The Appliance Shed Harbour Heat proved too strong for a gallant 0800 Easy LPG Bay Hawks in the NZ Community Trust National Basketball League at the North Shore Events Centre tonight, winning 83-73.

In truth the Heat never quite got out of third gear in this one but still had plenty to spare against a Bay side fighting for their own place in the play offs. The win maintains slim hopes of a Heat top four finish, one that requires a perfect run from the Heat and a few other results to go their way.

The game started however with Tony Webster’s side apparently in neutral as the visitors showed plenty of energy with an unanswered ten point run to get the game underway. But a time out and strong words from Coach Webster saw the Heat turn the tables with a run of their own, outscoring the Hawkes 19-2 over the next few minutes to lead by 3 at the first quarter break.

With Corey Webster starting to find his range and Mike Bell dominating the boards the Heat never looked in trouble, extending the lead to 6 at the break with the Heat rotating their bench on a regular basis with most players getting plenty of minutes ahead of the play-offs.

Both teams fell away in the second half with the Heat shooting at 34%, but the Hawks were worse at just 27% as both sides struggled to find the hoop with any consistency.

Mychal Green was his usual energetic self, scoring 16 points with 8 boards and a game high 5 steals to emphasise his value to the winners. Corey Webster led all scorers with 27 while Mike Bell collected 11 boards (9 defensive) and 3 blocked shots.

Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 83

Corey Webster 27, Mychal Green 16, BJ Anthony 11, Daniel Munday 10

0800 Easy LPG Bay Hawks 73

Chuck Bailey 19, Mark Morrison 19, Ben Hill 13