Saints v Nuggets
The Scores
Saints 104
Jason Crowe 25, Jeremy Kench 19
Nuggets 74
Akeem Wright 36, Antoine Tisby 18
Quarter 23-23, halftime 40-48, third quarter 72-62
The defending champion trailed the Otago Nuggets 48-40 at the break but burst into life in the third quarter with a remarkably scoring spree.
They outscored the Nuggets 32-14 to seize control of the game and eventually won convincingly 104-74.
Classy guard Jason Crowe was outstanding with 25 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and eight steals. Jeremy Kench chipped in with 19 points and three other players registered doubl- figure scores.
Not so for the Nuggets. They have struggled with depth all season and faded badly over the last 20 minutes.
Perhaps the most disappointing result was the inability of experienced campaigners Leon Henry and Mike Fitchett to score a single point between them. Henry did manage to grab nine rebounds, however.
Aside from the Nuggets' two imports, Riki Buckrell was the only player to make a significant contribution with 14 points.
Earlier, Nuggets forward Akeem Wright had a dream opening half with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal. Fellow import Antoine Tisby was also impressive with 14 points and eight rebounds. Together they accounted for 40 of the Nuggets' 48 first-half points.
Wright found the defence harder to penetrate in the second half but still finished with a game-high 36 points.
Tisby added a further four points in a quiet half.
The Nuggets lost the second half 64-26.
