June 17, 2023
The Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade has reached the halfway point of the regular season.
The Round 7 top of the table clash at Rosmini College saw visitors Mt Albert Grammar School record a convincing 72-50 victory in the matchup between the two unbeaten teams.
Points were of a premium early on as MAGS led 8-3 after five minutes and 17-8 after a low scoring opener – seven points to Louis Uri in that spell.
Defence continued to dominate in the second period although Noah Johns did break the shackles with 8 points for Rosmini. Despite the hosts having marginally the better of the quarter a Dontae Matakatea triple kept MAGS in the ascendancy – ahead 31-25 at half time.
MAGS made their move in the third period, a decisive 18-6 run propelling them to a 49-31 lead with the damage largely in batches of three.
Uri engaged in a spot of good humoured verbal interchange with the home crowd as he made impressive back-to-back And-1 plays. Matakatea made a rather more subdued three-point play and when Rohani Keith-Peraua made a high arching triple MAGs were rolling along with confidence.
Jameer Reed continued the thread of threes with a trio of baskets but Rosmini were behind 60-37 at three-quarter time.
The scoring dipped again in the fourth – Josh Batty and Josh Wyllie converted from deep but
Kade Cartwright and Harri Coker-Grey replied in kind to snuff out any chance of a Rosmini resurgence.
The winning performance confirming MAGS as the team to beat in 2023.
Rosmini 50 – Johns 14, Reed 13, J Wyllie 10, Batty 8
MAGS 72 – Uri 20/12rebs, Matakatea 17/13rebs, Keith-Peraua 15, Coker-Grey 10/10rebs, Cartwright 9
After successive close losses St Kentigern College returned to winning ways with a 96-83 home win against St Peter’s College. The platform for success laid in the opening ten minutes as the hosts ran in 30 points to establish a 12-point lead. George Turner scored 11 of the St Kent’s points while Gus Dallow was one shy of that number for St Peter’s.
St Kent’s increased their lead in the second as Luke Franich and Hunter Te Ratana made 6 points apiece. Bryan Curtis-Marsters replied with points for St Peter’s but their deficit was significant at the half-time break (56-35).
St Peter’s quickened their scoring pace after the interval with Dallow, Milan Tolich and Bailey Smith accumulating the majority of the 25 points scored by the visitors in the stanza.
However the margin was only reduced by three as Charlie Hughes and Merrick Rillstone ensured the hosts enjoyed a regular supply of points.
Bryan Marsters tallied 11 points for St Peter’s in the fourth but a late three from Jacob Neary capped off a fourth win of the season for St Kent’s.
Saint Kent’s 96 – Rillstone 26, Turner 19, Hughes 12, Te Ratana 12, Franich 8, Broughton Weenink 6
St Peter’s – Dallow 31, Bryan Curtis-Marsters 17, Tolich 13, Smith 9
Auckland Grammar School established an early advantage and didn’t look back as they defeated visitors Rangitoto College 83-63.
George Milburn scored ten first quarter points to set AGS on their way; 21-13 their advantage.
Four straight scores from Joel Brown and a brace of threes from Elyas Taher helped Rangitoto to a share of the spoils in the second – 17 points apiece. A three late in the half from Lawson Pryor kept AGS in the ascendancy at the half-time break (38-30).
AGS put the brakes on the Rangi offence in the third keeping them to 10 points in the period. Josh Howes added 7 points and Milburn, heading towards a game high 25 points, tallied a dozen as AGS moved to a comfortable 61-40 advantage ahead of the final ten minutes.
Brown and Arnold Nam made threes in the closing stages but Charl Hirschfield and Lawson Pryor made a brace apiece from deep to see off the Rangi challenge.
AGS 83 – Milburn 25, Ryan Hunt 15, Howes 14, Pryor 11, Hirschfield 6, Brigham Hakaraia 6
Rangitoto 63 – Brown 16, Nam 15, Taher 13, Michael Ropotini 12
Westlake Boys High picked up a valuable win at Sacred Heart College prevailing 86-72.
Tyrell Cocker scored 7 first quarter points but a collective effort from the Westlake starters eased them to a 24-18 opening quarter lead.
Gabriel Ames landed a triple for Westlake although that was answered by Jerome Jakeman and Sam Snowdon. Their efforts from deep meant Heart were just five points adrift at half-time (41-36).
A three from Troy Wentworth preceded 9 points from Noah Rasmussen – Westlake ahead 60-52 at the last break.
Despite Snowdon and Cocker scores Westlake were able to maintain control in the fourth quarter. 6 points from big man Haidi Alshami and a flurry of baskets from guard Malachi Book ensured it would be a Westlake win.
Sacred Heart 72 – Cocker 16, Preston Tuaputa 12, Snowdon 11, Matt Fautuaalii-Taia 9, Jamie Vile 7, Jakeman 7
Westlake 86 – Alshami 19, Book 17, Rasmussen 14, Wentworth 7, Harper Wilson 7
To take advantage of Dynamic Sport’s generous 15% discount offer for Lacey Lowdown readers, use promocode LACEYLOWDOWN at the checkout.
View the outstanding Dynamic Sport online catalogue here: https://dynamicsport.co.nz
Standings
7-0 MAGS
6-1 Rosmini
5-2 AGS
4-3 St Kentigern
3-4 Westlake
2-5 Rangitoto
1-6 Sacred Heart
0-7 St Peter’s
LACEY LOWDOWN 