Upset as Lights ignite in late thrust

Maunu Lights provided the upset of round nine in the Super Basketball League when they defeated Raumanga Royals 100-89 in extra time at Kensington Stadium.

Saturday's game was tied up at the conclusion of the first quarter and by halftime, Raumanga had inched out to a one-point lead.

They continued to lead and had pushed out to a nine-point advantage with two minutes remaining. Thinking they had the game in the bag, they rolled their bench and Maunu struck back.

Casey Namana (33 points) landed a three-pointer and the team snatched rebounds and converted them into points to close the gap and take a one point 81-80 lead. Raumanga's Scott McDonald had a chance to secure the win when he was fouled at the hoop. He missed his first shot from the line, but made the second and the game went into the five minute extra period of overtime.

Namana, moved into overdrive, shooting well to help his side claim the 11-point win. Maunu's Ethan Penney performed well in all facets of the game, scoring 29, while Herb Smith (25) and Corey Te Tai (23) shot well for the Royals.

City Hawks achieved a milestone against Portland when they reached 100 points for the first time this season.

The Hawks, who guard Travis McIlroy said had been "flirting with 100 for a while now", were cohesive and proved too strong for Portland who produced another below-par performance.

McIlroy, still playing with a broken hand he suffered late last year, shot a season high of 50 points for the Hawks, with 22 of his total landing in the first quarter. City went up 33-14 in the first quarter and by halftime, were leading 50-27. Kane Rudolph (26) also shot well for the Hawks, while 16-year-old Liam Wilson started at shooting guard and impressed with his defensive effort.

Portland's Cory Poa was relentless in defence and offence, securing rebounds and scoring 19 points.

In Friday's game, table leaders Whangaruru continued their dominant streak by beating Kaikohe 100-77. Kaikohe started well, keeping pace with Whangaruru and the teams were 20-20 after the first quarter. However, Whangaruru shifted gear in the second quarter and controlled the game from there. Small forward Imrahn Henare shot 27 points for Whangaruru, while Atama O'Donnell put up 26 points for Kaikohe.

The new women's division saw Whangaruru beat Portland 47-39.

The game between Takahiwai Phoenix and Portland Rangers was postponed to later this week.