Tait and Allen Lead Pirates Past Saints
May 18, 2012In front of a 4000-plus crowd Hayden Allen and Lindsay Tait combined for 50 points as the James Blond Pirates clawed their way back from a double digit deficit to edge the Saints 94-91 in Wellington.
Alex Pledger also came to life in the second half for the visitors, collecting a double double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Saints got off to a flying start leading 54-41 at half time, but the Pirates slowed the home side down in the third quarter, going into a 3-2 zone defense which limited Wellington to only 13 points in the period.
The final quarter would be a tight one, as the Pirates finally took their first lead of the ball game with a three from Tait, giving the visitors a 73-71 lead.
Shooting 2/10 from three point range in the first half, the Pirates eventually found their shooting touch going 11/22 in the second half.
The Saints were the polar opposite shooting 7/14 in the first and then 3/13 in the second.
Auckland would extend their lead to eight with a minute left, but consecutive threes from Ernest Scott (16 points) put the Saints back to within three with 35 seconds left.
A back court violation from Tait gave the Saints a chance to even the scores, but Scott just missed on the game-tying three.
Jason Crowe led the Saints in scoring with 19, adding nine assists and nine rebounds, but Wellington tired significantly in the second half, which they can ill afford to do next week as the teams may face each other again in the semi final.
For the Pirates it is their twelfth win, which puts them on par with the HBS Bank Hawks in the race for the regular season title.
Auckland will play the Fico Finance Giants tomorrow and if they win, and the Hawks lose to the Telecom Business Hub Jets, they will finish on top.
In Invercargill the Zero Fees Sharks defeated the LZ Harbour Heat 96-81 to avoid the wooden spoon.
Trailing for most of the second and all of the third periods, the home side rallied to outscore the Heat 35-14 in the final quarter to secure their fifth win.
Larry Abney had 28 point and 15 rebounds, while Craig Bradshaw and Dan Peck each added 25 and 20 points respectively.
Southland led by as many as ten points in the second quarter, before a massive 22-3 run by Harbour, gave them a 40-31 advantage.
But again the amount of points the Heat allowed the Sharks to score in the final quarter was the difference as they slumped to a 3-12 record, with one more game to go against the OceanaGold Nuggets tomorrow.
Zack Atkinson had his best game in a Heat uniform with 23 points and 17 rebounds, Justin Bailey adding 22 points and seven assists.
In Palmerston the Jets continued their rich vein of form, easily beating the Taranaki Mountain Airs 104-77, which is their fifth straight win.
Josh Pace was one of six Jets to score in double digits, scoring a game high 23 as the home side dominated the Airs on the boards, out-rebounding them 56-37.
In what may be his last NBL game, Link Abrams had top scored for Taranaki with 19, Aaron Bailey-Nowell the next best at 16.
The Jets did a great job of containing Jack Leasure who was held to nine points (4-17 FG).
Point guard Chris Hagan maintained his unbeaten win record, since joining the Jets, as he tallied 19 points and 11 assists.
Friday, May 18
At Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
Telecom Business Hub Jets 104 (Josh Pace 23, Chris Hagan 19, Zane Meehl 14, Jeremiah Trueman 14) The Good Home Mountain Airs 77 (Link Abrams 19, Aaron Bailey-Nowell 16, Darryl Hudson 14), Final
1Q: 26-16
HT: 53-36 (27-20)
3Q: 75-59 (22-23)
FT: 104-77 (29-18)
Referees – Melony Wealleans, Sean Cronin, Nick Naylor
Fiba Live Stats
Jets v Airs Box Score
At Southland Stadium (Velodrome), Invercargill/em>
Zero Fees Sharks 96 (Larry Abney 28, Craig Bradshaw 25, Dan Peck 20) LZ Harbour Heat 81 (Zack Atkinson 23, Justin Bailey 22, Kevin Smith 18), Final
1Q: 20-18
HT: 41-46 (21-28)
3Q: 61-67 (20-21)
FT: 96-81 (35-24)
Referees – Raewyn Willocks, Gavin Zimmerman, Raelene Forde
Fiba Live Stats
Sharks v Heat Box Score
At TSB Bank Arena, Wellington
Wellington Saints 91 (Jason Crowe 19, Ernest Scott 16, Troy McLean 14) James Blond Pirates 94 (Hayden Allen 26, Lindsay Tait 24, Alex Pledger 17), Final
1Q: 30-25
HT: 54-41 (24-16)
3Q: 67-65 (23-13)
FT: 91-94 (24-29)
Referees – Dallas Pickering, Yalla Edwards, Shane Nikora
Fiba Live Stats
Saints v Pirates Box Score
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Information about the 2012 U16/U17 National Selection Camp is AVAILABLE HERE!
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