Stars Shine In Round Two
Tagged in: NBL
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Two weeks ago Youthtown Auckland Stars coach Kenny Stone admitted he had a lot of unanswered questions about his squad.
Now, a day after the Stars recorded their first win – a 91-86 result over the Appliance Shed Harbour Heat in the Battle of the Bridge – Stone has a little more idea about what his roster can give him in the Dominion Finance NBL.
Casey Frank has averaged a double-double – 26 points and 11 rebounds – in two games, Dillon Boucher made an impact in his first game in Stars’ blue this season, with 13 rebounds and four assists, and former league MVP Adrian Majstrovich scored 29 points, to go with seven rebounds and three assists.
American point guard Larry Bratcher has continued his assimilation to the NBL with 13 points and three assists, and role players Dylan Perfect-Tait, Tyrone Davey and Vallance Te Ratana have made valuable contributions.
And despite Frank being their only genuine big, the Stars have out-rebounded their opponents in both games, including a 48-39 margin – 17 of those offensive rebounds – against a Heat team that included NZ Breakers Mika Vukona, Tim Behrendorff and Oscar Forman, and former Tall Black Daryl Cartwright.
“It’s probably a bit of surprising how well we’re rebounding considering we’re not that tall,” Stone said.
“And to rebound the way way did against Harbour was key. I thought that was critical to the game, controlling the boards. We managed to keep Mika Vukona quiet, that doesn’t happen too often.”
Another encouraging aspect for Stone has been the team’s early-season chemistry.
“Overall the way the team unity has been and the way the team has come together has been pleasing. Bringing in a couple of extra pieces this season, Dillon and Casey have come back in, Adrian has slotted right in and Larry is improving, so I’m pleased with that.
“Take away the first quarter against Wellington, maybe the first quarter and a half, and we’ve played some pretty good basketball. I’d rather be 2-0 but all things considered I’m reasonably happy to split the opening two games.”
The Stars trailed early in the second period but, thanks to Majstrovich, busted out a 22-7 run to lead by 14 points late in the half.
After a Frank three the Stars led 78-66 with 7:47 to play but Harbour would not go away, surging on a 14-3 spurt, with Cartwright scoring nine of his 19 points in the run, to close the gap to one, 81-80 with 2:33 remaining.
Back-to-back threes from Majstrovich and Perfect-Tait stretched the lead again and Frank calmly made four free throws to ice the game.
Elsewhere in the League, the Waikato Pistons, a national TV audience and the rest of the league got a glimpse of how dangerous their American import tandem of Jason Crowe and Brian Wethers can be on Thursday night.
Crowe, who only arrived in New Zealand early Thursday morning, set a new NBL record for assists with 16 and Wethers scored a season-high 40 points in Waikato’s 92-80 win over the still-league-leading CPS Nelson Giants.
Crowe’s performance eclipsed Paul Henare’s 13 assists against Waikato in 2005. Assist statistics have been recorded since 2000.
Devon Dynamos Taranaki put in two contrasting performances at home in round two, downing the Century City Wellington Saints 98-80 on Wednesday night, before falling 97-80 to the Giants on Friday.
After an unsettled pre-season, the Marley Canterbury Rams jumped into the win column with an 86-81 overtime win over the Cartridge World Otago Nuggets in Dunedin on Saturday night.
Point guard Jeremy Kench had 25 points and American Joey Harrell 20 points for the Rams, who came back from a three-point halftime deficit and survived a game-tying three-pointer to end regulation time from Otago’s Nat Connell.
Round three of the NBL tips-off Thursday night with the Saints visiting the Giants in the Sky TV game and the Easy LPG Bay Hawks opening their season on the road against the Heat.
2008 Dominion Finance NBL Round Two
Wednesday, March 5
At TSB Stadium, New Plymouth
Devon Dynamos Taranaki 98 (Keith Salscheider 23, Tony Rampton 21, Link Abrams 19, Ben Jeffrey 16) Century City Wellington Saints 80 (Nick Horvath 24, Troy McLean 20). HT: 58-45
Thursday, March 6
At Te Awamutu Events Centre, Te Awamutu
Waikato Pistons 92 (Brian Wethers 40, Ray Cameron 18, Puke Lenden 10) CPS Nelson Giants 80 (Michael Harrison 27, Chris Daniel 12, Jamil Terrell 12, Phill Jones 11). HT: 47-37
Friday, March 7
At TSB Stadium, New Plymouth
CPS Nelson Giants 97 (Phill Jones 23, Jamil Terrell 22, Michael Fitchett 17, Rowan Gray 13, Chris Daniel 10) Devon Dynamos Taranaki 80 (Tony Rampton 23, Keith Salscheider 2, Ben Jeffrey 13, Link Abrams 12). HT: 54-31
Saturday, March 8
At ASB Stadium, Auckland
Youthtown Auckland Stars 91 (Casey Frank 31, Adrian Majstrovich 29, Larry Bratcher 11, Dylan Perfect-Tait 10) Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 86 (Tim Behrendorff 21, Daryl Cartwright 19, Hayden Allen 12, Oscar Forman 11, BJ Anthony 11). HT: 50-39
At Edgar Centre, Dunedin
Marley Canterbury Rams 86 (Jeremy Kench 25, Joey Harrell 20, Gerard Bowden 12, Dave Langrell 10) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 81 (Jay Anderson 19, Nat Connell 18, Brent Charleton 14) OT. HT: 39-42, FT: 74-74
