Category Archives: Tall Blacks

Feb 14 2024
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Breakers by Numbers, NZ Breakers, School Basketball, Tall Blacks

Tom Abercrombie – career year by year.

From schoolboy star to star Breaker and Tall Black below is a condensed look at the achievements of one of New Zealand’s finest basketball players. Diving into his formative years it’s easy to forget how much Abercrombie has achieved and how good a junior athlete he was.

7 major Australasian championships, numerous Breakers all-time records, 100+ Tall Blacks appearances including 3 World Cup trips plus many other accolades and records broken in the past 20 years.

2002 (Year 10) Westlake Boys Runners-up at Secondary Schools Nationals. North Harbour Runners-up at U18 Nationals – named to Tournament team.

2003 (Year 11) Played for New Zealand Secondary Schools Team v Australia. North Harbour Runners-up at U18 Nationals.

Member of Westlake Boys National Championship winning volleyball team.

2004 (Year 12) Played for New Zealand Secondary Schools Team v Australia and NZ U18 team. North Harbour Runners-up at U18 Nationals – named to Tournament team.

2005 (Year 13) Captained Westlake to Secondary Schools National title. Played for Junior Tall Blacks at the Youth Olympics in Sydney.

2006/7 Redshirt Freshman at Washington State University – NCAA Tournament 2nd Round

2007/8 Sophomore at Washington State University – NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

2008/9 Breakers debut.

2009 Waikato Pistons NBL Champions – Named to All Star 5 and Most Outstanding Forward.Debuted for the Tall Blacks v Estonia.

2010 Waikato Pistons NBL Runners-up – Named to All Star 5 and Most Outstanding Forward. Played for Tall Blacks at FIBA World Cup in Turkey.

2010-11 Breakers ANBL Champions – Grand Final MVP..

2011-12 Breakers ANBL Champions – scored a career high 33 points v Melbourne Tigers. Named to All-NBL First Team.

2012-13 Breakers ANBL Champions.

2014 Played for Tall Blacks at FIBA World Cup in Spain.

2014-15 Breakers ANBL Champions – pulled down a career high 15 rebounds v Sydney Kings.

2015-16 Breakers ANBL Runners-up.

2017-18 Breakers ANBL semi-finalists. Had a career high 7 blocks v Brisbane Bullets.

2018 A member of the Tall Blacks bronze medal winning team at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

2018-19 Moved past Kirk Penney (3,226pts) as Breakers all-time leading scorer.

2019 Wellington Saints NBL Champions – Grand Final MVP. Played his 100th game for the Tall Blacks ahead of the FIBA World Cup in China.

2020-21 Most games played for the Breakers passing Mika Vukona (354 games).

2022-23 Breakers ANBL Runners-up.

2023-24 Played 400th game for the Breakers in the opening game of his final season.

  • In his senior year at Westlake Boys High School (2005) he captained Westlake (35-0) to the NZ Secondary Schools National title. Played for the Junior Tall Blacks at the Youth Olympics in Sydney and at an Invitational Tournament in San Diego. He was also selected for the NZ Volleyball team at the Youth Olympics but had to withdraw due to the clash with basketball. He was a member of Westlake’s Swimming team and was the school’s High Jump, Long Jump and Triple Jump champion.
Feb 20 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

Milestones for McRae, Mennenga and Cameron

19 February 2023

Another double-double from Callum McRae, his ninth of the season, helped  Sacramento State (6-9) inflict a 70-65 defeat on Idaho State. McRae tallied an impressive 21 points and 15 rebounds and is now just 2 points shy of 1200 career points.

Flynn Cameron dished 5 assists, grabbed 5 rebounds and scored 21 points as UC Riverside Highlanders (11-5) beat UC Santa Barbara 74-63. The 2022 Tall Black took his career tally to 918 points becoming the ninth Kiwi male to reach the 900 NCAA Division I points milestone. In addition he became just the seventh Highlander to log 100 assists in a season.

Sam Mennenga also reached a notable milestone. He scored a team equal best 17 points as Davidson College (5-9) won 76-75 against St Joseph’s. Mennenga was an efficient 5 from 7 from the field and 6 from 8 free throws including the all-important go-ahead freebie with just one second left on the clock.

Mennenga now has 810 career points and up to 10th on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in Men’s NCAA Division I hoops.

Tafara Gapare scored 11 points and secured 7 rebounds as Massachusetts (4-10) defeated Rhode island 69-45. It was freshman Gapare’s third double figure outing of the season.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt made 4 assists to go with 8 points as South Dakota (6-8) slipped to an 86-68 defeat at Denver.

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Tara Manumaleuga made 4 from 8 threes on her way to 16 points as Texas Christian defeated Kansas State 75-62. Manumaleuga had a fine all-court game with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a steal.

Washington State (8-8) defeated Oregon State 67-57 – Charlisse Leger-Walker with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. That’s 400 points this season at 18.3ppg for CL-W.

McKenna Dale had a nice stats line of 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and an assist as Virginia were pipped 56-52 by Duke.

Emme Shearer scored a team equal best 12 points, and added 3 assists as Portland got the better of Pacific 57-46 to remain second on the West Coast Conference ladder.

Tayla Dalton scored 6 points as West Coast Conference leaders Gonzaga pulled away in the second half to beat St Mary’s 65-51.

Also undone in the West Coast Conference were BYU (9-7) beaten 72-59 by San Francisco. Arielle Mackey-Williams top scored for BYU with 14 points, while Kaylee Smiles tabbed 8 points and 6 rebounds. 

Ashlee Strawbridge scored 7 points as New Mexico State (8-7) slipped to a 73-65 loss to California Baptist.

Feb 13 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

NCAA Weekend Wrap – Milestones for Book and Matthews

13 February 2023

Amiee Book with 13 points was one of two Fresno State (1-13) players in double figures in a 61-54 loss to Colorado State. Book now has 1,202 career points – 8th all time on the Kiwi list of Division I scorers.

Helen Matthews tallied 9 points (4/7FG) as Wofford (7-3) defeated Western Carolina 83-62. The junior guard now has 500 career points, the seventh Kiwi amongst active players to reach the milestone.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points as Washington State were beaten 73-57 at #7 Utah.

Ashlee Strawbridge scored a team high equaling 11 points for New Mexico State (7-6) but it was in a 90-57 thumping at the hands of Utah Tech.

Tayla Dalton scored 9 points and Jade Kirisome 7 as St Mary’s (6-9) overcame Santa Clara for an 89-79 win. Hats off to the St Mary’s administration in recognizing the game as a Waitangi Day celebration.

Next up for St Mary’s is a clash with former Harbour team mate Emme Shearer and Portland.

Grace Hunter, passing 400 NCAA career points in the process, scored 9 points as Cal State Bakersfield (3-12) slipped to a 66-55 loss at the hands of Long Beach State.

BYU snapped a three game losing streak in defeating Loyola Marymount 67-42. There were 9 points for Arielle Mackey-Williams and 6 for Kaylee Smiler in the win.

Dani Bayes scored 8 points as Boise State fell 76-63 to Mountain West Conference leaders UNLV.

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Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 15 points (3/6 3PG) but couldn’t prevent South Dakota (6-8) losing 72-67 to South Dakota State.

A big double-double from Callum McRae, his eighth d-d of the season, helped Sacramento State (6-8) to a convincing 70-54 win against Northern Colorado. McRae finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

In a game featuring Kiwis on opposing sides UC Riverside’s Flynn Cameron scored 11 points but UC Irvine’s (9-3) Akiva McBirney-Griffin left with the smile, 4 points (2/2FG) and an 83-64 victory from the Big West Conference clash.

In another game featuring two Kiwis Sam Mennenga scored 9 points for Davidson (4-8) in a narrow 73-71 loss to Fordham (8-4) – Zach Riley with an assist for the victors.

Tobias Cameron tallied 7 points and 4 each in assists and rebounds as Abilene Christian (5-7) slipped to a 77-62 loss to Sam Houston.

No 10 ranked Marquette (12-3) enjoyed an 89-75 win against Georgetown with Ben Gold scoring 7 points on 3 from 5 shooting.

Feb 06 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Weekend NCAA D1 Wrap – Leger-Walker and Perrott-Hunt on the move

February 6

A game high 25 points from Charlisse Leger-Walker – 4 from 9 from beyond the arc – catapulted Washington State (6-6) to a 70-60 home win against California Berkeley. The Tall Ferns guard has edged past her former Waikato and St Peter’s School teammate Kendell Heremaia on the all-time list of kiwi scorers in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball.

Heremaia (Fordham University 2017-22) scored 1,291 career points with CL-W now up to 1,295 points.

Tara Manumaleuga put together a fine shooting display despite Texas Christian (0-11) losing 77-65 to Oklahoma State. Manumaleuga finished with a career high 19 points shooting 7 from 11 from the field, 3 of 4 threes and 2 out of 3 freebies.

Grace Hunter, with 10 points, was the only Cal State Bakersfield (3-9) player in double figures in the 56-42 loss to UC San Diego.

Kaylee Smiler scored 9 points and Arielle Mackey-Williams 7 as BYU (7-5) were beaten 52-49 by San Diego.

McKenna Dale was close to a double-double totaling 9 points and 9 rebounds as Virginia (3-10) fell 60-51 to Pitt. Dale also had a brace of steals and blocks.

Emme Shearer’s 8 points (and 5 assists) in Portland’s (12-1) 80-68 win at Santa Clara has carried her beyond 600 career points.

Dani Bayes also scored 8 points – adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists – as Boise State (7-5) defeated Fresno State (1-11) 66-61. Amiee Book scored 5 points for Fresno State.

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Tobias Cameron was a perfect 5 from 5 from the field, totaling 15 points, as Abilene Christian got the better of California Baptist to win 87-71.

A couple of Kiwis were in opposition as Davidson College grabbed a much needed 93-78 win against Massachusetts. Tafara Gapare scored 4 points for UMass but that was trumped by Davidson starter Sam Mennenga who posted 14 points on 6 from 9 shooting.

Callum McRae also scored 14 points – and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists – as Sacramento State suffered an agonizing 82-76 overtime loss at Idaho.

James Moors was in good form for Colorado State (2-9) despite an 88-79 loss at Utah State. Moors finished with 13 points making 5 from 8 shots whilst also tallying a team high 7 rebounds and a couple of blocks.

Flynn Cameron scored 8 points as UC Riverside (8-4) slipped to a 64-58 loss against Cal State Fullerton.

Recapping that Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into elite company after scoring a team high 18 points in South Dakota’s 86-72 loss to North Dakota.

His fourth point in the game brought up the senior guard’s 1,000th career point – only the fifth Kiwi to reach that mark in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball. 

He joins fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster and Craig Bradshaw, plus current collegiate player Callum McRae, in the 1,000 points club.

Top 10 scorers (NZ Men) in NCAA Division 1 Basketball:

1,454 in 127 games, Kirk Penney (University of Wisconsin Badgers, 1999-2003)

1,146 in 116 games, Callum McRae (UC Riverside 2018-22 & Sacramento State 2022-present)

1,116 in 127 games, Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17)

1,114 in 123 games, Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University Eagles, 2003-7)

1,014 in 102 games, Kruz Perrott-Hunt (University of South Dakota (2019-present)

973 in 133 games, Rob Loe (University of St Louis Billikens, 2010-14)

945 in 125 games, Mark Dickel (UNLV, 1996-2000)

941 in 117 games, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa (Sacramento State University, 2016-20)

850 in 115 games, Flynn Cameron (DePaul Univ, 2018-20 & UC Riverside 2018-present)

785 in 63 games, Isaac Fotu (University of Hawaii, 2012-14)

Feb 04 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

NCAA wrap – Leger-Walker, Shearer & Cameron catch the eye

February 4

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the women’s Basketball Coaches Association have named Charlisse Leger-Walker as a mid-season finalist for the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the second season running.

The Award goes to the top shooting guard in NCAA Women’s basketball. KL-W is averaging 19.2 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Washington State Cougars.

The Cougars (5-6) found the going too tough against the #2 ranked team in the nation losing 71-38 to Stanford. KL-W had the satisfaction of top scoring and leading the rebounding for the Cougs but it was just 8 and 6 against the Pac 12 Conference leaders.

Also in the Pac 12 Charlotte Whittaker scored 4 points as third placed Colorado (8-3) claimed a 63-53 win against Oregon.

Emme Shearer, one of the leading 3-point shooters in the West Coast Conference made 5 from 7 from deep for a career high equaling 21 points – and grabbed 8 rebounds – as Portland (11-1) overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat San Francisco 83-80 in overtime.

Amiee Book top scored for Fresno State (1-10) in their 74-59 loss to Air Force. Book scored 14 points (4/7FG) taking her career total to 1,174 and up to 9th on the all-time list of NZ Women’s Division I scorers. 22 more points will take Book past the 1,195 scored by Micaela Cocks (University of Oregon Ducks, 2006-10).

Passing 100 points for the season Ashlee Strawbridge scored 13 points (6/11FG) as New Mexico State (7-3) edged past California Baptist 62-61, the winning basket made with just 7 seconds to play.

