Saint Kentigern College continued their push towards a Boy’s Premier Grade top-4 finish with a 98-81 home win against Sacred Heart College on Wednesday night.
St Kent’s were paced by wing Merrick Rillstone who continued his good scoring form with 33 points.
Josh Tengblad scored 9 opening quarter points for Sacred Heart but it was St Kent’s that held sway at the first break with a 22-15 lead.
Josh Stewart and Dalton Dennis knocked down triples for the visitors but that was answered by a brace from Rillstone as St Kent’s moved to a 44-30 half-time advantage.
Sacred Heart continued to add points after the interval but not at the same rate as the hosts. Hunter Te Ratna was in fine scoring touch and he nailed two of his six threes in the third – with Rillstone and Cooper Lepou also successful from distance St Kent’s eased ahead 74-49 by the three-quarter buzzer.
Heart demonstrated their spirit by winning the final frame 32-24 with Stewart scoring 11 of their points on his way to a team high 23.
Dontae Russo-Nance, named to the New Zealand U18 team earlier in the week, was put on light duties by coach Aaron Young but still contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
St Kentigern 98 – Rillstone 33, Te Ratana 23 (6/8 3-pointers), Lepou 18, Russo-Nance 12/12rebs
Sacred Heart 81 – Stewart 23, Tengblad 16, Dennis 15, Preston Tuaputa 8, Jerome Jakeman 7
In Monday night games there were wins for Mount Albert Grammar in Girls Premier action and Mount Roskill Grammar in Senior A Boys.
MAGS strengthened their hold on a Premier Girls top four spot with a home win against Rangitoto College while Mt Roskill Grammar kept their Senior A Boys semi-final hopes alive with a comfortable victory at Dilworth.
Mt Albert 72 – April Liu 17, Danae Tait 15, Valana Pupuke-Robati 9, Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie 8, Sienna-Rose Tawera 6
The 9th Round wrap of the Auckland Schools Girl’s Senior A games, brought to you in conjunction with Northern Kāhu saw wins for Manurewa High School, Massey High School and Takapuna Grammar School.
Manurewa High had a good spread of scorers as they defeated Mt Roskill Grammar 74-34.
Led by 12 points from Beautiful Campbell, five other players contributed 8 points or more to the solid victory.
Shirley Tuilimu got Manurewa off to a good start with 6 first quarter points while Campbell tallied 8 in the second period and Waimihi Hetaraka-Brown scored 7 – Manurewa were 42 -21 ahead at half-time.
Nellie and Bree Ioane each scored 8 points in the first half for Mt Roskill but could do little to stem the tide in the second half as Manurewa ran away with the win.
There was something symmetrical about the Takapuna performance as they scored precisely 22 points in each of the first three periods before tailing off with 13 in the fourth in a 79-42 win against One Tree Hill College.
Angelica Vahai and Milla Eckford were prominent for One Tree Hill in the early stages but 6 points each from Bailey Flavell, Qaizden Stephano and Manaia Watson meant Takapuna had a 22-11 first quarter lead.
Arabella Nevile and Amy McKenzie were to the fore in the second as the Takapuna advantage stretched out to 44-16 by half-time.
A triple from Eckford did little to slow the Takapuna momentum – points from numerous contributors increased the Taka advantage.
The league leaders eased to a ninth straight win but credit to OTH who outscored Taka in the fourth as Harriate Heta and Melaia Tuisuva found their scoring touch.
One Tree Hill 42 – Vahai 12, Heta 9, Eckford 7, Tuisuva 7
The 9th Round wrap of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Senior A games is brought to you in conjunction with Dynamic Sport NZ.
St Peter’s College compiled a massive last quarter to clinch a 94-90 victory at Northcote College.
The exciting contest was one befitting the top two teams in the competition, the result undecided until the final minute of play.
Northcote, paced by Aaron Sievert had a 79-69 lead at three-quarter time but in the closing ten minutes the sharp shooter went scoreless and his team were restricted to just 10 points.
