Manurewa High School claimed the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Senior A Championship with an exciting 74-71 victory over Rangitoto College at Trusts Arena on Thursday the first defeat of the season inflicted on Rangi.
The game featured two outstanding scoring performances by Bella Manu-Moore (33 points for Manurewa) and Eva Veale (35 points for Rangitoto) although ultimately it was Manu-Moore’s 14 fourth quarter points that decided the contest.
The first half was a tale of contrasting fortunes for both teams. Manurewa scored the first 13 points of the game and led 24-12 at quarter time with Emily Tanira and Shirley Tuilimu in good scoring touch.
The tide turned in the second quarter as Veale found her scoring touch and when Madison Skelton nailed a three-pointer Rangitoto had a 38-32 lead.
The third period was split 24 points apiece with Manu-Moore and Beautiful Campbell doing the damage for Manurewa while Veale and Mela Andrews kept Rangi in the lead.
At the mid-point of the fourth quarter Wai Hetaraka-Brown gave Manurewa their first lead since early in the second period and from there the teams went basket for basket.
Inside the last two minutes Andrews would make it a two point game and then Veale a one-point margin.
However Manurewa’s dominance on the boards was highlighted by their final two scores of the game with Manu-Moore crashing the offensive boards on both occasions for put back baskets – match and championship winning plays.
The Boy’s Senior A Final was equally exciting with Liston College defeating Mt Roskill Grammar School 60-58 in a game that was in the balance until the last play of the game.
Liston edged the opening quarter 14-11 and in a tense opening half increased their advantage to 31-23 at the main break with Dhon Lao scoring 12 points for Liston.
Haisem Osman gave Manurewa a 35-33 lead as they had much the better of the second quarter. With Mitchell Greenaway scoring 11 points in the period Roskill were 43-39 ahead at the three-quarter time mark.
A couple of Daniel Greenaway scores kept Roskill ahead (48-45) but they were outscored through the middle stages of the fourth and trailed 54-53 with under four minutes to play after a Lao basket.
A transition basket from Osman gave Roskill a narrow 55-54 lead before a banked three from Rasheed Ieremia, with 2:45 on the clock, restored the Liston lead (57-55).
A Ronnie Juan free-throw increased the lead to three only for Ngawaka Rakete to cut it to one with 41 seconds to play.
Both teams created scoring opportunities in the closing seconds but it was successful free-throws from Lao and Ieremia that sealed the win and the title for Liston.
Mt Roskill 58 – M Greenaway 17, D Greenaway 10, Osman 9, Rakete 7, Ryan Aramoana 7
Liston 60 – Ieremia 20, Lao 15, Jeydin Ale 8, Juan 7
Westlake Girls High School claimed their third successive Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade Championship with a 92-68 Grand Final victory over Mt Albert Grammar School at Trusts Arena on Thursday.
Amy Pateman scored a game high 31 points with her fellow Westlake starters all making big contributions. Rebecca Moors sailed close to a double-double with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Lily Fotu scored 15 points, Emma Schroeder 12 and Zenthia Stowers 10.
Wai Clarken led the way for MAGS with 20 points, Jorjia Fiu tallied 16 and Phoenix Kaipo chipped in with 9 points.
Westlake got off to a fast start and when Fotu landed from deep MAGS, trailing 16-6 needed a timeout.
Clarken connected from beyond the arc on the resumption but the Westlake lead, with Fotu contributing 8 points, was 24-12 at the quarter mark.
MAGS made a strong move through the early stages of the second period – a steal and layup from Emina Tiatia, following scores from Clarken and Meiya Lemafa meant the Westlake lead was reduced to two points (32-30).
However Westlake would then construct a 16-2 finish to the half as Moors, Schroeder and Fotu scored a brace of baskets apiece – Westlake ahead 48-32 at half-time.
Stowers transition baskets extended the Westlake lead before a smart in bounds play by Fiu and triples from Clarken and Nia Roberts provided the MAGS supporters with some hope.
Pateman and Moors put an end to that as Westlake closed the quarter with a 70-51 lead.
