Manawatu finally triumphed over Otago 89-83 in a see-saw National Basketball League match in Palmerston North yesterday.
Manawatu dominated the first quarter 26-10 only to see Otago bounce back to take the second stanza 29-19.
Opening up a 45-39 lead, Manawatu kept Otago at bay in maintaining a six-point margin
after the break. Jeremiah Trueman, with 17 points for the game, hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to give his team a 71-60 lead going into the final spell.
Darryl Hudson led Manawatu with 21, while rookie forward Duane Bailey hit a handy double double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. For Otago, Scott O'Gallagher featured with a game-high 28, while Craig Bradshaw made his mark with 18 points and nine rebounds.
On Saturday, Hawkes Bay were unable to back up their hard-fought single-point win over Wellington on Friday, falling 73-59 to Nelson.
Managing only 32 per cent from the field, the Bay's shooting was below-par as they struggled to sink three from 17 at the three-point line.
Nelson dominated the fourth quarter 22-14, with Rod Grizzard grabbing 13 rebounds and sinking 20 points as leading scorer.
For Hawkes Bay, Josh Pace led with 16 points, but was held to only two in the second half. Hawkes Bay still lead the competition. Nelson move into fifth place.
In Saturday's other game, Southland held off Taranaki 97-95 in Invercargill despite losing key import Kevin Braswell in the first minute. The Sharks' other import, Kaniel Dickens, had his best game of the season, leading his side with 24 points.
Mark Dickel also carried the team offensively, with a season-high 23 points, making five of seven three pointers, adding seven assists and seven rebounds.
For Taranaki, Jack Leasure had a game high 25 and Marcus Campbell made 16 points with 17 rebounds.
- NZPA