In contrast St Peter’s piled on 24 with Gus Dallow making 8 points including some clutch free-throws. Scott Errey, Milan Tolich and Andrei Manio also made critical plays as the Saints marched away with the win and remain favourites to claim the regular season title.
Northcote started strongly building a 28-20 opening quarter lead – 9 points from Shunta Shinzaki in that tally.
Luke Thompson dropped a handy three for St Peter’s in the second but Sievert rifled in six of his seven triples in the period as the lead ballooned to 56-38.
St Peter’s were much improved after the interval – threes from Tolich, Sula and Dallow punctuating Errey’s 14 points meant the Northcote lead was reduced to 10 points.
The momentum was with St Peter’s and there it stayed through the closing minutes.
Northcote 90 – Sievert 37, Dontaye Sowman-Faaee 15, Shinzaki 13, Tom Bates 11, Tane Cook 9
St Peter’s 94 – Errey 32, Manio 13, Dallow 12, Toby Cox 10, Tolich 7, Bailey Smith 6
In an equally tight game, also won by the away team, Mt Roskill Grammar clawed their way back from a big opening quarter deficit to almost steal the win against Manurewa High School.
Manurewa were up 26-11 at the end of the opening period – Ryan Ancha scored the first 10 of Manurewa’s points, Alex Hughes following that with eight.
Mitchell Greenaway, Haisem Osman and Kees Mataroria stepped up the tempo for the home side in the second but Manurewa were still in control at half-time with a 42-30 lead.
Hughes knocked down a three after the break before Roskill’s Ryan Aramoana, Zachan Kemen and Mitch Greenaway combined for four triples – the Manurewa lead reduced to two points (52-50) at the three-quarter mark.
Aramoana and the Greenaway’s kept the score ticking over for the hosts but it was a massive 14 points from Roskill’s Richard Campbell, in the closing ten minutes, that settled the tie.
Mt Roskill 70 – Greenaway 20, Daniel Greenaway 13, Aramoana 11, Zachan Kemen 7, Osman 6, Ngawaka Rakete 6
Manurewa 74 – Richard Campbell 21, Hughes 17, Ancha 16, Jarell Tuhega 12
* Congratulations to Manurewa High guard William Passi who is currently playing for New Zealand at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain.
The result of the Avondale College v Aorere College game is unknown at this stage.
The Dilworth v Macleans College fixture was postponed to a later date.
The 9th Round wrap of the Auckland Schools Girls Premier Grade games, brought to you by Northern Kāhu, saw wins for Baradene College, Saint Kentigern College and Epsom Girls Grammar.
There may have been a late switch of venue, and players absent, but the two teams still put on a thriller – Epsom Girls Grammar getting up 61-60 over Mt Albert Grammar.
MAGS were quickest out the blocks thanks to three triples from Danae Tait – ahead 19-13 at quarter time.
Both Draun Forbes and Leah Patuwairua drained triples in the second quarter although 8 points in the period from April Liu kept MAGS ahead at the break (33-31).
Epsom gained a slight ascendancy in the third frame as Talia Vea and Kiki Reti added to the good work of Forbes and Leah Patuwairua – the visitors 49-46 ahead at three-quarter time.
Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie made shots to reduce the arrears, Liu continued her points haul and Tait dropped her fourth three as MAGS searched for the win. However Forbes and Patuwairua, along with Andrea Ape-Paia, did just enough to claim the win in the tightest of finishes.
The victory does Epsom’s top-4 chances no harm at all.
Nine first quarter points from Sharmaine Tapling, on her way to what I think was a career best 31, propelled Saint Kentigern College to a 20-13 first quarter lead against Carmel College.
Opposing captain Jemma Cammell led from the front – her 14 first half points meant Carmel were well in contention at the interval trailing 39-32.
St Kent’s regained the initiative in the third with 22 points as Tapling, Ashleigh Tuumaialu and Anamia Rangihaeata went to work at the offensive end.
Spirited resistance from Cammell, Zahara Tibbotts and Annie Gaylard saw Carmel win the final quarter but it wasn’t enough to claw back the earlier deficit.
