Basketball New Zealand

Stars guard Reece Cassidy had 13 points in the win (Photosport)

In a game with plenty of playoff pressure, if not playoff flair, the Youthtown Auckland Stars were just relieved to escape ahead in the playoff race.

Forward Casey Frank scored a game-high 14 points, including eight in the final two minutes, as the Stars gained the upper hand in the Dominion Finance NBL playoff push, with a 68-65 win over Devon Dynamos Taranaki on Thursday night.

Down 61-56 inside three minutes, Frank scored the Stars next eight points, including two three-pointers and a ridiculous turn-around long two-pointer as the shot clock expired, before fouling out with 55 seconds remaining.

The game sparked to life in the final two minutes, which featured three lead changes and two ties.
The Stars leveled at 61-61 with 1:50 to play, Taranaki went ahead with a jumper from American guard Keith Salscheider before Frank’s second three put the Stars ahead 64-63 with 1:17 remaining.

Two Aaron Nowell freebies put Taranaki back up one but an Adrian Majstrovich shot from the elbow gave the Stars the lead for good with 37 seconds to go, then free-throws from Dillon Boucher and Reece Cassidy, and a missed three at the buzzer from Salscheider saved the win.

Frank posted a double-double, pulling down 11 boards, along with five assists, while Cassidy was the next best with 13 points, Australian guard Jonathon Shepherd with 10 points and Boucher with nine points and 12 rebounds.

Salscheider led the scoring for the Dynamos with 13 points, centre Tony Rampton had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and point guard Ben Jeffrey 10 points, while leading-scorer Link Abrams was held to seven points.

Shooting percentages were ugly reading, the Stars shooting 37 percent and the Dynamos 38 percent, while Auckland hit 30 percent of their threes and Taranaki just 18 percent on 2-of-11 shooting.

The Stars, who own the tiebreaker over the Dynamos, effectively have a two-game lead in the race for the playoffs. Auckland sit tied with the CPS Nelson Giants at 8-6, with the Appliance Shed Harbour Heat, who host the Dynamos on Friday night, only a half-game above.

Taranaki never trailed in the first period, dominating as the Stars looked out of sync to start, falling behind by as many as eight points.

A 12-4 run to start the second saw the Stars level the scores at 23-23 at the 6:04 mark and lead by as many as four points before taking a 31-30 score into halftime.

Balanced offence was the feature of the first half, with Damon Rampton and Shepherd the leading scorers with six points, as the Stars had eight players score and Taranaki seven.

Auckland held a six-point advantage going into the fourth quarter but a 10-0 Dynamos run to start the quarter gave them a 53-49 lead at the 7:23 mark.

Dominion Finance NBL Round 13

At ASB Stadium, Auckland
Youthtown Auckland Stars 68 (Casey Frank 14, Reece Cassidy 13, Jonathon Shepherd 10) Devon Dynamos Taranaki 65 (Keith Salscheider 13, Tony Rampton 11, Ben Jeffrey 10)
1Q: 13-19
HT: 31-30 (18-11)
3Q: 49-41 (18-11)
FT: 68-65 (19-24)
Stars vs Dynamos Box Score (21KB html)

Round 13 games, scores and standings