Dickel’s Dozen
Tagged in: Kiwis Abroad
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Tall Black point guard Mark Dickel was back to his creative best, but could not salvage victory for Mutlu Aku Selcuk Univ in the Turkish Basketball League.
Dickel, who has made himself unavailable for the national team’s last-ditch Olympic qualifying bid in July, dished out 12 assists in the 80-83 loss to Antayla, adding four points (1/7 FG, 2/4 FT), four rebounds and a steal.
Selcuk led 53-40 at halftime, courtesy of a 25-10 second period, but could not repel their opponents’ comeback and fell to 7-15 for the season, still precariously placed on the verge of relegation.
In four games, Dickel has averaged 7.5 assists, better than league leader Hakan Koseoglu’s 6.9.
In Romania, former Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin enjoyed his U Mobitelco Cluj Napoca team’s 94-68 road victory over BC Targoviste in the FRB, but not so much the ride home.
The team bus collided head-on with a car in a narrow mountain road later that night. No one on the bus was injured, but the driver of the car was hospitalized in a serious condition.
Mobitelco is now 13-7 for the season, holding fourth spot on the competition table.
In the United States, several Kiwis are watching their college careers come to an end.
Emerging Tall Black Christopher Reay had four points (1/2 FG, 2/2 FT), five rebounds and three blocks in his last appearance game for Midwestern State University, helping them to a 73-57 win over Eastern New Mexico University.
The Mustangs finished 13-13 for the season, 5-7 in the Lone Star Conference.
In her final home game for University of Bridgeport, Kiwi Monique Ross had 12 points to help the Purple Knights rally to an 88-71 result over Mercy College. Their 13-7 East Coast Conference record earns them fourth seeding in the conference tournament.
Rotorua guard Aroha Jennings marked her last home outing for University of Memphis with a 69-81 loss to University of Central Florida, providing eight points (4/8 FG), six rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes.
The Tigers fell to 10-19 for the season and 7-9 in Conference-USA, earning seventh seeding at their conference tournament and a showdown with University of Tulsa in the opening round.
Harbour guard Kezia Kelly had 10 points as Washington State University battled seven-ranked University of California Berkeley to 47-61 in US college play.
Kelly shot 5/7 FG, adding three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 38 minutes as the Cougars fell to 5-23 for the season, 2-15 in the Pac-10 Conference.
Gisborne-born Aron Baynes had 10 points (4/7 FG, 2/2 FT), five rebounds and two blocks as the WSU men fell 53-60 to Stanford University, sliding to 22-7 for the season and 10-7 in the conference.
Former Junior Tall Black Corey Webster continued to find the basket for Lambuth University, scoring 17 points (4/13 FG, 2/7 3pt, 7/10 FT) and adding three steals, three rebounds and an assist in a 95-79 win over Martin Methodist College.
Victory gave the Eagles their first TranSouth Conference title since 1995. Another over Lyon College (101-67) in their final regular season game – their 12th consecutive win – saw Lambuth finish with a 26-3 record, 18-2 in the conference.
Canterbury guard Melissa Harrison was named to the TranSouth Scholar Athlete Squad for her academic excellence throughout her second year with Lambuth.
Her team – the defending NAIA champions – finished their regular season schedule with a wins over Martin Methodist and Lyon to finish third in the conference with a 14-4 record, 22-8 for the season.
