Lytton win nail-biter,Game goes into double overtime

SHIELD: Lytton High School’s Ryan Anderson shields the ball from Ben Hutchings of Gisborne Boys’ High School Wolf-pack. Lytton beat Gizzy Gilahs in double overtime last night. File picture by Paul Rickard

BASKETBALL

It doesn’t get too much better.

Sport in extra overtime is a next-level event. Double overtime is — for the winning team — seventh heaven. As it is for Lytton High School, after beating Gizzy Gilahs 49-47 in the men’s B Grade 3 v 6 quarter final of Gisborne club basketball last night at the John McFarlane Memorial Sports Centre at Gisborne Boys’ High.

Ryan Anderson won the jumpball in double overtime and Darius Waititi-Leach — who led the B Grade scorers across all three games in Week 8 with 23 points — made the match-winning lay-up for the “Golden Point” (first to score) victory.

“We started slowly but the boys rallied: they dug in, fought back hard,” said Lytton deputy principal and player-coach Tim Dagger. “They’ve come together as a team, working with a range of people. We’re stoked with those boys’ effort. To win a game like that makes it that much sweeter.”

Lytton trailed the Gizzy Gilahs 3-17 at quarter time and 9-27 at the break but had reduced the deficit to five points (Gilahs 33-28 up) going into the fourth period. The score at the end of regulation time was 40-40 and the score in overtime was 47-47. Julius Tabuada (16pts) and Ralph Heria (11) were the Gilahs’ leading scorers in the Gisborne Basketball Association’s only double overtime game of 2019 to date.

Campion College were victorious in the 1 v 2 clash with Old Surfers, 57-31. Big forward Nelson Brown (16), assistant coach Paora Dewes (15) and captain Orlando Pedraza (12) gave the college three scorers in double-figures. Campion were in control 14-6, 29-15, 45-20 from go to whoa. Surfers Luke Bradley and Mercy Bristow both scored 9 points but Shane McClutchie, head coach of Campion, the competition leaders, was pleased.

“It was a game full of emotion, a physical game,” he said.

“We moved the ball quickly, made quick lay-ups, shot well from the perimeter and pushed until they ran out of steam.”

The Wolf-pack won the Boys’ High derby with GBHS Blue 51-41 in 4 v 5, Finn Vette (16) and Oscar Ruston (14) the Pack’s most prolific scorers.

For GBHS Blue, Luka Russell, Paku Wilson and Seb Wilson all scored eight points in a hard-fought encounter. The Ray Noble-coached Pack led 21-10, 32-17, 40-29 throughout.