That advantage climbed beyond thirty points early in the fourth and although MAGS pegged back the deficit the Westlake victory was sealed long before the final whistle.
Mt Albert Grammar defeated Rosmini College 79-78 in a nail biting Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grand Final at Trusts Arena on Thursday night.
2022 champions Rosmini and 2023 Regular season champs Mt Albert produced a fitting climax to the Prems season which wasn’t decided until Harri Coker-Grey converted two free-throws with just 7 seconds left on the clock.
The pair of freebies secured MAGS their first premiership title since 2001, much to the delight of their travelling fans.
MAGS had carried a 61-58 lead into the final period but when Zion Anderson (18 points) made an inside basket Rosmini had snaffled a 73-70 lead with 4:30 to play.
Rosmini remained scoreless for a number of possessions and when Kade Cartwright (16 points) nailed a corner three with 61 seconds showing on the clock the scoreline favoured MAGS (76-75).
The reply was instantaneous – Bart Jackowski’s triple giving Rosmini a two-point lead with 39 seconds remaining.
Coker-Grey earned a trip to the foul line to cut the margin to one with 34 seconds to play and after MAGS quelled a Rosmini offence it was HC-G earning another trip to the charity strike.
This time he converted both for the sixth lead change of the quarter and the decisive one.
Earlier 9 first quarter points from Louis Uri, headed for a game high 23 points, propelled MAGS to a 22-18 first quarter lead.
Josh Wyllie scythed through the MAGS defence for a couple of baskets late in the second period but further contributions from Uri and a trey from Logan Wood gave MAGS a 43-34 half-time lead.
Three-point plays from Cartwright and Ethan Lay kept MAGS in the ascendancy but good work from Anderson, Jameer Reed (22 points) and Liam Bates saw the MAGS advantage reduced to those three points with the fourth quarter to play.
Terrific tense, tight entertainment followed!
MAGS 79 – Uri 23/9rebs, Coker-Grey 18 Cartwright 16, Romani Keith-Peraua 8, Wood 7
The Senior A finalists have been found with Mt Roskill Grammar to take on Liston College in the Boy’s Grand Final and Manurewa High School to face Rangitoto College in the Girl’s championship game.
Mt Roskill Grammar, led by Mitchell Greenaway, used a strong third quarter to see off the Dilworth challenge in the first Boy’s semi-final.
Regular points from Ikahui Mahe, Kingston Kailahi-Aso and Ezrah Eagle had enabled Dilworth to establish a 34-30 half-time lead.
That advantage was quickly overturned in the third period as Mitchell and Daniel Greenaway reeled off a collective 19 points. Roskill convincingly won the third period 28-15 to lead 55-51.
Eagle, recently named to the New Zealand U17 team, continued to lead the Dilworth resistance although that wilted in the fourth as Alfred Kerr, Ngawaka Rakete and Mitch Greenaway landed threes to seal the victory.
Mt Roskill 82 – M Greenaway 33, D Greenaway 14, Ryan Aramoana 10, Waka 10, Kerr 6 Dilworth 62 – Ezrah 23, Mahe 10, George Hardie 9, Kingston Kailahi-Aso 8, Nepia Moore 6
In the other semi-final Liston College won a close encounter with Northcote College, prevailing against the regular season champions 74-70.
Aaron Sievert piled on 41 points for Northcote while Rasheed Ieremia led the way for Liston with 28 points.
A tight opening half saw Northcote lead 13-12 at quarter-time and 30-27 at half-time before Liston made their move in the third period.
Ieremia came up with eight points and with Luke Vaipaata, Jeydin Ale and Dhon Lao knocking down threes Liston tuned a three-point deficit into a five-point lead.
Aaron Sievert’s outstanding season continued and with Tane Cook lending support Northcote continued to press for victory. However half a dozen points from Lao and 13 from Ieremia were just enough to book Liston a prized grand-final berth.
Mt Roskill 62 – B Ioane 22, N Ioane 21, Koonwaiyou 10
Manurewa High School will be Rangitoto’s grand-final opponents although it took a big last quarter effort to see off the challenge of Carmel College.
Entering the fourth period the Manurewa lead was only five points (61-56) and an all North Shore final looked a possibility.
