Saints Stylish To Finish
Tagged in: Competitions, NBL
In their final regular season game, the Century City Wellington Saints reminded any prospective playoff opponents what they can expect.
The Saints put an exclamation on their regular season title with an emphatic record-setting 117-78 win over the Property Brokers Manawatu Jets on Saturday night in Palmerston North, finishing the regular season with a 14-4 record.
The Saints scored the first eight points of the game and took a 12-2 lead within minutes. And it only got worse for the home fans from there.
Wellington, with coach Doug Marty spreading the minutes among his deep roster and sitting starters for extended periods, lead by 18 points at the half and quickly went up by 20 points soon after the resumption and were up 30 points by the end of the third period.
The Saints had 93 points up by the end of the third and went into triple figures for just the fourth time this season at the 7:18 mark.
The 39-point margin was a record for both clubs - the biggest win for the Saints and biggest loss for the Jets, eclipsing a 35-point game between the two franchises in 2005.
Despite the starters resting almost the entire fourth quarter, three – American forward Ernest Scott, centre Nick Horvath and guard Troy McLean - managed to lead the Saints, with 18 points, while Kevin Owens, Lindsay Tait and Arthur Trousdell also scored in double-figures.
American forward Keith Davis went one steal away from a rare points-rebounds-steals triple-double, finishing with a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals. Compatriot Kantrail Horton had 20 points and five assists.
In Dunedin, the Youthtown Auckland Stars escaped with a win, sealing their place in the playoffs and eliminating Devon Dynamos Taranaki with a 78-76 thriller over the under-manned Cartridge World Otago Nuggets.
Australian forward Adrian Majstrovich top-scored with 37 points, while guard Reece Cassidy added 11 points and Tall Black Casey Frank was held to six points and 10 rebounds.
Without import Lemar Gayle, Brent Charleton stepped up with 27 points to lead the Nuggets, who had a three-point attempt to take the lead with six seconds remaining rim-out, while American forward Antoine Tisby posted another big double-double with 24 points and 15 boards.
Dominion Finance NBL Round 14
At Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
Century City Wellington Saints 117 (Ernest Scott 18, Nick Horvath 18, Troy McLean 18, Kevin Owens 14, Lindsay Tait 13, Arthur Trousdell 11) Property Brokers Manawatu Jets 78 (Keith Davis 25, Kantrail Horton 20)
1Q: 34-24
HT: 63-45 (29-21)
3Q: 93-65 (20-30)
FT: 117-78 (24-13)
Jets vs Saints Box Score (22KB html)
At Lion Foundation Arena, Dunedin
Youthtown Auckland Stars 78 (Adrian Majstrovich 37, Reece Cassidy 11) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 76 (Brent Charleton 27, Antoine Tisby 24, Shaun Tilby 10)
1Q: 23-15
HT: 48-40 (25-25)
3Q: 63-56 (15-16)
FT: 78-76 (15-20)
Nuggets vs Stars Box Score (19KB html)