Mela Andrews knocked down an early three for Rangitoto College but it was visitors Baradene College that took the early lead – Summer Faleafa and Deyna Topia sharing 17 of the 23 in the opening period as the visitors gained an 8-point buffer.
Harriet Burrell was dominating the boards, particularly at the offensive end, and she moved efficiently into double figures (both points and rebounds) as Baradene increased their advantage in the third to lead 57-29.
Tamsin McAsey scored a couple of baskets for Rangi in the second but they faced an uphill battle at half-time trailing 34-21.
Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs joined the Baradene scoring spree in the third before Zaara Sain became Rangi’s leading scorer in the final quarter – Baradene going on to claim a comfortable road win.
The Mt Albert Grammar v Rangitoto College and Westlake v St Mary’s fixtures will be played at a later date.
Congratulations to New Zealand U17 team members Waimanu Clarken (Mt Albert Grammar), Amy Pateman (Westlake) and Ritorya Tamilo (Baradene) who helped NZ to afourth place finish at the FIBA Asia Cup in Jordan last week.
The team will now prepare for the U17 Women’s FIBA World Cup to be played in Hungary, July 9-17.
Current Standings:
8-0 Westlake
8-1 Baradene
5-3 MAGS
5-4 St Kentigern, Epsom
2-6 St Mary’s
1-7 Rangitoto
0-9 Carmel
The Mt Albert Grammar v Rangitoto College fixture will be played at a later date.
Round 9 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier competition, brought to you in conjunction with Dynamic Sport New Zealand saw wins for Auckland Grammar, Westlake Boys High and Rangitoto College.
In the game of the round Auckland Grammar edged Mount Albert Grammar 79-71.
Ahead 59-45 at three-quarter time, and 17 up soon after following Blake Manning’s triple, Auckland appeared to be headed for a comfortable win.
However, led by guard Harri Coker-Grey, Mt Albert stormed back into the contest with a 17-7 run. Louis Uriinitiated the comeback, and continued by Ethan Lay, will Leger and Coker-Grey, Mt Albert could sniff victory.
Under pressure Cody Brown and Josh Muggleston made important scores as Auckland held their composure to claim the win and maintain second spot on the Premier ladder.
Auckland had made the better start forging a 21-14 lead in the opening spell with Muggleston the main contributor.
Coker-Grey, headed for a game high 24 points, made 8 of those in the second quarter although Brown bettered that with 10 as Auckland entered the half-time break with a 38-29 lead.
Threes from Ryan Hunt and Muggleston and further points from Manning increased the margin to double figures ahead of that Mt Albert resurgence.
AGS 79 – Muggleston 21, Brown 19, Jackson Kiss 11, Manning 11, Theo Brothers 9 MAGS 71 – Coker-Grey 24, Kade Cartwright 15, Leger 13 & 21rebs, Uri 7 & 11rebs, Lay 6
In a low scoring defensive tussle Rangitoto College ground out a 55-35 home win against Sacred Heart College.
Unlike many previous games this season Sacred Heart were able to keep pace with their opponent in the opening exchanges.
However the inside presence of Tautoko Wynyard and Jacob Fotu was difficult to contain as Rangi established a 12-point buffer by half-time (32-20).
Threes from Jimmy Kim and Fotu helped stretch the lead to 46-27 by three-quarter time.
Josh Stewart was a beacon of hope for Heart with his team high 16 points.
Rangitoto 55 – Fotu 19pts & 12rebs, Wynyard 17pts & 20rebs, Joel Brown 10, Cooper Alan 4
Sacred Heart 35 – Stewart 16, Dalton Dennis 6
Logging 34 points in the opening quarter Westlake Boys High went on to defeat Liston College 114-59. Hamza Zahran scored a career high 46 points for Westlake while Dhon Lao tallied a team high 15 points for Liston.
Westlake 114 – Zahran 46, Daniel Ottenhof 19, Rocco Chang 19, Braden Gibb 7, Jonty Strawbridge 7, Andre Bautista 6
Liston 59 – Lao 15, Seb Alan 9, Marvellous Michael 6, Landon Smith 6, Rasheed Ieremia 6
A reminder that St Kentigern beat Rosmini 110-94 in a fixture played earlier in the week.
Current Standings:
8-1 Rosmini
6-2 AGS
6-3 Westlake
5-4 MAGS
4-4 Rangitoto
4-5 St Kentigern
1-8 Sacred Heart
0-9 Liston
*The Rangitoto v AGS fixture will be played in Term three.
In a Senior A Round 8 catch up game on the north shore, Northcote College defeated Aorere College 84-66 to stay withing touching distance of league leaders St Peter’s College – the two meet in a top of the table clash on Friday.
Northcote made a fine start rattling up a 28-17 lead courtesy of Aaron Sievert’s 14 points.
Franklyne Gordon scored 13 first half points for Aorere but also managed to foul out before the break which saw Northcote ahead 45-32 at the interval; Shunta Shinzaki scored 13 of his 19 points in the second quarter.
Chris Gordon picked up his fifth foul in the third to join his brother on the bench leaving the bulk of the scoring in the hands of Moroki Tauhara. He responded in style with 11 third quarter points but half a dozen from Tom Bates and a couple of threes from Shinzaki meant the hosts had a 17-point buffer (70-53) headed into the last period.
The scoring dipped in the fourth but there was time for Tanielu Taito and Marley Rennie to exchange threes.
Northcote 84 – Sievert 21, S Shinzaki 19, T Bates 13, Rico MacPherson 7, Tzion Manoa 6, Ethan Ring 6
Aorere 66 – M Tauhara 20, F Gordon 13, C Gordon 12, T Taito 12, E Eletise 6
Just a single point ahead at three-quarter time (78-77) St Kentigern College dominated the final period to inflict a first defeat of the season on Rosmini College, winning 110-94.
An Auckland Secondary School Prem’s Round 9 game, brought forward from Friday, saw St Kent’s make a heady 15 from 31 (48%) three-point shots.
Dontae Russo-Nance scored 15 points in the final period with a pair of threes apiece from Cooper Lepou and George Turner capping off the win.
Turner, headed to the FIBA U17 World Cup with the New Zealand U17 team this week, scored 11 points, Merrick Rillstone scored 17 while Russo-Nance scored his customary 50 points – well 55 actually. Big ups for Lepou who demonstrated his potential by making 6 from 8 threes for a Premier best 20 points.
For Rosmini, Kane Murphy made eight triples on his way to a career high 42 points, Charlie Dalton notched 24 points with Tom Beattie wading in with 23.
St Kent’s won the opening period 22-21 and extended their lead to 53-48 at the break – Murphy making 16 points on the bounce, including four treys, for Rosmini.
Lepou made 8 third quarter points for the hosts but more damage from Murphy helped the visitors to move within a point at the three-quarter mark.
Dalton and Beattie made scores in the final period but it was one that Russo-Nance and St Kent’s had much the better of.
Dontae Russo-Nance posted his second 50-point game of the week, and his third of the season, but it wasn’t quite enough to secure St Kentigern College the win, beaten 98-96 in overtime by Mt Albert Grammar School.
In a Round 5 Auckland Prems makeup game MAGS looked destined to secure the win in regulatory time as they held an 88-82 lead with a shade under a minute to play. However a turnoves and missed scoring opportunities opened the door for the hosts. Merrick Rillstone drilled a couple of free-throws before Russo-Nance scored in traffic and then unleashed a pass to give Rillstone an open layup to tie the ball game.
A similar scenario ensued in overtime. Luke Matthews only scored four points in the game but critically they were scored in the extra five minutes, his two free-throws giving MAGS a 98-91 lead. When a Will Leger put back found the net MAGS were 7 points ahead with 1:07 to play and surely the win assured.
Not conceding defeat without a fight Rillstone made a triple to reduce the margin and when Russo-Nance scored his 54th and 55th points there were 38 seconds to play and the margin just two points (98-96).
MAGS sensibly ran down the clock on the next possession but couldn’t add to their lead giving the St Kent’s time to conjure up a game winner.
They almost succeeded getting off two attempts in the closing seconds but both hit the back of the ring to deny the hosts a second get out of jail performance.
