Heartbreak
Tagged in: NBL
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If the big story of Dominion Finance NBL Round Eight was the miraculous double overtime victory by an importless Youthtown Auckland Stars over Inspire Net Manawatu Jets last Thursday, spare a thought for their victims.
The hapless Jets, who have made OT a habit, had lost in extra time only the night before in Napier and then had to drag themselves, tired and dispirited, back to Palmerston North to face a Stars outfit that few really thought could win.
In retrospect, it was a recipe for an ambush.
It was also their third consecutive overtime outing Öthey prevailed over TET Taranaki Mountain Airs in such fashion the Friday before.
ìAfter that Taranaki game, I was telling the guys how I had a 6-1 coaching record in overtime,î recalls Jets coach Darron Larsen, in his third year at the controls. ìThen we lose two in a row Ö I should have kept my mouth shut.
ìI think it shows the league is a lot closer this year. You can see several teams that donít normally lose much have already lost three or four, so things are a lot tighter.
ìBut weíre also not executing very well down the stretch, even if we have small leads. Iím not sure weíve got anyone thatís willing to step up and ëitís my timeí.î
A quick study of the Jetsí closing sequences over the last three games shows the ball invariably ends up in the hands of American point guard Brandon Payton Ö no surprise there. He made two free throws to force overtime against the Airs and scored on the buzzer to extend the Hawks encounter.
Payton missed two freebies, either of which could have defeated Auckland in regulation, but made a couple from the line to send the match into a second overtime. He also missed the final three-point attempt to force a third extra term.
ìBrandon is the guy who can beat his man one-on-one the easiest, then create for himself or others. Other teams are seeing that and making it quite difficult for him.î
In this regard, the Jets have also been hampered by the absence of their most experienced campaigner – 13-year veteran Stacey Lambert, who strained a calf early in the Taranaki game and will likely sit out another week.
ìStacey has been a huge loss,î rues Larsen. ìHe would have taken some of the pressure off our other scorers.î
The results, while disappointing, show Manawatu (2-6) are so close to being where they hope to be. Forward Aaron Nowell (15.5 points, 48% FG, 50% 3pt, 77.8% FT, 8.1 rebounds & 2.3 steals) has consolidated his standing in the league after his breakthrough in 2006, while Reece Cassidy (15.1 points) and Matt Te Huna (9.5 points & 41.5% 3pt) are following in his wake as two of the competitionís most improved performers this year.
Newly acquired American centre George Byrd (11.0) climbed to the top of the league rebound rankings with his 17 boards against Auckland, while Payton (21.1 points) is in the very top echelon of scorers.
Still, Larsen shrugs at the mental lapses that seem to have robbed his team of a shot at the semifinals. They can probably only afford two more losses if they hope to realize that dream Ö they face the champion Hawks at home on Wednesday, then visit a U Park It Waikato Pistons outfit riding a three-game tear.
ìWhen Casey Frank fouled out the other night, that left Lindsay Tait and Dillon Boucher as Aucklandís two focal points,î says Larsen. ìWe made it very clear that if we were going to help out on Lindsay, we were not to help off Dillon, yet I can recall two easy lay-ups Dillon got because we did just that.
ìThose are sort of mistakes we making consistently and Iím struggling to find ways to make that clear to the players.î
Dominion Finance NBL (Round Eight)
Monday, April 23
New Plymouth
U Park It Waikato Pistons 106 (Jason Fraser 32, Kevin Smith 24, Luke Martin 18, Pero Cameron 11) TET Taranaki Mountain Airs 99 (Damon Rampton 23, Garry Hill-Thomas 20, Ben Jeffre 20, Link Abrams 16, Kaine Hokianga 11)
Quarter 26-25
Halftime 51-45 (25-20)
Threequarter 72-69 (21-14)
Fulltime 106-99 (34-40)
Wednesday, April 25
Napier
Easy LPG Bay Hawks 95 (Everard Bartlett 26, Paora Winitana 16, Andrew Rice 13, Kareem Johnson 12) Inspire Net Manawatu Jets 83 (Aaron Nowell 20, Reece Cassidy 15, Matt Te Huna 15, Brandon Payton 14, George Byrd 10) OT
Quarter 18-17
Halftime 33-30 (15-13)
Threequarter 59-55 (26-25)
Fulltime 75-75 (16-20)
Overtime 95-83 (20-8)
Nelson
Blue Chip Nelson Giants 90 (Josh Pace 26, Mika Vukona 16, Ed Book 15) Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams 76 (Michael Joiner 24, Mychal Green 22, Mark Morrison 13)
Quarter 23-13
Halftime 46-29 (23-16)
Threequarter 68-55 (22-26)
Fulltime 90-76 (22-21)
Thursday, April 26
Te Awamutu
U Park It Waikato Pistons 91 (Luke Martin 23, Kevin Smith 17, Jason Fraser 17, Ben Hill 10)
Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 89 (Justin Bailey 35, Branduinn Fullove 20)
Quarter 22-22
Halftime 37-49 (15-27)
Threequarter 65-69 (28-20)
Fulltime 91-89 (26-20)
Palmerston North
Youthtown Auckland Stars 121 (Lindsay Tait 39, Dillon Boucher 28, Casey Frank 19, Charlie Piho 16) Inspire Net Manawatu Jets 118 (Brandon Payton 36, Reece Cassidy 30, Matt Te Huna 20, James Paringatai 13)
Quarter 19-18
Halftime 49-46 (30-28)
Threequarter 74-74 (25-28)
Fulltime 97-97 (23-23)
OT 107-107 (10-10)
2OT 121-118 (14-11)
Saturday, April 28
North Shore
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 94 (Tim Behrendoff 19, Oscar Forman 17, Nat Connell 15, Daryl Cartwright 15) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 71 (Branduinn Fullove 14, Shaun Tilby 11, Darryl Jones 11, Miles Pearce 10)
Quarter 30-10
Halftime 51-26 (21-16)
Threequarter 72-47 (21-21)
Fulltime 94-71 (22-24)
Nelson
Blue Chip Nelson Giants 105 (Josh Pace 29, Chris Daniel 18, Ed Book 17, Michael Fitchett 16, Mika Vukona 12) Easy LPG Bay Hawks 91 (Everard Bartlett 25, Kareem Johnson 11, Paora Winitana 10)
Quarter 25-21
Halftime 51-47 (26-26)
Threequarter 79-61 (28-14)
Fulltime 105-91 (26-30)
