NBL victories for Giants, Rams, Saints
- NZ Sports Wire
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
With a pair of new imports, the Nelson Giants recorded just their second win of the National Basketball League (NBL) season.
During the international break, the NBS Giants added two Americans, forward Jeremy Combs and guard Andrew Jones, to their roster and got immediate benefit, downing the Hawke's Bay Hawks 98-82 in Napier on Friday night.
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Combs exploded for 36 points (14/20 FG, 2/3 3pt), 11 rebounds and five assists in his first NBL game.
Fellow imports Andrew Jones and Alex Robinson Jr also had big games.
Jones, in his NBL debut, put up 18 points (5/7 FG, 2/7 3pt), four boards and three assists, and Robinson 16 points (7/13 FG), seven rebounds and 10 assists.
Australian forward Dan Grida had 28 points (10/13 FG, 2/6 3pt), 10 rebounds and five assists for the Hawks against his former team.
Junior Tall Black Jackson Ball continued his impressive season with 22 points (5/9 FG, 6/8 FT) and four assists.
Import Wani Swaka Lo Buluk scored 18 points (4/8 FG, 3/5 3pt) but the rest of the Hawks lineup managed just 14 points combined.
In Saturday's NBL action, the two-time defending champion Canterbury Rams and Wellington Saints picked up home wins to both move into the top-two.
The Rams started strong, benefitted from some late home-court referee calls and scored the game's final five points to defeat the Auckland Tuatara 96-92 at Christchurch's Cowles Stadium, improving to 9-2.
Australian point guard Sean Macdonald scored a team-high 27 points (9/18 FG, 4/10 3pt, 5/6 FT) to go with four rebounds and four assists as all five starters scored in double-digits for the Rams.
Import forward CJ Penha had 19 points (8/17 FG) and seven boards, Kiwi Walter Brown 18 points (6/8 FG, 3/5 3pt), seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, Tohi Smith-Milner 12 points (4/9 FG, 3/6 3pt) and two steals, and Taylor Britt 11 points (2/11 FG, 7/8 FT) and six assists.
Imports Charles Pride and Buay Tuach combined for 55 of Auckland's points and almost willed the Tuatara to victory.
Pride had a game-high 31 points (13/19 FG, 3/6 3pt), 11 rebounds, three assists, a steal and block, while Tuach put up 24 points (9/16 FG, 5/7 FT), 12 boards and two steals. Kiwis Rob Loe (10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks) and Tom Vodanovich (11 points) also contributed.
The Saints took advantage of a woeful shooting performance from the Manawatu Jets, rolling to a 108-61 victory at TSB Arena, moving to 9-3.
The Jets shot just 26 percent (20-of-75) from the field and 14 percent (4-of-27) on three-point attempts, falling behind by 20 by halftime and seeing the scoreline balloon in the fourth period, when they scored just (a possible NBL record) four points.
Wellington had five players score in double-digits, led by Australian forward Nick Marshall with 19 points (5/8 FG, 3/5 3pt, 6/9 FT) and seven rebounds.
Tall Blacks guard Izayah Le’afa finished with 18 points (5/15 FG, 4/12 3pt, 4/4 FT), five assists, four steals and four blocks, while American big Nick Muszynski put up 16 points (7/9 FG), nine rebounds and four blocks.
Kiwi guard Shea Ili scored 15 points (5/10 FG, 4/5 FT), along with eight boards, nine assists and two steals, and Rangi Dougall-Mita added 10 points (4/6 FG).
Dontae Russo-Nance (18 points), Miles Gibson (17 points) and Isaac MillerJose (11 points) were the only Jets in double figures.