Earlier MAGS had won a high scoring opening quarter 28-24 with three triples from Victor Keil helping them to a 47-43 half-time lead.
Harri Coker-Grey and Kade Cartwright combined for 18 points in the third as MAGS stretched their advantage to 72-61.
Jack Foley scored the first points of the final quarter for St Kent’s but thereafter it was the Rillstone & Russo-Nance show as they combined for the host’s remaining 33 points and very nearly steal the win.
St Kentigern 96 – Russo-Nance 55, Rillstone 28, Foley 6, Cooper Lepou 5
MAGS 98 – Coker-Grey 28/6assists, Keil 24, Cartwright 17/10rebs, Leger 11/19rebs, Louis Uri 10
Current Premier Grade Standings:
8-0 Rosmini
5-3 Westlake
5-2 AGS
5-3 MAGS
4-3 Rangitoto
3-5 St Kentigern
1-7 Sacred Heart
0-8 Liston
*The Rangitoto v AGS fixture will be played at a later date.
The 8th Round wrap of the Auckland Schools Girl’s Senior A games, brought to you in conjunction with Northern Kāhu saw wins for Massey High, Mt Roskill Grammar, Takapuna Grammar and Manurewa High School.
Massey High won the dual of two top-four teams defeating Northcote College 66-58.
Opponents Allyah Leusogi-Ape and Lizzie May dropped a pair of threes apiece as the opening period was tied 19-all.
Zhoey Tilby-Woods got in on the 3-point action in the second but Lily Morgan and Nikki Gear edged Northcote to a 33-32 half-time lead.
Massey had the better of the third – 8 points each from Kortni Waikiki and Allyah L-A gave them a 51-46 advantage.
Nikki Gear was the main points provider for Northcote in the final period but Cyntalia Schuster and Tahlya Waikiki kept Massey in the ascendancy.
Massey 66 – Leusogi-Ape 24, K Waikiki 15, Schuster 14, T Waikiki 7
Northcote 58 – May 15, N Gear 14, Morgan 14, DJ Hannah 8, Lisa Gear 6
Amy McKenzie (24 points) and Bailey Flavell (26 points) were at their destructive best as Takapuna Grammar retained pole position on the Senior A ladder with a 72-46 victory over Auckland Girls Grammar.
The pair had all but two of Takapuna’s points in the opening quarter as they established a 20-12 lead.
The duo also did the bulk of the damage in the second as the advantage advanced to 36-25.
Fuschia Traill, Harmony Hurt and Faith Hurt provided the major resistance for AGGS but with Manaia Watson and Mariah Parker adding scoring punch Takapuna added to their lead in every quarter.
Shiloh Caffery scored the first 12 points for Avondale and had 17 by half-time as the visitors trailed 35-23. Nellie Ioane had 13 at the break for Roskill.
Bree Ioane nailed a couple of threes in the third frame but Avondale enjoyed the better of the exchanges – Caffery and Hayley Abbott helping trim the deficit to single digits (47-38).
Six fourth quarter points from Adra Kaufusi and a stingy defence ensured Mount Roskill would claim the win.
Mt Roskill 62 – B Ioane 22, Kaufusi 17, N Ioane 16, Havana Laea 4
Avondale 44 – Caffery 27, Hayley Abbott 8 *The scoresheet showed Avondale #6 scored 6 points. Unfortunately no player is listed as wearing that number.
With Shirley Tuilimu (19 points) the biggest beneficiary, Manurewa High School profited from their transition offence to defeat One Tree Hill College 81-34.
The strong inside presence of Sela Uluheua and Mykah Togiatu enabled Manurewa to lead 42-16 at half-time and 63-20 at three-quarter time before closing out the win.
Manurewa 81 – S Tuilimu 19, S Uluheua 15, Alyssa Uluheua 13 (3x3PG), M Togiatu 12
One Tree Hill 34 – Jesse-Lee Upu 7, Milla Eckford 6, Rosetta Kivalu 6, Melaia Tuisuva 6
LACEY LOWDOWN 