Basketball New Zealand

Kirk Penney (David Litnott)

Tall Black Kirk Penney exploded for 31 points to lead his Sioux Falls Skyforce to a 113-104 victory over the Springfield Armor in his second NBA Development League outing.

Penney has joined the Skyforce as part of his individual preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Men in Turkey later this year, after missing much of the Australian NBL season through injury.

He had 12 points (4/11 FG, 1/3 3pt, 3/4 FT), one rebound, one assist and a steal in his debut off the bench last Friday, an 118-101 win over Springfield.

But promoted into the starting lineup, he shot 12/17 FG, 2/4 3pt, 5/8 FT and added four rebounds, three assists and a steal to supplement his game-high points haul against the same opponents.

The victories boosted Sioux Falls to 30-18 for the season, 6.5 games behind Iowa (36-11) in the Eastern Conference.

In the Swiss LNA, Kiwi Brendon Polyblank’s Fribourg team improved to 21-8 for the season with a 91-84 win over BBC Nyon.

Meanwhile, Tall Fern Jillian Harmon helped Pool Comense to an easy 69-43 win over Livorno in the Italian Lega A, contributing eight points (2/4 FG, 4/6 FT), six rebounds and a steal.

Comense are mid-table with a 10-11 record.