Giants, Hawks Punch Tickets
Tagged in: Competitions, NBL
One team won, the other lost – but both punched their tickets to the Dominion Finance NBL Playoffs dance on Thursday night.
The fourth-placed CPS Nelson Giants got the jump on the Easy LPG Bay Hawks in the race for the final home quarterfinal spot with an 81-72 win over Devon Dynamos Taranaki at Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre.
The Hawks, who previously controlled their own destiny to play at home in the first round of the postseason, fell 86-79 in Christchurch, as the Marley Canterbury Rams celebrated their first home win of the season at Cowles Stadium after seven straight losses.
Point guard Michael Fitchett top-scored with 21 points, American forward Michael Harrison had 17 points and Tall Blacks guard Phill Jones 14 points as the Giants (10-6) effectively cut the Dynamos (7-9) playoffs lifeline.
In a game that featured 16 lead changes and six ties, the Giants took the lead for good with three minutes remaining in the third period and extending it out to 10 points just seconds into the final quarter.
All the Giants starters were in double-figures by the end of the third quarter, as they held on down the stretch.
Fitchett, a Tall Blacks point guard contender, shot 8-of-11 from the field, while Harrison added six rebounds and three assists to his stat-line, Jones dropped a game-high eight assists, Jamil Terrell had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Daniel 13 points.
Aaron Nowell was the best for Taranaki, with 24 points, while American guard Keith Salscheider added 16 points, Link Abrams 10 points and eight boards, and centre Tony Rampton nine points and 13 rebounds.
It may have taken eight games, but the Rams finally served up a win at “Cowles Cauldron”, the upset result severely denting the playoff-bound Hawks (9-7) chances of playing at home in the postseason.
Point guard Jeremy Kench had a game-high 22 points, American centre John Whorton racked up a double-double with 19 points and 15 boards and veteran Dave Langrell provided 14 points off the bench.
The Rams only led twice in the first half, both times by one point late in the second period, but created the gap in the final minute of the third with back-to-back-to-back threes from Langrell, Kench and Langrell again, taking a nine-point lead into the fourth.
Canterbury looked to be cruising up 10 points with 4:23 to play, but former Ram and NBL scoring champion Clifton Bush caught fire, scoring the game’s next nine points to pull the Hawks within a point at 78-77 with 1:44 remaining.
American forward Joey Harrell, Kench and Langrell made crucial free-throws in the final minute to move the Rams above the Property Brokers Manawatu Jets into eighth.
Dominion Finance NBL Round 14
At Trafalgar Centre, Nelson
CPS Nelson Giants 81 (Michael Fitchett 21, Michael Harrison 17, Phill Jones 14, Jamil Terrell 14, Chris Daniel 13) Devon Dynamos Taranaki 72 (Aaron Nowell 24, Keith Salscheider 16, Link Abrams 10)
1Q: 19-20
HT: 40-37 (21-17)
3Q: 63-56 (23-19)
FT: 81-72 (18-16)
Giants vs Dynamos Box Score (21KB html)
At Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Marley Canterbury Rams 86 (Jeremy Kench 22, John Whorton 19, Dave Langrell 14) Easy LPG Bay Hawks 79 (Kareem Johnson 20, Clifton Bush 17, Kevin Smith 12, Paul Henare 11)
1Q: 21-24
HT: 41-44 (20-20)
3Q: 69-60 (28-16)
FT: 86-79 (17-19)
Rams vs Hawks Box Score (21KB html)
