Basketball: Auckland Stars' season back on track after southern wins

By PETER JESSUP

The Auckland Stars have resurrected their season with two away wins, point guard Lindsay Tait growing in stature against the Canterbury Rams in Christchurch and Otago Nuggets in Dunedin.

Tait top-scored with 20 in an 81-63 win over the Rams including 11 of 11 from the free-throw line, five of those coming consecutively when Nat Connell was fouled out and technicals were called against the home team. Connell left after playing only 18 minutes for four points, directing abuse at referee Dallas Pickering.

It was an ugly scene in an ugly game, Auckland breaking out to an incredible 20-0 lead after seven minutes and only the size of their win in doubt after that.

Casey Frank shot 18 points and took 15 rebounds, the Rams landing only 28 per cent of their field goals.

Tait was the only Stars player to stick the full 40 minutes in their second win, making 28 points in the 84-73 score over the Nuggets.

"Lindsay has stepped his game up from last year," said coach Kenny Stone.

"He's dominating every game, no one can stop him. He is the most valuable player of this league right now and will continue to show it."

Once again, the home side were harassed by the Stars' quick play and accuracy was kept down to 36 per cent, with Dillon Boucher all over Leonard King.

Still, the Nuggets managed something the Rams couldn't - getting to within one point midway through the last quarter.

But Auckland streaked home, with Frank again second-best scorer with 17.

The wins came despite the loss of Ben Valentine and Steven Bell with flu, and forward Mike Homik playing with an illness.

Harbour Heat are in trouble after leaving key players Rob Tuilave and Jeff Niwa at home with wives about to give birth. A 75-86 loss in Nelson to the Giants keeps them down the table with only Otago below.

Junior Tall Black Valance McCarthy continues to step up, top-scoring with 26 points and taking nine rebounds.

Import Purnell Perry had 16 points and an energetic 21 rebounds, but a shortened bench couldn't add enough and nor did Aussie Axel Dench, who sank four from 15 and one of a trio of three-point attempts.

Ed Book, back from a calf tear, led Nelson with 25 points and 12 rebounds, fellow Tall Black Phill Jones had 15 and 10 rebounds, and Darnell McCulloch 14 points and 10 boards, in a performance that was too much for the Heat.

Nelson lead the league after five wins from six, followed by Manawatu Jets and Hawkes Bay Hawks on four wins and a loss, the Waikato Titans next 4-2.

Waikato were the other double-header winners at the weekend, beating the Jets 81-78 at home, then downing the Taranaki Mountain Airs 91-77 with Pero Cameron their destroyer both times.

Mike Chappell top-scored against the Jets with 25 and Geordie Cullen had 20 points, 10 rebounds. But it was Cameron's inside game at Te Awamutu on Friday and New Plymouth on Saturday that sparked a win, the Airs' top-scorer Link Abrams contained as well as he can be.

Cameron matched Abrams' 22 points and had three assists and five rebounds, Cullen scoring 19 and Chappell 17, with the Titans bench outlasting the Airs' to make the win.

Auckland now face another away double-header with Hawkes Bay on Friday and Manawatu on Saturday, the Saints also backing up after the Titans game, against Taranaki on Friday. The Heat go to Otago on Friday.

* Tall Fern Gina Farmer's Hungarian club side MAV Coop Szolnak have made the final of the European Cup tournament, beating Turkish opponents Fenerbache in the semis to make the last game against Russian opponents, to be played overnight.