Classy Australian guard Gary Boodnikoff played a starring role as the Hawke's Bay Hawks swooped into Dunedin and spoiled the Otago Nuggets' hopes of a rare season-opening National Basketball League (NBL) victory last night.
The Hawks beat the Nuggets 89-75 at the Edgar Sports Centre.
Inspired by debutant Boodnikoff's 18 points, includingfour-of-seven from three-point range and 10 rebounds, plus a strong finish from Tall Black Paora Winitana, the Hawks ruined the night for Nuggets captain Leonard King.
Statistically, King's first NBL appearance in six years could be described as a success. He finished with 17 points, seven boards, two assists and a steal but spent less than 23 minutes on the court when he ran into foul trouble early in the third quarter.
His jump shot looked rusty but there were signs of the King of old when he cut to the basket and defended with the energy of a man half his age.
The Hawks did most of their damage in the second quarter, in which they blew out the Nuggets 32-18.
"They really made us pay. We never recovered from that," Otago coach Todd Marshall said.
"We basically kept pretty close to them for the rest of the game but Hawke's Bay are a classy team and they just wouldn't let us back into it.
"Offensively, we were a bit disjointed. But I think we showed enough to suggest we can turn into quite a nice team."
Marshall was pleased with the contributions of his two Australian imports Michael Kingma and Andrew Lattimer, both appearing in their first NBL game.
The Nuggets led 18-10 after the first quarter but were behind 42-36 and then 60-51 after which repair seemed too hard.
A key for the Hawks was Breakers guard Winitana, who came up trumps down the stretch with some key baskets.
New Hawks coach Shawn Dennis, an Australian, was delighted to start the season with a win.
"I'm stoked. That was a really good hit-out for us and to get the points against the Nuggets at home is fantastic," Dennis said.
"We hung in there when things got rough in the first quarter but then I think you saw our greater depth come through."