However Manurewa would dominate the final stretch 19-6 with Emily Tanira and Bella Manu-Moore combining for 15 points to close out the win.
Manu-Moore scored 11 first quarter points to help Manurewa to a 22-16 lead before Carmel hit back through Ruby Railton and Ella Drake.
A Taisha Tanira triple gave Manurewa a 44-36 half-time lead.
Drake’s third three of the game and Leighton Esera’s first along with 7 points from Zahara Tibbotts meant the Manurewa lead had been trimmed to five points.
An exciting fourth quarter didn’t materialise as Manurewa bossed the final minutes.
Westlake Girls High School and Mt Albert Grammar School, in a repeat of the 2022 final, will contest the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade Grand Final next Thursday.
Westlake had kittle difficulty in powering past Takapuna Grammar School to win their semi-final 102-54, Emma Schroeder leading the way for Westlake with 29 points.
Westlake led 32-15 at quarter time and were up 53-30 by half-time before running away with the tie.
The other semi-final was a much closer affair with Mt Albert Grammar overcoming Epsom Girls Grammar 73-57.
Eleven points from Wai Clarken propelled MAGS to a 24-15 quarter-time lead.
Epsom fell further behind in the second spell as Clarken and Jorjia Fiu put points on the board to take MAGS to a 41-28 half-time advantage.
Epsom got some scoring traction from Maya Fowler and Draun Forbes in the second period although it wasn’t enough to slow the MAGS progress: 60-43 the lead and Mt Albert headed to the Grand Final.
Epsom 57 – Forbes 17, Fowler 13, Kiyara Te Amo 8, Ivy Tino 6
MAGS 73 – Clarken 31, Fiu 14, Nia Roberts 5, Peyton Uri 5
The two highest ranked teams in the regular season will contest the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade Grand Final next week.
In the semi-finals Mt Albert Grammar School defeated St Kentigern College 91-69 with Rosmini College victors over Auckland Grammar School 89-85.
MAGS led from start to finish against St Kent’s establishing a 28-13 first quarter lead which they pushed out to 53-28 by half-time.
The early damage was done by Harri Coker-Grey and Romani Keith-Perau with Lois Uri also chiming in with points.
The St Kent’s resistance came via George Turner and Hunter Te Ratana as they edged the third period but MAGS with a 20-point cushion were able to safely navigate the final period.
St Kentigern 69 – Turner 21, Te Ratana 17, Cooper Lepou 9
The second semi-final was a much tighter affair with Rosmini College requiring a strong fourth quarter to edge out Auckland Grammar School.
Trailing 58-56 at three quarter time Rosmini found their range from deep via Josh Batty and Liam Bates as they wrestled for momentum. Grammar hit back through Josh Howes, Lawson Pryor and Jackson Kiss but Jameer Reed’s timely points and free-throws down the stretch from Zion Anderson and Bart Jackowski got Rosmini home.
Anderson, Batty and Reed were the main contributors as Rosmini gained a 41-38 half-time lead.
Nine third quarter points from Brigham Hakaraia helped AGS take that three-quarter time take that three-quarter time lead which Rosmini would go on to overturn.
Unfortunately Northcote College were unable to complete their home programme in front of their supporters as Avondale College defaulted the game against the Senior A regular season champions.
Runners-up Mt Roskill Grammar School enjoyed a comfortable 101-65 victory against Selwyn College with the Greenaway’s, Mitchell and Daniel, scoring 45 points.
Mt Roskill 101 – M Greenaway 26, D Greenaway 19, Alfred Kerr 12, Wai Tonga 9
Selwyn 65 – Luka Vietri 14, Ashton Muraahi 13, Jerry Hing 9, Alfred Casiple 8
Dilworth moved up into third spot on the table thanks to an 82-58 win at Kelston Boys High School where Ezra Eagle top scored with 20 points.
Kelston 58 – Sam Tuitopou 14, Real Wheaton 12, Isiah Tulisi 9, Rodman Fuaivaa 7
Liston College slipped down to fourth spot after going down 76-51 at Manurewa High School where Richard Campbell was in great form scoring 34 points.
