Basketball: John Paul College turn some heads

John Paul College's Alexander Norton went off at the Junior Secondary School Zone 1/2 Premierships in Mount Maunganui this week. Photo / John Borren

John Paul College went down at the Junior Secondary School Zone 1/2 Premiership at ASB Arena this week, but still attracted attention.

The team finished 13th after missing out on the quarter-finals on points differential, but turned plenty of heads primarily via the play of guard Alexander Norton.

The youngster, living in the warm glow of a perennial green light, lit up the tournament by going on a scoring tear which provided an interesting subplot during the playoff stages.

Otumoetai College players will not soon forget the sight of him after they bore the brunt of a 67-point explosion in John Paul's opening game of the tournament.

His team finished with a 3-3 record after wins over Otumoetai College (87-82), Gisborne Boys' High School (69-41) and Birkenhead College (92-77), and losses to Rangitoto College (34-102), Nga Taiatea Wharekura School (53-67) and St Peter's College (45-48), but that almost seemed secondary considering the scale of Norton's spree.

He had all but 10 of his team's points against Nga Taiatea - at one point stutter-stepping a defender on the baseline and forcing a foul as he faded away for a touch, 12-foot jumper.

"And one!" he exclaimed with the ball still in the air; attempting to coerce the official to grant him a free throw as the ball swished through the net.

It duly worked.

After the narrow loss to Nga Taiatea, coach Reg Norton said the team were enjoying their time at the tournament, though noted the difference in standard between some of the smaller schools and giants such as Rangitoto College, who included five members of the under-17 North Island team.

"They're the best team here, no one is even close to them," he said. "They've scored 100 points in their outings and they're all dunkers."

He stressed the importance of the team's performance over that of his sharpshooter.

"He's sort of our main man but he's had a bit of an off-day. He still scored a few but he missed a lot that he should be making. It's been good for him and he's enjoyed it, trying to step to the next level.

"All the boys are enjoying it and are playing as a team, we just did a few too many dumb things and gave them too much of a lead."

Teams from the Bay of Plenty largely struggled to compete with the top teams from Waikato and Auckland.

Western Heights fell to Avondale College in the girls' final, while Rotorua Girls' High School finished fifth ahead of Westlake Girls' with a 60-50 win.