Basketball New Zealand

Centre Rick Rickert produced a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win in Townsville (Photosport)

Jason Schwab, Sportal
The New Zealand Breakers held off a fast-finishing Townsville Crocodiles to register a gutsy 119-108 away win on Saturday night in the Hummer Championship NBL.

The game was dominated by New Zealand’s top scorers early on, with five players netting double-digit totals for the game.

Kirk Penney and Rick Rickert in particular produced outstanding performances, scoring 34 and 26 points respectively.

The match was fairly even throughout the first quarter, but quickly changed in the second and third quarters when the Breakers dominated the scoring to open up a 23-point lead.

The fourth quarter then turned into a contest when the Crocs mounted a comeback that eventually fell 11 points short.

The Breakers raced to a five-point lead after the first quarter, led by a quality 12-point effort from Penney.

The visitors then produced some impressive sharpshooting from beyond the arc in the second quarter, extending their lead to 23 points and leaving the Crocs with a lot to do in the second half.

The margin was maintained after the third, despite a 12 point effort from Brad Williamson who ended up the Crocs best for the night with a final tally of 26 points.

The Crocs made a late charge and came within seven points in the last quarter but the Breakers were calm down the stretch and held on for a deserved win.

The Breakers (10-3) will gear up for a tough match with ladder leaders South Dragons on Thursday while Townsville (4-7) will be hoping to snap their five-match losing streak when they face the Wollongong Hawks next Saturday night at the Swamp.

New Zealand Breakers 119 (Kirk Penney 34, Rick Rickert 26, CJ Bruton 19)
Townsville Crocodiles 108 (Brad Williamson 26, Corey Williams 18, Kelvin Robertson 17)
Breakers vs Crocodiles Box Score (20KB html)