Manurewa 76 – R Campbell 34, Jarell Tuhega 24, Issachar Pati 10
Liston 51 – Dhon Lao 26, Rasheed Tahiru 9, Manu Tuaere 6, Jeydin Ale 6
The semi-final lineup on Friday will pitch Northcote against Liston with Mt Roskill going up against Dilworth.
The waters are a little muddier in the bottom half of the standings where Selwyn, Kelston and Manurewa have finished with identical 5-9 records.
My sources say Kelston Boys will finish 7th and therefore have the unenviable challenge of playing a promotion/relegation game in 2024. That outcome is yet to be confirmed.
To take advantage of Dynamic Sport’s generous 15% discount offer for Lacey Lowdown readers, use promocode LACEYLOWDOWN at the checkout.
Rangitoto College completed an unbeaten regular season campaign but perhaps not in the fashion they would have desired as Avondale College defaulted the fixture between the two.
Rangitoto’s next outing will be a semi-final meeting with Mt Roskill Grammar who pipped Auckland Grammar for the fourth play-off spot – Roskill winning 56-51 with Nelly Ioane scoring 24 points.
In a forerunner to their semi-final match up on Friday Manurewa High School defeated Carmel College 62-51 with Bella Manu-Moore scoring a game high 21 points.
The Girls Premier Grade regular season wrapped up with victories for Westlake, Epsom, Takapuna and Northcote College.
The results confirmed that the semi-final draw will see Westlake Girls High play Takapuna Grammar and Mt Albert Grammar match up against Epsom Girls Grammar.
Westlake Girls High wrapped up the Prems regular season title with a convincing 87-44 home win against Baradene College.
Westlake charged out of the gate to rattle up 32 points in the first quarter and although there was greater parity in the second period the Westlake lead was a significant 45-23 at half-time with Zenthia Stowers, Amy Pateman and Rebecca Moors doing most the damage for the hosts.
Though resistance came from Ritorya Tamilo, Salie Cormack and Deyna Topia, Westlake continued to dominate proceedings and chalk up win number twelve.
In one of the games of the season Takapuna Grammar beat Mt Albert Grammar 80-79 in overtime with Bailey Flavell scoring 50 points.
The shot making of both teams in the closing stages of regular time and overtime was exceptional as the large crowd were kept on the edge of their seats. – 33 points were scored in the overtime period after the scores were tied at 63 points apiece in normal time.
MAGS seized the initiative at the start of overtime scoring the first seven points – a triple from Nia Roberts and a pair of baskets from Jorjia Fiu.
Takapuna struck back through Mackenzie Mackereth but when opposing captain Wai Clarken landed from deep the MAGS lead was 75-69 with a little over two minutes to play.
That was a signal for Flavell to step up as she made a drive in traffic and an And-1 play to tie proceedings.
Clarken swished a free-throw only for Flavell to score on the next possession – Takapuna ahead 77-76 with 35 seconds to play.
The shoot-out between the New Zealand age-group international guards continued as Clarken nailed a deep three with 18 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 79-77 lead.
With one last possession Flavell drew a foul with 3 seconds to play – the trip to the foul line appeared to be an opportunity to send the game into a second period of overtime.
After making the first free throw, Flavell missed the second but somehow Takapuna skipper Mackereth came up with the play of the game as she secured an offensive rebound and, surrounded by defenders, slotted in a left handed finish to the delight of her teammates.
The win saw Takapuna leapfrog St Kentigern College into fourth place on the ladder in a game that was a fitting climax to the regular season.
MAGS 79 – Clarken 27, Fiu 16, Sienna-Rose Tawera 11, Peyton Uri 6, Roberts 5
Epsom Girls Grammar finished runners-up after an 81-63 win against St Kentigern College – Draun Forbes paced Epsom with 29 points whilst there were other double figure contributions from Leah Patuwairua and Talia Vea.
Ash Tuumaialu top scored for St Kent’s with 28 points while Kilani Tuineau scored 14 and Anamaia Rangihaeata tallied 11 points.
