Jets down Rangers to bag first win
The Manawatu¯ Jets are on the board.
Manawatu¯ banked the first victory of their National Basketball League comeback season, outlasting the Super City Rangers 124-121 in the bottom of the table clash on Saturday.
The Jets, who are back in the competition for the first time since 2015, had begun with three consecutive losses.
American duo Daishon Knight (37) and Kuran Iverson (36), the cousin of former NBA star Allen Iverson, combined for 73 of the Jets’ points in a high-scoring duel, where both sides defended poorly.
Iverson went close to registering a rare quadruple double, also adding 10 assists, nine rebounds and eight steals.
Victory was extra sweet for the Jets. Naturalised forward Marcel Jones, an NBL All Star Five member the past two years with Canterbury, was poised to join Manawatu¯ , but ended up signing with the Rangers. Jones made his Rangers debut in the loss, notching 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Both sides shot 60 per cent from the field, with the Jets a warm 15 of 25 (60 per cent) from three-point range.
Elsewhere, the two-time defending champion Wellington Saints handed the Bay Hawks their first loss of the season in the capital on Friday, winning 93-85.
The Hawks held a 70-65 advantage after three quarters, but the Saints stormed home with a 28-15 burst in the final term.
The Nelson Giants also lost for the first time in 2018, being pipped by the Hawks 89-85 in Napier on Saturday. Nelson overcame Taranaki 93-90 in the first game of their North Island double-header 24 hours earlier, but couldn’t make it two wins from two.
Dion Prewster and Ethan Rusbatch paced the Hawks with a combined 42 points, while Australian shooting guard Damon Heuir had a game-high 27 for Nelson.
The Canterbury Rams edged injury-hit Taranaki 104-97 in overtime on Sunday. American forward Winston Shepard was industrious again for the Rams with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists.