Basketball: Hawks continue winning run

Unbeaten Hawke's Bay have kept pace with Wellington atop the National Basketball League standings, easing to an 87-72 victory over Auckland in Auckland last night to secure their eighth successive win of the competition.

The Hawks jumped out the blocks and raced to a 22-5 lead in the first quarter before stretching the margin to lead 54-35 at halftime.

A more polished second half from the hosts - they started making some shots and win a fair share of the boards - reduced Hawke's Bay's lead to nine at one point but they could not get close enough to seriously threaten Paul Henare's team, who joined defending champions Wellington on 16 points after their eighth consecutive win to start the season.

Josh Pace had 18 points for the visitors while Paora Winitana added 15 and Arthur Trousdell and Galen Young 12 each in a tidy team effort that saw Hawke's Bay shade Auckland in all the key areas.

The impressive Brad Anderson notched 18 points for Auckland while Dillon Boucher battled hard for 13 rebounds but they lacked the depth in class to test a Hawke's Bay side which continues to stack up their title credentials.

- NZPA