Saints Savour Home Cookin’
Tagged in: Competitions, NBL
The Century City Wellington Saints dialed up more home-cookin’ in the Dominion Finance NBL on Saturday night.
Behind 17 points from guard Troy McLean and 16 points and nine rebounds from returning former Tall Black Brendon Polyblank, the Saints improved to 7-0 at home with a 94-89 win over the Easy LPG Bay Hawks in round 11.
Wellington needed a late fourth quarter surge to shake off the Hawks in a game with serious playoffs intensity, avenging the 26-point loss in round five and improving them to 9-4 in front of 3000 at the TSB Bank Arena.
McLean hit 6-of-10 from the field and three treys in his team-point tally on a night when the balanced offences were the feature.
Polyblank shot 7-of-10 from the floor in his return to Saints blue after a season with BBC Monthey in Switzerland, while four other Saints scored in double-digits, led by Arthur Trousdell with 14 off the bench.
Wellington looked to have the game under control at halftime, up by 12 points after leading by as many as 18 in the second quarter following a 10-0 run to start the period.
But the Bay answered with Aidan Daly, who finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and American centre Kareem Johnson to close within three points, 70-67, at the end of the third period.
The Hawks, who had four players in double figures, took their first lead since late in the first quarter, with 8:07 remaining but only held it briefly as back-to-back triples from American Ernest Scott and point guard Luke Martin, who ended with 10 points and seven assists, put Wellington back on top.
Crucical baskets from Polyblank, McLean, Martin and a final three from Scott, who had an off 4-of-14 shooting and 11-point night, pushed the Saintsationals to the W.
Johnson posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Paora Winitana had 15 points and Callum Baynes 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Two scares but two wins for the League-leading Waikato Pistons in their South Island double-header, coming away from Invercargill with an 85-78 win over the Cartridge World Otago Nuggets.
The Nuggets, playing their second home-away-from-home game this season, led through the first three quarters, 20-15 after one, 36-33 at halftime and 53-49 with a quarter to play, before letting the game slide in front of a packed crowd at Stadium Southland.
Waikato, who remained a full two games ahead of the second-placed Saints with the win, turned it on in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the under-manned Nuggets, who also had Shaun Tilby and Brent Charleton foul out, 36-25.
Jason Crowe had 28 points, including 7-of-12 three-point attempts, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Pistons, while his import backcourt partner Brian Wethers dropped 20 points and forward Ben Hill snapped out of his funk with 17 points.
Otago’s two Americans, Lemar Gayle and Antoine Tisby, dominated their stats sheet, Gayle with 29 points and seven rebounds and Tisby with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Dominion Finance NBL Round 11
At TSB Bank Arena, Wellington
Century City Wellington Saints 94 (Troy McLean 17, Brendon Polyblank 16, Arthur Trousdell 14, Ernest Scott 11, Nick Horvath 10, Luke Martin 10) Easy LPG Bay Hawks 89 (Aidan Daly 21, Kareem Johnson 19, Paora Winitana 14, Kevin Smith 13, Callum Baynes 12)
1Q: 28-24
HT: 54-42 (26-18)
3Q: 70-67 (16-25)
FT: 94-89 (24-22)
Saints vs Hawks Box Score (21KB html)
At Southland Stadium, Invercargill
Waikato Pistons 85 (Jason Crowe 28, Brian Wethers 20, Ben Hill 17) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 78 (Lemar Gayle 29, Antoine Tisby 28)
1Q: 15-20
HT: 33-36 (18-16)
3Q: 49-53 (16-17)
FT: 85-78 (36-25)
Nuggets vs Pistons Box Score (21KB html)
