In the latest NCAA Division I roundup we celebrate Ben Gold playing his 100th game and Aniwaniwa Tait Jones scoring his 1,000th point whilst in women’s action Emme Shearer played game number 150.
NB Bracketed numbers indicate conference win/loss records.
Ben Gold became the 18th Kiwi to play 100 Men’s NCAA Division I games when Marquette 11-5) visited Villanova.
On the floor it wasn’t such a good night with the Golden Eagles beaten 81-66 and Gold finishing with 3 points.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds as UC San Diego (13-2) defeated Cal Poly 81-67.
He then repeated the 19-point output as UCSD proved way too strong for Tom Beattie (2 points) and Hawaii with a crushing 83-44 win.
Against Hawaii AT-J became just the 7th Kiwi to score 1,000 points in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball.
In case you are wondering the others are;
Kirk Penney – 1,454pts
Callum McRae – 1,263pts
Tai Webster – 1,116pts
Craig Bradshaw 1,114pts
Kruz Perrott-Hunt 1,104pts
Flynn Cameron 1,028pts
Remarkably Tait-Jones has scored his 1,000 points in just two seasons with those above needing four years to pass the mark.
A couple of Kiwis went head to head in the Atlantic 10 Conference with Hunter Adam’s (8 points and 4 rebounds) Davidson College defeating Zach Riley’s (3 points and 3 rebounds) Fordham University 80-69.
Sophomore Hunter Adam scored a season high 11 points – which doubles as a career high – as Davidson (5-8) went down 77-69 to Loyola Chicago. Adam, who added 5 rebounds, was an efficient 3 from 4 from both the floor and the foul line.
On his Senior Day Mason Whittaker scored with his only attempt from the field and added three rebounds and a steal as American (12-4) edged Boston in the Patriot League.
Playing her 150th game in a Portland uniform Emme Shearer scored a team high 21 points in an 81-65 defeat of San Diego. She followed that with 12 points as Portland moved to joint first on the West Coast Conference ladder with a 15-3 record after downing Santa Clara 73-66.
Dani Bayes matched her season high with 21 points as Boise State (6-9) beat Wyoming 78-73.The junior guard shot 8 of 13 from the floor including 2 out of 4 from beyond the arc. Defensively she again matched her season best with 3 steals.
Leah Mafua top scored for Central Arkansas with 17 points but the Sugar Bears (13-2) lost just their second Atlantic Sun Conference game of the season going down 95-71 to Florida Gulf Coast.
Maia Jones, on 6 from 10 shooting, scored 15 points as St Mary’s College (9-9) went down 60-53 to West Coast Conference joint-leaders Gonzaga for whom Tayla Dalton scored 6 points.
Lilly Parke scored 12 points as unbeaten Fairleigh Dickinson (13-0) clinched the Northeast Conference regular season title with a 60-33 demolition of Saint Francis.
Waiata Jennings played a season high 26 minutes and scored 7 points as Baylor (13-2) beat Colorado 84-62.
Missed from last week’s roundup is acknowledgement that Ritorya Tamilo now owns the University of Hawaii’s women’s record for blocked shots in a season by a freshman. She has 34 and counting with Hawaii (14-2) atop the Big West Conference standings.
Mackenzie Chatfield had a team high 5 assists to accompany 4 points as Western Kentucky (9-4) beat Sam Houston 57-45.
LACEY LOWDOWN 