Basketball: Coach thanks his lucky Stars for top guard Tait

By PETER JESSUP

Lindsay Tait is best guard in the national league, says coach Kenny Stone after Tait led the Auckland Stars to two wins on the road.

Stone had said the three away games in a row would be a good gauge of the Stars season.

With three wins from three - the Nuggets beaten 90-71 in Otago on Friday, Canterbury taken down 79-77 in Christchurch on Saturday, plus the Hawkes Bay Hawks the previous week - he is now setting his sights on a semifinals place by improving home performance.

The Stars have been beaten away only once, by the Titans in round two, and the weekend was their second double-header.

Stone could not put a finger on what goes right when they travel.

"There's more structure when you're away - it's the travel, the warm-up, the team meal and the game. There are more distractions when we're at home - maybe that's something I have to address."

Tait nailed a three-pointer as the buzzer went to secure the win in Christchurch and top-scored with 34 points.

Aaron Olson was second-best against Otago with 12 and top-scorer against the Rams with 27. Stone said the combination between the two went a long way to securing the wins.

"Aaron put that final shot on for Lindsay, he took the defence and he could have rushed things and blown it, but he got the ball out to Lindsay in the corner and Lindsay nailed it." .

The Rams - tailing the league with one win from seven - relied on import Mike Pegues for 42 points and former Tall Black Andrew Gardiner for 13, most of those coming from offensive rebounds.

"We were out-rebounded by the Rams by 20 and the Nuggets got more than 20 over us - I'm telling the guys to imagine what we could do if we rebounded the ball," Stone said.

In Nelson, Phill Jones led with 21 of the Giants' 76 points, the Titans winning by three in overtime. It was 36-all at halftime and 72-all at the end of regulation time, but Jones missed two free throws that might have seen the repeat of last year's final.

The Tall Black and Breakers' shooting guard had been home only six days after a season in Italy, but dispelled any thoughts he might be play-weary.

The Titans, though, had too much depth. Ben Hill top-scored for the visitors with 22, including four three-pointers. David Hopoi had 17 and Dillon Boucher 16.

North Harbour's import, John Smith, was the big player for them as they got one from two on the road, the Jets beaten 69-65 and Smith contributing 17 before they lost to the Hawks 68-83 (Smith 25). Depth won the game in Hawkes Bay, too, with Paora Winitana 22, Adrian Majstrovich 20 and Paul Henare 12.

The Saints beat Taranaki 102-79 with Australian Ben Knight scoring 20 for Wellington and American Link Abrams 33 for the Airs.

Next weekend Taranaki have a difficult double in Auckland, the Hawks play the Jets, the Rams face the Giants and, in the game of the round, Waikato go to Wellington.

Taranaki are the only team not missing players to the Tall Black camp in Lower Hutt.