Basketball: Mariners continue their plain sailing

Tauranga Mariners' Ashton McQueen performing a layup at last night's basketball game against St John's College. Photo / George Novak

The undefeated Tauranga City Mariners do not appear to have an equal in the newly formed SAS Sports CBL.

The competition leaders dismissed St John's of Hamilton without getting out of second gear last night, sprinting out to a 23-10 lead after the first quarter that had grown to 50-23 at the half.

The Mariners continually applied ball pressure to unsettle their younger opposition who found it difficult to initiate their offence.

Visiting ball handlers were doubled at every opportunity and the hosts employed a full court trap sporadically to keep the opposition guessing.

The result, especially in the opening quarter, was a procession of Mariners guards leaking out off turnovers for routine layups in transition.

Ashton McQueen, who missed Saturday's convincing defeat of Hawke's Bay Development due to being in Auckland for a tryout for the Breakers' youth squad, was especially active on the defensive end and the first player from either team down the court off turnovers.

Compounding matters for St John's was the Mariners' ability to create, and hit, shots from the outside.

They got triples in almost every conceivable way - from baseline screens and pick and rolls to simply passing the ball around the perimeter to find the open man.

Eru Wills, who dominated Saturday's game in the absence of three primary ball handlers, largely reverted to being part of an offence that always looked sharp.

Tauranga City Mariners: 86
St John's College: 52