NBL Round 1 (Regular Season): Panthers lose their first game against Hawks

The Regular Season in NBL just started. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Panthers in Tamatea on Wednesday night. Visitors were rolled over by Hawks 112-78. Hawks dominated down low during the game scoring 72 of its points in the paint compared to Panthers' 44. They outrebounded Panthers 56-34 including a 43-24 advantage in defensive rebounds. Hawks looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The former international guard Jackson Ball (191-2008) stepped up and scored 40 points (!!!), 9 rebounds and 4 assists (on 15-of-19 shooting from the field) for the winners and American forward Darnell Cowart (203-1998, college: Murray St.) chipped in 19 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. At the losing side American point guard Alex Robinson (185-1995, college: TCU) responded with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Very significant was Bulls' 19-point road victory against Tuatara 81-62. American guard Tae Hardy (190, college: UTEP) nailed 30 points and 7 assists for the winning side and Reuben Te Rangi accounted for 16 points. American swingman Buay Tuach (198-1995, college: LMU, agency: Haylett Sports) came up with 14 points and 8 rebounds for Tuatara in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Bulls will play against Whai in Tauranga in the next round. Tuatara will have a break next round.
A very close game took place in Tamatea between Hawks and Jets. Hawks got a very close home victory over Jets. Hawks managed to escape with a 3-point win 103-100 on Saturday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Jackson Ball fired 36 points (!!!) and 8 rebounds for the winners. Corey Webster produced 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for lost side. Hawks will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Jets will play against Airs in New Plymouth and hope to win that game.

In the last two games of round 1 Rams lost to Whai on the opponent's court 70-86. Winless Nuggets lost to undefeated Sharks in a home game 70-98.



Hawks - Panthers 112-78

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Panthers in Tamatea on Wednesday night. Visitors were rolled over by Hawks 112-78. Hawks dominated down low during the game scoring 72 of its points in the paint compared to Panthers' 44. They outrebounded Panthers 56-34 including a 43-24 advantage in defensive rebounds. Hawks looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The former international guard Jackson Ball (191-2008) stepped up and scored 40 points (!!!), 9 rebounds and 4 assists (on 15-of-19 shooting from the field) for the winners and American forward Darnell Cowart (203-1998, college: Murray St.) chipped in 19 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Five Hawks players scored in double figures. At the losing side American point guard Alex Robinson (185-1995, college: TCU) responded with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals and point guard Jaylen Gerrand (183-1996, college: Umpqua CC) scored 16 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Hawks: J.Ball 40+9reb+4ast, D.Cowart 19+12reb+7ast, C.Scott 16+5reb+6ast, C.Bush III 13+11reb+1ast, K.Kara 12+8reb+3ast, J.Murphy 6+6reb+1ast
Panthers: A.Robinson 24+8reb+5ast, J.Gerrand 16+3reb+2ast, L.Henry 8+6reb+1ast, C.Lepou 5+1ast, F.Wineera-Mulvihill 5+1reb+1ast, D.Matakatea 5+2reb

Whai - Rams 86-70

Tauranga used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Christchurch 86-70 on Thursday night. The former international guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt (191-2000, college: S.Dakota) fired 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. American point guard Chris Jones (178-1991, college: Louisville, agency: Haylett Sports) chipped in 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The former international forward Tohi Smith-Milner (205-1995, college: Polk State CC) produced 18 points and 8 rebounds and the former international guard Kaia Isaac (185-2003) added 16 points and 7 rebounds respectively for lost side. Four Whai and five Rams players scored in double figures. Tauranga will meet at home Nuggets in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Rams will play against Giants and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Whai: K.Perrott-Hunt 27+6reb+4ast, C.Hopoi 17+6reb+2ast, C.Jones 15+6reb+5ast, X.Marsters 12+3reb, T.Tuhi Lewis 5+3reb, S.Bairstow 3+6reb+1ast
Rams: T.Smith-Milner 18+8reb+3ast, K.Isaac 16+7reb+2ast, M.Darling 14+4reb+2ast, T.Britt 11+4reb+3ast, T.Isaac 10+6reb+5ast, M.Martin 1+1reb

Nuggets - Sharks 70-98

But Nuggets were not able to use a home court advantage and were smashed by the opponent from Southland 98-70 on Friday night. Sharks looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. American forward Josiah Allick (203-2001, college: Nebraska) fired a double-double by scoring 26 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Guard TuKaha Cooper (191-2002) chipped in 19 points and 7 assists. Dominican forward Jose Perez (196-1998, college: Arizona St.) produced 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists and forward Christian Martin (187) added 16 points and 9 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Sharks and four Nuggets players scored in double figures. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Sharks will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Nuggets will play against Whai in Tauranga and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Sharks: J.Allick 26+11reb+2ast, A.Burton 19+2reb+2ast, T.Cooper 19+4reb+7ast, K.Boone 14+6reb+1ast, C.Asberry 11+4reb+6ast, J.Helu 7+4reb+2ast
Nuggets: J.Perez 16+9reb+4ast, C.Martin 16+9reb+3ast, D.Knox 11+1reb+1ast, P.Freeman 11+3reb, J.Aitcheson 7+3reb+2ast, M.Stodart 4+3reb

Hawks - Jets 103-100

A very close game took place in Tamatea between Hawks and Jets. Hawks got a very close home victory over Jets. Hawks managed to escape with a 3-point win 103-100 on Saturday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Hawks looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The former international guard Jackson Ball (191-2008) fired 36 points (!!!) and 8 rebounds for the winners. American forward Darnell Cowart (203-1998, college: Murray St.) chipped in a double-double by scoring 25 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. The former international Corey Webster (188-1988, college: Lambuth) produced 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and guard Dontae Russo-Nance (190-2005) added 25 points and 6 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Hawks will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Jets will play against Airs in New Plymouth and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Hawks: J.Ball 36+8reb+3ast, D.Cowart 25+13reb+5ast, J.Murphy 19+5reb, C.Scott 10+4reb+10ast, C.Bush III 8+5reb, K.Kara 3+1reb+3ast
Jets: C.Webster 32+6reb+4ast, D.Russo-Nance 25+6reb+3ast, M.Gibson 25+4reb+1ast, E.Williams Jr. 12+7reb+3ast, M.Mitchell 6+8reb+4ast, T.Matambanadzo 0

Tuatara - Bulls 62-81

Very significant was Bulls' 19-point road victory against Tuatara 81-62. Bulls dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Tuatara's 30. Bulls forced 20 Tuatara turnovers. American guard Tae Hardy (190, college: UTEP) nailed 30 points and 7 assists for the winning side and the former international swingman Reuben Te Rangi (198-1994) accounted for 16 points. American swingman Buay Tuach (198-1995, college: LMU, agency: Haylett Sports) came up with 14 points and 8 rebounds and the other American import guard Charles Pride (193-1999, college: St.Bonaventure) added 11 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Tuatara in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Bulls will play against Whai in Tauranga in the next round. Tuatara will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Bulls: T.Hardy 30+4reb+7ast, R.Te Rangi 16+1reb+1ast, M.Jones 9+5reb+1ast, T.Cameron 6+7reb+3ast, C.Vano 5+2reb+2ast, T.Gloger 4+9reb+1ast
Tuatara: B.Tuach 14+8reb+2ast, D.Wilkie 12+3reb, C.Pride 11+7reb+1ast, J.Wylie 5+7reb+1ast, C.McIntosh 5, T.Vodanovich 5+1reb+1ast