Big O Ignites Heat
Tagged in: NBL
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Behind 25 points and nine rebounds from Australian import Oscar Forman, the Appliance Shed Harbour Heat escaped Christchurch with a six-point win over the Marley Canterbury Rams on Friday night.
Forman was held to six points in the second half but hit his sixth three-pointer with 2:07 remaining to give the Heat an 85-81 lead, which they held to improve to 6-4 in the first-half of their South Island Dominion Finance NBL double-header at Cowles Stadium.
With the scores at 85-84 to Harbour with 16 seconds to play, veteran Rams guard Dave Langrell was whistled for a technical foul after American import Joey Harrell was called for a foul.
Tall Black Mika Vukona missed the first but made the next three free-throws, finishing with a season-high 19 points, boosting the buffer to four points, before Ocker centre Tim Behrendorff sunk an insurance basket in the final seconds.
What led up to the intense finish, was a rollercoaster game, which saw eight lead changes, nine ties, with the teams exchanging the lead after each quarter and the final margin being Harbour’s biggest lead of the game.
The now 2-8 Rams were up 31-26 after the first quarter but went into halftime down 55-51. They retook the lead in the third period, before Harbour’s defensive pressure created a 22-12 fourth period.
Canterbury held the biggest lead of the game, up 39-29 with 7:20 left in the second quarter. It was short-lived as Harbour scored the next six points and out-scored them 26-12 in the seven minutes before halftime.
Forman shot 9-of-19 from the field and 6-of-10 from distance, and added three assists. He had 19 points by halftime before being held point-less in the third period as the Rams out-scored the Heat 21-13.
Vukona converted 10-of-11 from the free-throw line, posting a double-double with 11 rebounds. Guard Hayden Allen had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists and blocked a Gerard Bowden three-point attempt with the lead at one.
Harrell top-scored for Canterbury with 22 points, while Bowden had 18 points and five assists and point guard Jeremy Kench 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. John ‘Pope’ Whorton had 16 points and six rebounds.
At Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 90 (Oscar Forman 25, Mika Vukona 19, Hayden Allen 16, Daryl Cartwright 10) Marley Canterbury Rams 84 (Joey Harrell 22, Gerard Bowden 18, John Whorton 16, Jeremy Kench 15). HT: 51-55
Rams vs Heat Box Score (21KB html)
