Basketball: Harbour wilt under heat from Stars

By PETER JESSUP

The smarting North Harbour Heat coach cited the dominating influence of the home-grown Breakers players in the domestic league after his side was dumped 86-72 by the Breakers-laden Auckland Stars.

Breakers guards Aaron Olson and Lindsay Tait scored 26 and 25 respectively, Dillon Boucher was a killer with his defence and Breakers discard Casey Frank grabbed 10 defensive rebounds.

The Heat started slowly, produced poor offence and execution and were out of it by the halftime break, 34-52 down.

Coach Colin Driscoll sat through the lonely hours of yesterday morning twice reviewing the defeat that leaves Harbour with little hope of forcing back to a playoff position.

He struggled to explain what went wrong. "Our transition defence is absolutely killing us," he said.

The Heat was slow to react to turnovers and conceded plenty of points to quick, long passes and neat lay-ups. "What's frustrating is that is what we've been working on."

He was to meet Harbour to discuss all options, including standing aside. "That is what the coach does, isn't it? I cop the blame."

It would be a harsh call on Driscoll, who started without any imports. Aussie Axel Dench and American Purnell Perry have both taken time to fit into the team mix.

Key players, including Rob Tuilave and Judd Flavell, have missed games for family reasons.

Injuries have also hurt.

How do you blame the coach when the players hit only 38 per cent of their free-throws?

Harbour's accuracy rate from the field was 45 per cent, 30 from 66 on Saturday night, Auckland's was 50 per cent with 33/65. The Stars made eight of 21 three-shots, the Heat five of 21. Auckland sank 12 of 15 free-throws, Harbour seven of 18.

Also on the agenda at the management meeting will be sourcing other players, perhaps from the second division. "We have to look at player options, coaching options, everything," Driscoll said. "It's become a malaise and it needs to be sorted."

The team are now two-from-nine with the league's worst points differential, 789-690.

Breakers coach Frank Arsego was at the game. Driscoll made the point to him afterwards that his players were having an unusual impact in the league.

The pair will work to find a means of shifting some of the Aussie NBL side's talent across the bridge next year.

It gets no easier for Driscoll this week, with the Waikato Titans on Thursday in Hamilton and Taranaki Mountain Airs and their Breakers try-out, 2.1m Anthony Barr from Philadelphia, on Sunday. The Airs play Auckland on Saturday night.

"The Breakers players are outstanding, their fitness level is above everyone else, their decision-making is better and quicker," Driscoll said.

The one Breaker they did have, Lance Baker, was instrumental in the Nelson Giants killing them two weeks back and he'd noticed a huge improvement in his play since he shifted south from Harbour.

It was Breaker Phill Jones who top-scored in the league with 38 points, 11 from 22 field-goals and five of eight of those free-throws, plus 11-from-11 from the free-throw line as Nelson reversed last weekend's defeat to the Manawatu Jets 83-74.

In games yesterday the Saints beat the Taranaki Mountain Airs Saints 91-74 and in Christchurch the Waikato Titans beat the Rams 86-69.

The Otago Nuggets tipped over the Titans 79-71 in Dunedin on Friday night, the fourth year in a row that the Titans have lost in the deep south.

Aussie Andrew Latimer scored 20, Hayden Allen 18, veteran Leonard King 16 and Michael "Chewy" Kingma 15, the Nuggets earning the win with the better of the rebounds.

Geordie Cullen, Mike Chappell and Prem Krishna all collected three fouls in the first half, stalling their impetus.

The weekend's results leave five teams equal with seven wins and 14 competition points.

The Hawks, with only two losses, lead. Auckland, Manawatu and Nelson have four. Waikato are 6/3. With eight of 14 rounds played, it will be hard for anyone below the Saints on 10 points to push into the playoffs.

American Erin Beuscher scored 21 and the improving and consistently good Lisa Wallbutton 15 as the Harbour women downed the title favourites Lady Titans 62-56 in the WNBL.

Tania Tupu top-scored for Waikato with 20, Leanne Walker 11.

Canterbury beat Wellington 77-59 and Nelson beat the Wildcats 67-52.