charlie Dalton 15, Julius Halaifonua 10, Jameer Reed 10,
Westlake 85 – Malachi Book 20, Zahran 20, Daniel Ottenhoff 18, Chang 15, Ned Shearer 9
Nine points from Denvor Elia helped propel Mt Albert Grammar to a big 22-7 quarter time lead against Sacred Heart College.
Matt Fautuaalii and Josh Stewart improved the situation for Sacred Heart in the second but they still trailed 35-21 at half-time.
A high scoring third period was edged 25-24 by MAGS – a couple of threes from Kade Cartwright, plus contributions from Will Leger and Lois Uri ensured the hosts remained ahead at three-quarter time.
Heart kept plugging away in the final period – Jerome Jakeman, with three triples, and Stewart combined for 19 points but MAGS had a large enough buffer to close out the victory.
MAGS 75 – Will Leger 15/17rebs, Louis Uri 15, Ethan Lay 14, Kade Cartwright 12, Denvor Elia 11 Sacred Heart 64 – Josh Stewart 21, Jerome Jakeman 12, Adam Davies 10, Matt Fautuaalii 8
Auckland Grammar eased to a comfortable 95-69 home win against Saint Kentigern College on the back of 32 points from Josh Mugglestone. He had 7 points in the opening quarter, as did Kalid Petzer, the lead 29-19 at quarter time.
Without Dontae Russo-Nance, Merrick Rillstone was carrying a heavy scoring load – recently named to the NZ U15 team he was up to 15 points by half-time although the Grammar lead had grown to 48-35.
St Kent’s guards George Turner and Cooper Lepou – also named to the national U15 team – made points in the third. However Mugglestone, Cody Brown and Theo Brothers were instrumental in increasing the AGS lead – the advantage 17 points at the three-quarter mark (69-52) and 26 by full time.
AGS 95 – Josh Mugglestone 32, Cody Brown 14, Kalid Petzer 11, Theo Brothers 10, Jackson Kiss 8
St Kentigern 69 – Merrick Rillstone 24, George Turner 13, Hunter Te Ratana 11, Cooper Lepou 8
LACEY LOWDOWN 