Basketball: Manawatu Jets pull off brilliant double

By MURRAY McKINNON

The Manawatu Jets stole the show in their National Basketball League double-header in the north.

After beating Harbour Heat 88-70 on Saturday, the Jets downed the Auckland Stars 76-66 yesterday.

Guard Kent Mori, who top-scored for Manawatu with 17, believes it is the first time they have taken the double in Auckland.

"We knew how tough it would be. We focused on Auckland after beating Harbour and we're stoked," he said.

"It was a team defence effort, with David Cooper's rebounding and block shots proving the winner."

Auckland bounced out to an 18-9 lead during the first quarter, before the Jets came back with eight unanswered points through the efforts of Cooper, their import from the Victoria Giants.

Scoring was even during the next quarter. Manawatu enjoyed success from the perimeter as Darron Larsen, Mori and Stacey Lambert dropped three-pointers.

The triple-point bombs continued to rain for the Jets in the third quarter, giving them an eight-point advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.

With solid defence, the Jets held on to a 10-point lead over the final four minutes.

Casey Frank, who had 11 points in the game, tried to stem the turnovers but was fouled out with seven minutes remaining.

Cooper and Jonathon Southey scored 13 and Lambert grabbed 12 for the Jets. Tall Blacks newcomers Aaron Olson, on 18, Lindsay Tait and Mike Homik, both 11, top-scored for Auckland.

Auckland coach Kenny Stone said it was a struggle throughout.

"We didn't execute well to get good shots and we didn't rebound.

We made the runs but failed on the offensive rebounds," he said.

The Stars are still well clear in second on the league table, with the Jets moving to third place.

The woes of North Harbour continued in their loss.

The Jets had a decisive third quarter, 24-11, to give them the edge. New Tall Black Miles Pearce scored 11 for the Jets, along with Lambert. Cooper scored 22 and Mori 17.

For Harbour, Lance Baker, Jeff Niwa and Brendon Pongia were all on 15.

The Waikato Titans continued their unbeaten run in the league when they overcame a determined Hawkes Bay team 88-78 in Hamilton. The Hawks led 20-19 after the first quarter, but Prem Krishna stepped up for the Titans with power play to give Waikato a 44-41 lead at the break. Krishna ended with 21 points for the game. David Hopoi scored 12.

Some spirited work from Paora Winitana, who scored 25, and Paul Henare, 14, kept the Titans honest. Waikato have now won 10 from 10 this season, to top the table.

Tall Black point guard Mark "Sparky" Dickel lived up to his nickname, inspiring the Otago Nuggets to a tight 101-99 double-overtime victory over the Canterbury Rams in Dunedin.

Dickel led the Nuggets' scoring effort with 31 points in his 100th national league appearance.

It was 79-79 at the end of regulation time and 90-90 after the first overtime.

Nelson Giants, league champions in 1994, 1998 and 2000, made a late bid to lift themselves from sixth place on the table to a playoff spot with a convincing 84-68 home result over the Wellington Saints.