Waikato Pistons 86 Auckland Stars 80
KEY POINTS:
Waikato Pistons booked their spot in the NBL playoffs with a hard-fought victory over the Auckland Stars in Te Awamutu last night.
The result means the first and second qualifiers will meet in the three-match finals series, but it was far from a routine win for the Pistons, with late heroics by import point guard Jason Crowe needed to get past the determined Stars.
The Stars went into the match aiming to keep Crowe quiet and they succeeded in fine fashion in the first half, with the American pointless. Part of Crowe's problem was the three early fouls he gave up that forced him to bench early in the second quarter.
But he returned in the second half to sink the Stars, nailing a crucial basket with 39 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
A red-hot start saw the Stars ease to an early six point lead, with Casey Frank and George Baker nailing threes to set the tone as the Stars shot 60 per cent from the field for the term.
Brian Wethers picked up the slack for the Pistons, his 17 points putting the hosts up by four at the break. Frank maintained his hot touch, nailing his first three shots from beyond the arc to have 19 points by halftime.
Back-to-back threes from Dylan Perfect-Tait put the Stars back in front midway through the third quarter but Crowe finally found his touch with two threes and a sweet assist for Wethers that saw the Pistons hold their four-point lead going into the final quarter.
The Pistons led by a game-high seven points in the final moments before a late Adrian Majstrovich-inspired charge pulled the Stars within two inside the final minute. But Crowe calmly led the Pistons down the court and nailed the crucial shot to send them into the finals.
