Dillon Boucher and Lindsay Tait have ended their illustrious NBL careers helping the 2 Cheap Supercity Rangers to a 109-99 win over the Go Media Jets.
Both players were required to play big minutes today with only a seven man rotation. Tait tallied 21 points six assists and five rebounds in 38 minutes. 42 year old Boucher played 37 minutes and dished out seven assists.
The torch has certainly been passed onto rookie forward, Dominique Kelman-Poto, who had an impressive stat line of 31 points and 15 rebounds. Marcel Jones had 34 points against his former team, and Daniel Green added 17 for the Rangers who will finish sixth with a 4-14 record.
The Jets found themselves trailing early as the Rangers came out firing with a 38-22 first quarter. After trailing by 16 at halftime the Jets would have a 32-19 third quarter, making for an exciting final period.
Manawatu were only trailing by three with three minutes to go, but the visitors would step up with a 9-2 run to seal the victory. The loss drops the Jets to 3-15 which ties with the Augusta Airs who will finish seventh due to holding the head to head tiebreak over the Jets.
It was always going to be a tough ask this season for the Tim McTamney coached Jets who had a young roster, but with wins over the Sharks and Rams they certainly showed potential. League leading scorer, Daishon Knight, would score a team high 27 points, forward Theo Johnson added 16 points and off the bench rookie forward, Troy Temara, had a career high 22 points.
In Invercargill, the Mike Pero Nelson Giants have got first blood with a 103-87 win over the SIT Zerofees Sharks.
Damon Heuir came out firing with 30 points, Tohi Smith-Milner had 22 points and Finn Delany in his second game back from injury had 21 points for the Giants who claim the second spot finishing the regular season 14-4, their best finish since 2013 when they went 12-4.
The Giants came out firing in the first quarter, shooting 13-17 from the field to outscore the Sharks 33-24. In the second quarter the Giants extended their lead to as many as 18 points and Heuir in particular was the standout scoring 20 first half points.
Southland did get to within eight in the third quarter, but the Giants were able to push their lead back to 14 at the end of the quarter and from there they managed to never let the Sharks back into the game.
Orlando Coleman led the Sharks with 25 points, Jarrad Weeks had 17, and Alex Pledger added 12. Southland struggled from the three point making only 3 of 17.
The Sharks should not feel too concerned going into next week’s semi-final. It was a similar situation for them in 2013 when they were thrashed the week before against the Giants, only to end up beating them in the final to claim their first franchise title.
Week 14: Sunday 29th July
At ILT Stadium, Invercargill
SIT Zerofees Sharks 87 (Orlando Coleman 25, Jarrad Weeks 17, Alex Pledger 12)
Mike Pero Nelson Giants 103 (Damon Heuir 30, Tohi Smith-Milner 22, Finn Delany 21)
Live Stats
At Ballroom Arena, Palmerston North
Go Media Jets 99 (Daishon Knight 27, Troy Temara 22, Kuran Iverson 18)
2 Cheap Supercity Rangers 109 (Marcel Jones 34, Dominique Kelman-Poto 31, Lindsay Tait 21)
Live Stats
Photo: www.photosport.nz
