Basketball: Hawks slump to eighth loss in row

Hawks forward Daryl Jones tries to stop Taranaki Mountainairs import Marcus Johnson from adding two points in Napier tonight. PHOTO/Warren Buckland

The Indigo Hawks' nightmare run continued as they stumbled to an eighth consecutive defeat in Napier tonight.

The hosts threw everything in the concrete mixer but the result favoured the Taranaki Mountainairs 84-67 at the Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale, in their winless National Basketball League (NBL) campaign.

The visitors ran away with their fourth victory of the season despite a scratchy but convincing final quarter, 23-12, rubbing it in with their two imports' razzle-dazzle display with less than a minute to go.

Marcus Johnson dribbled the ball, rushed down the lane and flicked the ball to fellow American forward Daniel Miller for a dunk to silence a 50 per cent-full arena.

The pair missed out on double-doubles with Miller claiming a match-high 18 points and nine rebounds while Johnson scored 16 points and just as many off the boards.
Jordan Ngatai added 13 while point guard Houston O'Riley got 10.

Taranaki captain Aaron Bailey-Nowell also came agonisingly close to a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

For the Hawks, US import forward Kareem Johnson led the highway project with a double-double 17 points and 11 rebounds, eight defensively.

Guard Alonzo Burton shot 12 points, four rebounds and made two assists.\

Swingman Paora Winitana and forward Darryl Jones added 10 each while Luke Aston chimed in with nine.

The hosts started with a hiss and roar to power to a handsome lead in the first quarter but the visitors slowly, but surely, gnawed away to level terms

Captain Aidan Daly and his troops hustled, rose for rebounds and brought hot hands to power to a 16-7 lead but finished that spell 17-17.

The Airs warmed up to the task with a 28-21 second quarter to pull away for a chat with coach Ross McMains at 45-38.

The sides went tit-for-tat in the third quarter but coach Kirsten Daly-Taylor's men pipped the Airs 17-16 in the third-spell armwrestle although they trailed the visitors, 61-55.