In a rescheduled fixture Auckland Grammar eked out a hard fought 70-64 road win at Rangitoto College.
Grammar were indebted to Josh Muggleston who landed a pair of threes in the last couple of minutes to secure the victory.
Grammar carried a narrow 50-48 lead in the final quarter with Muggleston doing most of the heavy lifting in the final frame. Kahn Treacher got things rolling with a brace of baskets but Muggleston was the go-to guy scoring a dozen of his team high 23 points when it mattered.
Tautoko Wynyard scored 8 points for Rangitoto in the final period but the hosts were outscored 20-16 in the frame.
Wynyard was a menace throughout with his ability to dominate the paint at both ends of the court.
Wynyard scored 11 points in the opening quarter as Rangi gained a 19-12 lead. He added a further eight in the second as he and his front court running mate Jacob Fotu, along with Michael Ropotini, kept Rangi in the ascendancy (34-31).
Cody Brown, with 9 points either side of half-time, initiated a momentum shift. A couple of buckets each from Muggleston and Will Shortt helped Grammar tally 19 points in the third to take that 50-48 lead.
Despite the best efforts of Wynyard, it was Muggleston that stole the show in the fourth to seal the win.
The victory solidifies Grammar’s top four standing – the regular season title looking to be a three-way tussle between Rosmini College, Westlake Boys and Grammar.
Rangitoto 64 – Wynyard 33, Ropotini 17, Fotu 11
AGS 70 – Muggleston 23, Treacher 19, Brown 12
Current Standings:
10-1 Rosmini
8-2 AGS
8-3 Westlake
6-5 St Kentigern
5-5 Rangitoto
5-6 MAGS
1-10 Sacred Heart
0-11 Liston
There was also a road victory in Senior A with Dilworth School winning 88-68 at Macleans College.
On his way to a game high 30 points Jamie Carville landed three triples in the opening quarter. Owen Pattison replied with 9 points – Dilworth ahead 22-21 at quarter time.
Christian Muti continued the three-point barrage from Macleans but a brace of triples from Ivan Kerr ensured the Dilworth had a 40-34 advantage at the break.
A tight third quarter followed – Dilworth ahead 60-53 at the last break.
Carville landed his fifth triple and Muti his fourth but Macleans were unable to wrestle the advantage from the visitors.
Dilworth closed it out with 28 points in the final period – 11 different players making scoring plays in the quarter to seal the victory – Ikahui Mahe and Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso joined Pattison and Kerr in double figures.
Macleans 68 – Carville 30, Muti 23, Levi Smyth 8
Dilworth 88 – Pattison 20, Kerr 19, Mahe 15, Kai’lahi-Aso 10, Damon Kitchen 6
Standings
11-0 St Peter’s
8-3 Northcote
6-4 Manurewa, Avondale
5-6 Mt Roskill
3-8 Aorere, Dilworth
1-10 Macleans
LACEY LOWDOWN 