May 20, 2023
Mt Albert Grammar and Rosmini College are the only unbeaten teams in the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier competition. In Round 3 fixtures the pair had contrasting wins with Mt Albert breezing past Westlake Boys while Rosmini won a nail biter at Auckland Grammar.
MAGS enjoyed double figure scoring contributions from all five starters as they carved out a 101-59 victory at Westlake.
Guard Harri Coker-Grey had 5 early points as MAGS scored the opening 7 points of the contest. Hadi Alashami got Westlake on the board but Dante Matakatea scored 8 points as MAGS strode to a 25-13 quarter-time lead.
MAGS took complete control of the contest scoring 14 unanswered points – including threes from Kade Cartwright and Ethan Lay – to open the second frame.
Westlake skipper Malachi Book scored 8 first half-points but his team were in a spot of bother at the interval trailing 46-20.
On his way to a game high 25 points Coker-Grey helped MAGS maintain momentum in the third. With further contributions from deep from Lay and Cartwright, plus one on the three-quarter time buzzer from Romani Keith-Peraua, the margin was out to 41 points (78-37).
Both teams took the opportunity to give extended minutes to their bench players in the closing minutes – Westlake’s Harper Wilson catching the eye with 11 fourth quarter points.
Westlake 59 – Book 13, Alashami 11, Wilson 11, Troy Supple 5, Oscar Neville 5
MAGS 101 – Coker-Grey 25, Matakatea 22/17rebs, Keith-Peraua 14, Louis Uri 13, Cartwright 10, Lay 9
Far less straight forward was Rosmini’s 79-76 win at Auckland Grammar School.
AGS guard Josh Howes had tied the scores at 76 points apiece with just 1.5 seconds remaining in the contest.
After Rosmini advanced the ball to the front court following a timeout a skip pass found Chris Wyllie, who attempting a corner three as time expired, was fouled. The combo guard made no mistake from the free-throw line making all three attempts to clinch the win.
Rosmini had begun the final period with a 63-61 lead but scores from Howes, George Milburn and Roera Tipene gave the hosts a 69-64 advantage.
Josh Batty and Zion Anderson responded for Rosmini but an inside finish from Kalid Petzer enabled AGS to regain the lead (73-71).
A Batty three was countered by a Ryan Hunt two before Anderson gave Rosmini a 76-75 advantage with 3:30 to play. Both teams had good chances to seal the contest in the ensuing time but failed to capitalise on their opportunities before the Howes drive earned him that trip to the foul line.
His one from two from the charity stripe looked to have forced the game into overtime before Josh Wyllie had the final say.
Earlier Hunt’s 7 points had helped AGS to a 21-19 quarter-time lead before Anderson, Chris Wyllie and Noah Johns took the visitors to 43-39 half-time lead.
It remained tight in the third and fourth before the exciting closing seconds decided the contest.
AGS 76 – Howes 30, Hunt 13, Milburn 8, Petzer 8, Tipene 8, Roman Ma’afu-Moerua 7
Rosmini 79 – Anderson 19, C Wyllie 19, Johns 10, Jameer Reed 10, J Wyllie 8, Batty 7
Just down the road Sacred Heart College earned their first win of the season with an 87-77 success at St Peter’s College.
Preston Tuaputa scored 10 points as Sacred Heart narrowly won the opening spell 22-19.
A couple of threes from Gus Dallow and 5 points from Bryan Marsters was countered by Matt Fautuaalii-Taia and Jamie Vile as the two teams split 38 points – 41-38 in favour of the visitors at the break.
Sacred Heart made the decisive and ultimately match winning move in the third frame winning it 27-18. Sam Snowdon’s 6 points and Jerome Jakeman’s dozen were the difference makers, the pair instrumental in taking Heart to a 68-56 lead with ten minutes to play.
Montana Ekeroma and Dallow – headed to a career high 30 points – did their best to reduce the deficit but Jakeman and Fautuaalii-Taia paced Sacred Heart through the closing minutes to secure the win.
St Peter’s 77 – Dallow 30, Bailey Smith 12, Ekeroma 7, Marsters 6, Milan Tolich 6
Sacred Heart 87 – Jakeman 24, Fautuaalii-Taia 19, Tuaputa 18, Snowdon 11, Josh Tengblad 6
In a high scoring opening period nine threes were knocked down as St Kentigern College established a 30-25 lead against Rangitoto College. Joel Brown and Cooper Allen were successful for Rangi from beyond the arc with Hunter Te Ratna, George Turner and Merrick Rillstone hitting from deep for the hosts.
St Kent’s dominated the second quarter 25-8 as Rillstone, Cooper Lepou and Turner continued the bombardment from beyond the three-point arc.
Arnold Nam and Elyas Taher led Rangi’s third quarter revival but Rillstone, on his way to a season best 42 points, saw St Kent’s to a 74-48 lead with ten minutes to play.
St Kent’s further extended their advantage in the final period with Max Johnson and Lepou adding the finishing touches to their second win of the season.
St Kentigern 102 – Rillstone 42 (6 x 3-pointers), Turner 15, Lepou 12, Te Ratna 10, Johnson 9
Rangitoto 59 – Nam 21, Taher 13, Brown 11, Jaren Reiri 5
LACEY LOWDOWN 