Epsom 81 – Forbes 29, Patuwairua 14, Vea 10, Kiyara Te Amo 7, Ivy Tino 6
Lizzy May turned in the outstanding individual performance at Northcote College as the home team defeated St Mary’s College 94-44.
On her way to a game high 24 points May gave a high quality demonstration of perimeter shooting as she landed 6 triples, including four in a row, in the final quarter!
Skipper Lily Morgan scored 23 points, Nikki Gear 17 points and DJ Hannah 14 points as Northcote dominated from start to finish.
India Nash led the St Mary’s effort with 13 points.
Northcote 94 – May 24, Morgan 23, N Gear 17, Hannah 14, Lisa Gear 7
St Mary’s 44 – Nash 13, Olive Maling 7, Teuila Salesa 7, Christiana Setu 5
Final Standings
12-2 Westlake
11-3 Epsom
10-4 MAGS
7-7 Takapuna
——————————–
6-8 St Kentigern
5-9 Northcote
4-8 Baradene
1-12 St Mary’s
Prem Girls Round 14
The Girls Premier Grade regular season wrapped up with victories for
The results confirmed that the semi-final draw will see Westlake play Takapuna Grammar and Mt Albert Grammar match up against Epsom Girls Grammar.
Westlake Girls High wrapped up the Prems regular season title with a convincing 87-44 home win against Baradene College.
Westlake charged out of the gate to rattle up 32 points in the first quarter and although there was greater parity in the second period the Westlake lead was a significant 45-23 at half-time with Zenthia Stowers, Amy Pateman and Rebecca Moors doing most the damage for the hosts.
Though resistance came from Ritorya Tamilo, Salie Cormack and Deyna Topia, Westlake continued to dominate proceedings and chalk up win number twelve.
In one of the games of the season Takapuna Grammar beat Mt Albert Grammar 80-79 in overtime with Bailey Flavell scoring 50 points.
The shot making of both teams in the closing stages of regular time and overtime was exceptional as the large crowd were kept on the edge of their seats. – 33 points were scored in the overtime period after the scores were tied at 63 points apiece in normal time.
MAGS seized the initiative at the start of overtime scoring the first seven points – a triple from Nia Roberts and a pair of baskets from Jorjia Fiu.
Takapuna struck back through Mackenzie Mackereth but when opposing captain Wai Clarken landed from deep the MAGS lead was 75-69 with a little over two minutes to play.
That was a signal for Flavell to step up as she made a drive in traffic and an And-1 play to tie proceedings.
Clarken swished a free-throw only for Flavell to score on the next possession – Takapuna ahead 77-76 with 35 seconds to play.
The shoot-out between the New Zealand age-group international guards continued as Clarken nailed a deep three with 18 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 79-77 lead.
With one last possession Flavell drew a foul with 3 seconds to play – the trip to the foul line appeared to be an opportunity to send the game into a second period of overtime.
After making the first free throw, Flavell missed the second but somehow Takapuna skipper Mackereth came up with the play of the game as she secured an offensive rebound and, surrounded by defenders, slotted in a left handed finish to the delight of her teammates.
The win saw Takapuna leapfrog St Kentigern College into fourth place on the ladder in a game that was a fitting climax to the regular season.
MAGS 79 – Clarken 27, Fiu 16, Sienna-Rose Tawera 11, Peyton Uri 6, Roberts 5
Epsom Girls Grammar finished runners-up after an 81-63 win against St Kentigern College – Draun Forbes paced Epsom with 29 points whilst there were other double figure contributions from Leah Patuwairua and Talia Vea.
Ash Tuumaialu top scored for St Kent’s with 28 points while Kilani Tuineau scored 14 and Anamaia Rangihaeata tallied 11 points.
Epsom 81 – Forbes 29, Patuwairua 14, Vea 10, Kiyara Te Amo 7, Ivy Tino 6
Lizzy May turned in the outstanding individual performance at Northcote College as the home team defeated St Mary’s College 94-44.
On her way to a game high 24 points May gave a high quality demonstration of perimeter shooting as she landed 6 triples, including four in a row, in the final quarter!
Skipper Lily Morgan scored 23 points, Nikki Gear 17 points and DJ Hannah 14 points as Northcote dominated from start to finish.
