In the final Round 2 game of Sal’s NBL ‘24 the Taylor Hawke’s Bay Hawks, paced by 33 points from Keanu Rasmussen, thumped the Southland Sharks 107-80 at Rodney Green Arena, Napier on Sunday evening.
Whilst Rasmussen was the star performer for the Hawks he received fine support from Josh Roberts who added 15 boards to 19 points. Lucas Sutherland scored 16 points, Jordan Ngatai 11 and debutant import Isaiah Moore was a thorn in the Sharks side all game with 17 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
La Gerald Vick led the Sharks effort with 26 points and 11 rebounds, Callum McRae also posted a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds), while Marcale Lotts – ineffective early on - scored all his 10 points in the final quarter.
The Sharks, despite having parted company with American guard Josh Turner earlier in the week and being without the services of injured captain Alonzo Burton made a promising start.
Vick lit up the opening quarter, the Memphis native scoring 15 points as the visitors appeared to have put their issues behind them to open up a 24-18 lead.
The Hawks welcomed back Jordan Ngatai after a season playing in Finland and the 77 cap Tall Black tied proceedings early in the second frame.
A triple from Rasmussen stretched the Hawks lead to eight points before McRae’s inside points and Wheeler’s arching treble cut the deficit to two at the major break – the Hawks ahead 45-43 but the Sharks showing plenty of fight.
That all changed in the third quarter. A trio of triples – two from Rasmussen and one from Ngatai gave the Hawks a 60-48 advantage and with Rasmussen drilling his fourth from beyond the arc and Moore a second from deep the hosts had enjoyed a 28-15 quarter to head into the final ten minutes with a 73-58 lead.
The Hawks continued their dominance in the fourth period - Rasmussen and Co in no mood to give up their advantage in front of the home fans – the Sharks outscored 62-37 in the second half.
Next up for the Hawks is a trip to Palmerston North on Thursday to take on the Manawatu Jets while the winless Sharks will return to Invercargill to host the unbeaten Wellington Saints on Monday April 15.
Result: Taylor Hawke’s Bay Hawks (107) defeated Southland Sharks (80)
Leading Players:
Hawks: Rasmussen (35pts), Roberts (19pts and 15rebs), Moore (17pts, 10 assists, 7rebs and 4 steals), Sutherland (16pts), Ngatai (11pts and 6 assists)
Sharks: Vick (26pts, 11rebs and 6 assists), McRae (14pts and 10rebs), Lotts (10pts), Wheeler (9pts)
MVP Votes:
Keanu Rasmussen (Hawks) - 10 votes
Isaiah Moore (Hawks) - 7 votes
LaGerald Vick (Sharks) - 6 votes
Josh Roberts (Hawks) - 3 votes
Luke Sutherland (Hawks) - 2 votes
Callum McRae (Sharks) - 1 vote
Andrew Wheeler (Sharks) - 1 vote
In the earlier Sky Broadband Rapid League game:
In the first ever double overtime Rapid League game the Napier RSA Hawks defeated the Southland Sharks 32-30 with guard Jackson Ball (14 points) making the winning basket half way through the second additional minute.
A Ben Hall free-throw with nine seconds left in regulation gave the Sharks a 28-25 lead, and apparent victory, only for Ball to tie proceedings with a deep three.
Tommy Fergusson and Connor Coll exchanged scores in the first additional minute before Ball, who scored 14 points on 4 from 7 from the field, settled the contest.
Points were hard to come by in the opening quarter – the Hawks ahead 8-5.
Highlighting the increased tempo in the second quarter was a two handed flush from Hall. The Sharks captain led all scorers at half-time with 6 points – the scores tied at 15 points apiece at the interval.
Threes from Connor Coll and Quake Webster gave the Sharks a six point lead and they were still ahead at the three-quarter mark (21-17) before the hosts had the better of the final period.
Result: Napier RSA Hawks (32) defeated Southland Sharks (30)
Leading Players
Hawks : Ball (14 points), Fergusson (), Balin Casson (4 points and 5 rebounds)
Sharks: Coll (12 points), Hall (11 points), Quake Webster (5 points), Andrew Wheeler (2 points and 4 assists)
MVP Votes:
Jackson Ball (Hawks) - 10 votes
Tommy Fergusson (Hawks) - 8 votes
Ben Hall (Sharks) - 3 votes
Quake Webster (Sharks) - 3 votes
Connor Coll (Sharks) - 2 votes
Riley Snow (Sharks) - 2 votes
Balin Casson (Hawks) - 1 vote
Kobe Kara (Hawks) - 1 vote