McKenna Dale was one rebound shy of a double-double tallying 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in Virginia’s (3-9) loss to North Carolina. 

Dani Bayes passed the 200 points mark for the season in scoring 11 points as Boise State (5-5) defeated San Diego State 62-57. The freshman guard made all three of her 3-point attempts and overall was 4 from 6 from the field.

Jade Kirisome scored 8 points, Tayla Dalton 6 and Amy West a couple as St Mary’s (5-7) won 62-55 at Pepperdine.

Grace Hunter totaled 7 points and 4 rebounds as Cal State Bakersfield (3-8) won a very low scoring contest against UC Riverside 43-39.

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Flynn Cameron knocked down 5 of 7 threes on his way to 19 points as UC Riverside (8-3) lost an overtime thriller to CS Bakersfield 82-76.

Callum McRae’s 16 points (6/8FG) and 8 rebounds were not enough to grab Sacramento State (5-5) a win – Eastern Washington the victors 82-63.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt, after scoring 15 points, is just 4 points short of 1000 career points. Those points came in South Dakota’s (6-6) 71-62 win over North Dakota State.

Tobias Cameron played a big part in Abilene Christian (4-6) defeating Seattle 83-68. The senior guard mustered 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a brace of steals.

In just his third game for Long Island Ahmed Essahaty was thrust into the starting line-up and didn’t disappoint scoring 10 points, on 5 from 9 shooting. The Wellingtonian guard helped Long Island to their first North East Conference win of the season as they defeated Sacred Heart 74-70.

Akiva McBirney-Griffin had 10 points and 6 rebounds as UC Irvine defeated UC San Diego 76-60.

Tafara Gapare scored 5 points as Massachusetts slipped to a 70-59 defeat at the hands of George Mason.

Jan 31 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

Kruz Perrott-Hunt the latest Kiwi Centurion

January 31

Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into an exclusive century club after playing game number 100 for the University of South Dakota today.

Perrott-Hunt is just the 17th Kiwi male to bring up a century of NCAA Division I appearances joining a distinguished list that includes fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster, Rob Loe, Mark Dickel, Jack Salt and Sam Timmins.

KP-H scored 10 points in his ton up game but it was a contest in which South Dakota suffered its biggest loss of the season going down 103-53 at Summit League leaders Oral Roberts.

The senior guard is enjoying an outstanding senior season – he leads the Coyotes scoring with 305 points at 14 per game making 40% (40/100) of his 3-point shots and 84% (43/51) from the foul line. In addition he is second on the team for assists with 2.0 per game.

Another milestone beckons – he is currently just 19 points shy of 1,000 career points.

Jan 16 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

NCAA DI Weekend Wrap – 8 Kiwis in double figures

16 January

In NCAA Division I weekend action eighty Kiwis scored in double figures with Charlisse Leger-Walker, Olivia Williams and Helen Matthews leading the way.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points to help secure Washington State (3-3) an 85-84 overtime win at Oregon. L-W, who added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a block, moved past the 300 points mark for the season – 310 to be exact at 20.7ppg.

Olivia Williams top scored with 15 points (3/6 3PG) as Big West Conference leaders UC Irvine (4-0) defeated Rochelle Fourie’s California State Northridge 69-62.

Wofford (2-1) eked out a 55-51 win against UNC Greensboro with Helen Matthews scoring a team high equaling 15 points (6/9FG) to accompany 5 rebounds.

Ella Brow made 3 from 5 triples on her way to 14 points as Southern Methodist (3-2) won an overtime contest with East Carolina 68-66. The freshman also had a career high 8 assists to go with 6 rebounds a block and a steal.

Grace Hunter also scored 14 points in California State Bakersfield’s (1-5) 62-50 loss to UC San Diego.

Jade Kirisome scored 10 points as St Mary’s Gaels (3-3) pinched a 67-63 away win at neighbours San Francisco.

There were 9 points apiece for Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams as BYU (5-2) defeated Pepperdine 63-52 for a fifth straight win.

Dani Bayes added 5 rebounds to 5 points as Boise State (2-2) went down 55-42 to San Diego State.

Unbeaten teams Portland (now 6-1) and Gonzaga met in a West Coast Conference heavyweight clash with the Zags getting the win 73-66. Emme Shearer scored 5 points for Portland.