India Nash led the St Mary’s effort with 13 points.
Northcote 94 – May 24, Morgan 23, N Gear 17, Hannah 14, Lisa Gear 7
St Mary’s 44 – Nash 13, Olive Maling 7, Teuila Salesa 7, Christiana Setu 5
In the final round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade regular season there were victories for Auckland Grammar, St Peter’s College, Rosmini College and Westlake Boys.
Mt Albert Grammar School’s unbeaten run came to a halt at 12 games after suffering a 62-60 home loss to Rosmini College.
The top two teams on the Premier ladder went toe to toe with never more than six points separating the two sides.
Dante Matakatea opened proceedings with a two handed flush – the NZ U17 rep scored 9 points as MAGS opened up a 16-13 lead.
Threes from Chris Wyllie and Harlan Roudon gave Rosmini their first lead of the game although that drew a quick response from Louis Uri and Kade Cartwright.
With 15 points to his name MAGS unfortunately lost the services of Matakatea, with a shoulder injury, shortly before the interval – a Josh Batty corner three giving Rosmini a 34-33 lead on the stroke of half-time.
Uncompromising defence dominated the third frame with neither side able to find any offensive fluidity. Zion Anderson scored a couple of baskets for the visitors but a pair of trade mark inside buckets from Louis Uri gave MAGS a 46-43 three-quarter time lead.
Scores from Uri and Romani Keith-Peraua enabled MAGS to open up a six point lead before a Rosmini 9-0 run, initiated by Liam Bates, clawed back the lead.
An And-1 play from Harri Coker-Grey was countered by a Wyllie three – Rosmini 56-55 ahead.
Again Wyllie and Coker Grey exchanged baskets, ahead of Roudon and Keith-Peraua doing the same – the scores locked at 60 points apiece with 2:10 to play.
Both sides had scoring opportunities in the final seconds but it was Anderson that produced the winning play to deny MAGS a 13th straight win.
Auckland Grammar School locked in third spot on the ladder with an 83-73 win at Rangitoto College.
Grammar opened up a 16-12 lead before Rangitoto College went on a spirited run, either side of the quarter time break, to lead 30-18 in the second quarter. Joel Brown was into double figures for Rangi, George Milburn and Jackson Kiss likewise for Grammar.
Grammar closed the half strongly to claim the narrowest of leads (40-39) at half-time.
Jaren Reiri joined Brown in double figures although Grammar would go on to boss the third period as Milburn racked up 19 points in the quarter. Kalid Petzer and Ryan Hunt waded in with points to carry Grammar to a 73-55 lead.
Rangi had the better of the closing frame with Max Mudford and Arnod Nam amongst the points.
Grammar now prepare for a final regular season meeting with Mt Albert Grammar on Monday.
Rangitoto 73 – Brown 15, Reire 13, Nam 12, Elys Taher 10, Cooper Allen 8, Mudford 7
On the back of a strong fourth quarter showing St Peter’s College earned their second win of the season with a 103-99 home victory against St Kentigern College.
Trailing 74-69 at three-quarter time St Peter’s sailed home in the final term amassing 34 points. Gus Dallow and Bryan Marsters made key scores in the period although it was a dozen points from Spencer Carr, including a pair of threes, that tilted the tie the way of St Peter’s.
Earlier 12 points from George Turner gave St Kent’s a 27-25 quarter time lead.
Double figures from Merrick Rillstone, and a triple late in the frame from Cooper Lepou kept St Kent’s ahead (54-53) at the end of a high scoring first half – Dallow and Ralph Ocfemia in double digits for St Peter’s.
Turner and Rillstone combined for 14 points as St Kentigern shaded the third stanza before Carr drove St Peter’s home in the final period.
St Peter’s 103 – Dallow 26, Carr 16, Ocfemia 13, Bailey Smith 11, Milan Tolich 8, Marsters 8
In another high scoring encounter Westlake Boys High proved too strong for Sacred Heart College winning 112-80 with Noah Rasmussen scoring 29 points and Hadi Alshami bagging 23.
