The Taylor Hawke's Bay Hawks have bounced back from yesterday's loss to the Cigna Wellington Saints and walked away with a 12-point win over the 2Cheap Cars Supercity Rangers.
The Hawks for the entirety of the Saturday night game and finished the first period with a 22-20 lead. Ethan Rusbatch then decided to impose himself on the Rangers and scored 11 points in the second quarter. Venky Jois kept the visitors in the match by scoring eight points on his own but would trail by nine at the half.
Rusbatch picked up where he left off at the start of the half and bettered his second-quarter effort by pouring home 14 points, with the majority coming from three-point land. EJ Singler joined his running mate in the Hawks hot third quarter by adding nine of his 26 points for the night in the same period. Jois would notch a double-double by the end of third but could not get his team to within striking distance. The Hawks were in cruise control for the majority of the final quarter and finished with a 12-point win over a persistent Rangers side.
The Hawks will be happy with the way they bounced back from last night's defeat and their big names stood up when they were needed. Rusbatch received the most oohs and ahhs with the brilliant shooting night, but equally as impressive was EJ Singler who snagged in 12 rebounds to go with a great points tally. Captain Kenny contributed in nearly every category and was a great facilitator for teammates. The Rangers will be disappointed with tonight's result but will happy to walk away with a win after two games on the road. Venky Jois was the pick of the bunch for Rangers, finishing with 26 points and 14 boards. Quarterman and Egwu were also lively and were key in keeping the match close through three quarters.
The Hawks play the Huskies next Sunday (April 21) in the second round of the Sal's NBL, while the Rangers go up against the Wheeler Motor Company Canterbury Rams in their first home game next Saturday (April 20).
FULL GAME STATS HERE
Hawke's Bay Hawks
Points
Ethan Rustbatch 34
EJ Singler 26
Dion Prewster
Rebounds
Jarrod Kenny 12
EJ Singler 12
Ethan Rustbatch 8
Assists
Jarrod Kenny 7
Ethan Rustbatch 3
EJ Singler 3
Steals
Jarrod Kenny 2
EJ Singler 1
Darryl Jones 1
Blocks
Kenny 2
Supercity Rangers
Points
Venky Jois 26
Tim Quarterman 19
Nnanna Egwu 18
Rebounds
Venky Jois 14
Nnanna Egwu 11
Tim Quarterman 8
Assists
Tim Quarterman 4
Randall Bishop 4
Nnanna Egwu 3
Steals
Tim Quarterman 4
Venky Jois 3
Nnanna Egwu 3
Blocks
Nnanna Egwu 3