Other Women’s Scores:

Fresno State (1-5) 71 (Amiee Book 4 points) Air Force 68

Virginia (3-4) 66 (McKenna Dale 2pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) Boston College 50

Texas Christian (0-5) 70 (Tara Manumaleuga 2pts, 1 steal, 1 rebound) Oklahoma State 80

In Men’s NCAA Division I play Sam Mennenga’s 13 points – his 17th double digit outing in 18 games – couldn’t prevent Davidson (2-3) slipping to a third straight Atlantic 10 defeat going down 67-65 to George Mason.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt tallied 10 points but South Dakota (3-3) were well beaten by South Dakota State 

Nine of each – points and rebounds – for James Moors as Colorado State (2-4) won a thriller against Nevada, Las Vegas 82-81.

Tobias Cameron had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists as Abilene Christian (1-4) slipped up against Tarleton State going down 72-63.

Younger brother Flynn Cameron also tallied 9 points as UC Riverside (5-1) won 65-64 for a first win in 25 attempts at UC Santa Barbara. The young Tall Black flirted with a double-double as he also had 9 assists.

Eight points, 10 rebounds and a block for Callum McRae as Sacramento State (5-1) edged Northern Arizona 59-56.

Tafara Gapare scored 6 points and added a block, a steal and 4 rebounds as Massachusetts (2-3) beat Rhode Island 75-65.

Jan 14 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

NCAA DI mid-week roundup including career high’s for Smiler and Mennenga

January 13 

NB Bracketed figures are conference records (wins-losses)

In this NCAA Division I wrap we feature career high’s from Kaylee Smiler and Sam Mennenga plus a number of other strong performances most notably from Callum McRae, Grace Hunter and Dani Bayes.

Callum McRae was once again in double-double mode as Sacramento State (3-1) defeated Norther Colorado 72-64 with the senior centre tallying 15 points and 11 rebounds as well as dishing 7 assists. That’s 7 double-D’s already this season for McRae with four of them coming in the last five games.

Sam Mennenga pulled down a career high 16 rebounds as Davidson (2-3) slipped to a 61-57 home defeat at the hands of Richmond. Also scoring 11 points it was Mennenga’s third double-double of the season.

Abilene Christian (1-3) were defeated 103-86 by Texas Rio Grande despite 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals from Tobias Cameron.

Flynn Cameron had 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal as UC Riverside (4-1) eased past UC San Diego 74-68 in Big West Conference action.

Making his first start of the season Tom Webley scored 9 points and also accumulated 5 rebounds, an assists and a steal in Hartford’s narrow 78-73 loss to St Francis Brooklyn.

Other Men’s Scores:

Colorado State (1-4) 74 (James Moors 4pts, 3rebs, 1 assist) Air Force 85 AOT

Fordham 58 (1-3) Zach Riley (3pts, 2 steals, 1 assist) Dayton 82

Marquette 82 (6-1) Ben Gold 3 points) v #6 Connecticut 76

Massachusetts (1-3) 77 (Tafara Gapare 2 points, 2 rebounds) La Salle 78 

In women’s Division I play Grace Hunter was a single point shy of her career best as Cal State Bakersfield (1-4) suffered an agonizing 63-62 defeat at UC Santa Barbara. The Wellingtonian guard scored 22 points (also tallying 6 assists and 5 rebounds) as Bakersfield gave up four points in the final 6 seconds to lose 63-62.

Dani Bayes top scored for Boise State with 16 points, making 4 from 6 3-pointers, but the Broncos (2-1) were beaten 71-50 by Colorado State. It was the eighth double figure outing for the freshman guard in her first 16 collegiate games.

New Mexico State (4-1), with Ashlee Strawbridge making a season best 13 points, comfortably beat Sam Houston 69-48. Strawbridge shot a very efficient 6 from 8 and also added a steal and 2 rebounds.

Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams shared 20 points as BYU (4-2) comfortably defeated Loyola Marymount 63-46. Mackey-W scored 12 points while Smiler was beaming after a career high 8 assists and 8 points.

Tayla Dalton scored 10 points as St Mary’s (3-3) won 78-64 at Santa Clara. Playing a team high 34 minutes Dalton also had deuces in rebounds, assists and steals. Jade Kirisome had a trio each of points, rebounds and assists in the win.

Helen Matthews grabbed 5 rebounds to compliment 7 points as Wofford (1-1) came off second best against West Carolina going down 53-49.

Freshman starter Ella Brow caught the eye with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal as Southern Methodist (2-2) clawed the Cincinnati Bearcats 55-44.

