After a hard fought win against the Exodus Saints, the HBS Bank Hawks could not make it two on the trot, losing to the Fico Finance Nelson Giants 73-59, the HBS Bank Hawks defeated Saints 100 to 99 with a great 2nd half come back lead by Galen Young with 25 points in one of the great advertisements for basketball in an absolute thriller at TSB Bank Arena on Friday.

while Invercargill the Zerofees Southland Sharks held off the Taranaki Mountain Airs despite losing their import Kevin Braswell early in the contest.

After scoring 100 points the previous night the Hawks, could not do the same against the Giants, shooting 32% from the field and only making three of seventeen three point attempts.

Giants meanwhile took care of business in the fourth quarter, winning the period 22-14, Rod Grizzard their leading scorer, with twenty points, also grabbing thirteen rebounds.

Josh Pace led the Hawks with sixteen points, but was held to only two points in the second half.

Galen Young the only other notable scorer for the Hawks, with ten points and thirteen rebounds.

In the first half, Pace was carrying the Hawks offensively scoring fourteen of their twenty three first half points. But he had no help as he shot 7/10, while the rest of the team shot a combined 3/25.

Giants doing a great defensive job on Paora Winitana, who was held to six points for the game, shooting 2/17 from the field.

As poorly as the Hawks shot, they managed get back in the game in the third quarter, cutting the Giants lead to three.

But the home side rallied to extend their lead back up to nine. A Chris Daniel three against his former team, still gave the Hawks a sniff heading into the final period, only down six.

A Ben Hill three to start the fourth, got the Hawks to within three. Nelson replied with eight unanswered points, to push their lead to eleven.

Hawks would get to within six, but that would be the closest they would get for the remainder of the contest, as the Giants would make seven of eight free throws to finish the game, giving them their second straight win.

The Bay Hawks, still remain at the top, despite the loss, thanks to their win over the Saints the previous night.

Giants now move to fifth place, bumping the Sharks to sixth place, despite their 97-95 win over the Mountain Airs.

Sharks had to defeat the Airs, without import Braswell, who got injured in the first forty seven seconds of the contest. The severity of Braswell’s injury is unknown, but it was severe enough for him not to return.

Sharks other import Kaniel Dickens had his best game of the season so far, leading his side with twenty four points.

Mark Dickel also carrying the team offensively, with a season high 23 points, making five of seven three pointers, adding seven assists and seven rebounds.

With under two minutes remaining, the Sharks up only by four, Dickel missed two three throws.

Jack Leasure who had a game high twenty five, made a field goal to get the Airs within two points.

But Dickel made amends, hitting a huge three to put the lead back up to five with fifty seconds left.

On the next possession Leasure got Dickel to foul him on the three point line, giving the Airs an opportunity to cut the gap to two.

But Leasure made only one free throw, forcing his side to foul the Sharks who finished the game making five of seven free throws, to give them their fourth win of the season.

The game would be a tight one with twenty two lead changes and twelve ties, but in the end the Airs could not take advantage of a short handed Sharks team.

After two close losses down south, the Airs now return home at the bottom of the table, and it won’t get any easier for them next week when they host the Waikato Pistons.

Sharks now are one game away from .500, and will next host the OceanaGold Nuggets in the down south derby.

Saturday, June 4

At Trafalgar Centre, Nelson

Fico Finance Nelson Giants 73 (Rod Grizzard 20, Mika Vukona 15, Darryl Dora 15) HBS Bank Hawks 59 (Josh Pace 16, Galen Young 10, Ben Hill 8), Final

Referees – Melony Wealleans, Yalla Edwards, Brendan Hodgson
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Giants v Hawks Box Score

At The Velodrome, Invercargill

Zerofees Southland Sharks 97 (Kaniel Dickens 24, Mark Dickel 23, Brendon Polyblank 22) Taranaki Mountain Airs 95 (Jack Leasure 25, Marcus Campbell 16, Aaron Bailey-Nowell 15), Final

Referees – Gavin Zimmerman, Bevan Maslin, Matt Bathurst
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Sharks v Airs Box Score

On Friday the Wellington Saints will take scant consolation from the fact they participated in one of the great advertisements for basketball, in losing 100-99 to the Hawke's Bay Hawks in an absolute thriller at TSB Bank Arena tonight.

In front of a vocal, near-capacity crowd, the previously NBL-leading Saints were unable to withstand a strong fourth-quarter run from a Hawks team who now take the home side's place at the top of the table.

Nine points up at the start of the final quarter, Saints coach Pero Cameron sat point guard Lindsay Tait on the bench and it was hardly a coincidence that within three minutes the Hawks had leveled the scores at 83-all.

Vocal at other times this season, there was little Cameron could do than watch on silently and trust his players to find a way to win.

Sadly they couldn't, as Hawks import Galen Young scored from an inbounds pass with four seconds remaining to hand his team a deserved win.

Few regular-season games reach great heights, but the playoff intensity between the Saints and Hawks was striking. In practical terms that's still five games away for the Saints, but we definitely got a preview of what to expect.

The fouls were hard, defences stifling and howls of injustice from the benches coming thick and fast.
If the whistle went, the coaches were up and protesting, regardless of the fact the referees were yet to indicate which team had committed the foul.

For the Hawks, who defend tenaciously but sometimes struggle to score, it was a familiar arm wrestle. But, unable to find their usual rhythm offensively, it was a different matter for the Saints.

They might have been down the odd time this season, but the Saints' march to the top of the NBL table had been characterised by big scoring runs. With the Hawks battling at every possession, though, the home team had to be content with accumulating points in a tit for tat manner.

Scoring by whatever means possible suited someone like Casey Frank, but the Saints' finesse players clearly found things frustrating. They had to rely on jump shots, which is fine if you shoot as well as Corey Webster, it's just that few guys do.

Down 54-53 at halftime, Cameron was soon indebted to the contribution of Tait. A nice player, with plenty of skill and all that, it was his toughness which shone as the second half progressed.

Not only was he brave enough to dribble though the heart of the Hawks defence and score, but his ability to create shots for others was striking. If he'd been playing the point position for the Hawks, rather their limited duo of Jarrod Kenny and Aidan Daly, then the match wouldn't have been a contest at all.

In Dunedin, the Otago Nuggets, who ended a 33-game losing streak 13 days ago, won for the second time in three games, holding on down the stretch to beat the Taranaki Mountain Airs 92-88.

Tall Blacks forward Craig Bradshaw finished with 24 points and seven rebounds and American guard Scott O'Gallagher had 23 points as the Nuggets joined the Mountain Airs and Auckland Pirates with two wins at the bottom of the NBL standings.

NBL RESULTS

Bay Hawks 100 (Galen Young 25, Josh Pace 21, Paora Winitana 15, Arthur Trousdell 13) Wellington Saints 99 (Casey Frank 20, Corey Webster 20, Troy McLean 14, Lindsay Tait 13, Kareem Johnson 12, Erron Maxey 10). HT: 54-53.

Otago Nuggets 92 (Craig Bradshaw 24, Scott O'Gallagher 23, Lance Allred 18, Mark Morrison 11, Sam To'omata 10) Taranaki Mountain Airs 88 (Jack Leasure 32, Marcus Campbell 24, Aaron Bailey-Nowell 11, Zane Meehl 10). HT: 47-43.