Westlake also enjoyed double figure scoring from Max Riechelmann, Malachi Book, Braden Gibb and Harper Wilson. Tyrell Cocker top scored for Sacred Heart with 17 points while Sam Snowdon, Preston Tuaputa and Matt Fautuaalii-Taia were also major contributors.
A couple of threes from Book helped Westlake run up 39 first quarter points. There was little let up in the second as Lake took a 65-44 lead into half-time.
The scoring frenzy continued in the second half – four triples from Rasmussen one of the highlights.
Westlake 112 – Rasmussen 29, Alshami 23, Riechelmann 15, Wilson 15, Gibb 11, Book 10
Aaron Sievert scored a scarcely believable 67 points as Northcote College wrapped up the Auckland Secondary Schools Senior A regular season title by defeating Manurewa High School 117-62.
Sievert has posted numerous 50-plus scores in the past two seasons but his haul against Manurewa sets a new Northcote record and one that your editor doesn’t recall been bettered by any player in recent years.
In other games Mt Roskill Grammar (10-3) wrapped up runners-up spot with a convincing 73-58 win over Liston College who are now tied with Dilworth School in third spot – both teams boasting 8-5 records.
If games go with form in the final round on Friday the semi-final match-ups will be Northcote v Dilworth and Mt Roskill v Liston.
Richard Campbell and Jarell Tuhega led the Manurewa effort at Northcote but nothing was getting in the way of the Sievert bombardment.
Manurewa 62 – R Campbell 21, Tuhega 17, Issacher Pati 6
In the head to head between the second and third placed teams Mt Roskill proved too good for Liston College winning 73-58 with Mitchell Greenaway posting 27 points.
Rasheed Ieremia put up 16 points for Liston but Roskill, coming off a very good win against Northcote, carried that form into this clash.
Mt Roskill 73 – M Greenaway 27, Ngawaka Rakete 12, Haisem Osman 11, Daniel Greenaway 11
Also in good form are Dilworth. With a 2-4 record after six games they have won six of their last seven games to steadily climb up the ladder. Their latest success was a 77-61 defeat of Selwyn College with George Hardie and Ezrah Eagle putting together 20-point games.
The consistent Ashton Muraahi scored a team high 23 points for Selwyn.
Selwyn 61 – Muraahi 23, Alfred Casiple 11, Luca Vietri 9, Jerry Hing 8
In the final game of the round Kelston Boys High had a come from behind victory against Avondale College winning 95-74 with Sam Tuitupou, Rodman Fuaivaa and Alec Phillips combining for 65 points.
With AJ Tsukada and Liam Takenaka-Wesley in good form Avondale led 44-42 at half-time but were run down in the second half.
Avondale 74 – AJ Tsukada 23, Takenaka-Wesley 23, Akram Al Wakeel 9, Jacob Holmes 8
Unfortunately the news from the Girls Senior A competition is scarce. Rangitoto College defeated Manurewa High School to remain unbeaten but we don’t have a final score and Auckland Girls Grammar beat One Tree Hill College 60-51 but no further details are available.
In the other game Carmel College beat Mt Roskill Grammar School in a thriller 65-63.
Eight points from Bree Ioane edged Roskill ahead 14-11 before Carmel enjoyed the better of the second period. Ella Drake knocked down three triples in the spell and with Annie Gaylard also connecting from deep the Carmel lead at half-time was 36-28.
The third stanza belonged to Roskill (19-11) as Adra Kaufusi and Bree pushed the visitors ahead -a triple from Nelly Ioane tying the scores at 47 points apiece.
There was little to choose between the two teams down the stretch. The Ioane’s combined for a dozen points in the fourth but threes from Drake (she made six in the game) and 8 points from Gaylard proved just enough to get Carmel the victory.
In the final round on Friday the winner of the Auckland Girls Grammar v Mt Roskill Grammar tie will claim the fourth semi-final berth – the winner to take on Rangitoto College.
Avondale had the bye.
Senior A Girls Standings
11-0 Rangitoto
8-3 Manurewa, Carmel
5-6 Mt Roskill, AGGS
3-9 One Tree Hill
0-11 Avondale
*Massey High School have withdrawn from the competition
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