Fresno State (1-4) went down 49-43 to San Diego State with Amiee Book making 5 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.

Other Women’s Scores

Texas Christian (0-4) 45 (Tara Manumaleuga 3pts, 2rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal) West Virginia 77

UC Irvine (4-0) 57 (Olivia Williams 2 points, 2rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal) Cal State Fullerton 39

Jan 07 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

Perrott-Hunt hits game winner plus career high from McRae

January 7

NB Bracketed figures are conference play records (wins-losses)

Callum McRae put together a massive double-double of 27 points (13/19FG) and 17 rebounds as Sacramento State (2-0) edged an overtime road win at Idaho 85-83. The rebounds tally was a career high while the points total was a season best from the former Junior Tall Black out of Palmerston North.

McRae currently ranks 10th amongsts all NCAA Division I Men’s players for rebounding average with 10.3 boards per game.

Sam Mennenga again led the Davidson (2-1) scoring as the Wildcats beat Loyola Chicago in Atlantic 10 play. Mennenga shot a very efficient 8 from 11 from the field pus 5 out of 6 from the charity stripe for his 22 points in an 80-57 win. The Tall Blacks forward, who also swept up 7 boards and snatched a pair of steals, has scored in double figures in all but one of Davidson’s 15 games this season.

15 points, including a game winning jump shot with 1.4 seconds left on the clock from Kruz Perrott-Hunt carried South Dakota (3-1) to a 62-60 win against North Dakota. The senior guard also added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. That’s 82 points in the last four games for the Tall Blacks guard.

Flynn Cameron tallied 11 points but UC Riverside (2-1) slipped up 77-62 at home to Cal State Fullerton 77-62. Cameron also had quadruples in rebounds and assists.

Tafara Gapare had a monster 5 blocks, whilst also contributing 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists, as Massachusetts defeated St Louis 90-81.

Other Men’s Scores:

Marquette (3-1) 96 (Ben Gold 2 points) St John 85

Colorado State (0-3) 69 (James Moors 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block) Nevada 80

Dec 29 2022
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

McRae fourth to complete unique double – joins Penney, Webster and Bradshaw 

December 28

Callum McRae has become only the fourth Kiwi to complete the double of 1,000 points and 100 appearances in NCAA Division I Men’s basketball.

Ahead of Sacramento State’s meeting with Stanislaus State the former Junior Tall Black centre was sitting on 991 points in 104 appearances. He claimed the necessary 9 points in the first half before moving on to celebrate the milestone in style. McRae produced his fifth double-double of this campaign (and 21st of his career) finishing with 19 points (7/9FG, 5/6FT) to go with 15 rebounds as Sacramento recovered from a slow start to win 72-51.

The former Palmerston Boys High School standout follows in the footsteps of Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster and Craig Bradshaw in completing the unique double.

Kirk Penney (University of Wisconsin Badgers, 1999-2003) scored 1,454 points in 127 games,

Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17) tallied 1,116 points also in 127 games while Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University Eagles, 2003-7) made 1,114 points in 123 games.

Barring injury McRae looks destined to pass the points hauls of Webster and Bradshaw and with 701 rebounds to his name he has already set a new career mark by a Kiwi in that statistical category. The previous record, for the most rebounds by a New Zealand player in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball, was held by Craig Bradshaw with 572.

Rob Loe (University of St Louis Billikens, 2010-14) pulled down 520 rebounds and Sam Waardenburg (University of Miami Hurricanes 2016-22 ) claimed 502 boards. They are the only other male players to have surpassed the 500 rebound mark. 

In other news Zach Riley and Sam Mennenga were in opposition as Fordham entertained Davidson in the opening fixture of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Fordham with an overall record before the game of 12-1, and sporting home advantage, would have entered the contest as favourites but managed just 14 points in the first half, eventually going down 57-43.

Mennenga had a defensive rebound and a layup on the first two possessions of the game before going on to record his second double-double of the season – 13 points and 11 rebounds – his first basket bringing up 600 career points in his 68th game.

He is just the 16th Kiwi to score 600  points in men’s Division I NCAA basketball and the 4th Westlaker!

Zach Riley tallied 6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal for Fordham.

Other Results:

Virginia 66 (Taine Murray 2 points, 3 rebounds) Albany 46

Marquette 83 (Ben Gold 2 points, 1 block, 1 steal) Seton Hall 69

Colorado State 66 (James Moors 2pts, 3rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block) New Mexico 88

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