Basketball: Rams wilt under Heat

Harbour Heat retained their undefeated record and underlined their status as a serious NBL contender with a convincing 94-73 demolition of bottom placed Canterbury Rams at The Furnace last night.

The winless Rams (0-5) recovered from an early six-point deficit to take a surprising 22-18 first quarter lead but the Heat (3-0) picked things up in the second quarter, going on a 19-3 run to take a 45-39 halftime advantage.

The second half was one-way traffic as the Rams struggled to contain the shooting of Harbour's Australian import Oscar Forman and the giant frame of fellow Australian Tim Behrendorff.

Forman led the way with 25 points as The Heat shot an impressive 58 per cent from the field, while US import Michael Joiner top scored for the Rams with 22 points.