The University of Canterbury produced one of their best seasons to date having teams in both the Men’s and Women’s first round finals on Saturday at Cowles Stadium however they were unable to capture the trophy in either competition. In the Hoben Trophy final for the Men’s Premier competition Canterbury University faced the Marty Davison led Pioneer Pacers.  For a game that promised much the game fell flat when Varsity big Brent Fisher left the court just before half time with a game ending knee injury. This allowed the flood gates to open for MVP of the game Ariel Mepana. Mepana has always been a contributor in games at both ends of the court but his stat line of 30 points and 17 rebounds was by far his best performance of the season so far.  Despite being scoreless at the half Marty Davison directed the game with nine assists to go with his nine second half point and nine rebounds. Harley Campbell (23pts) hit five triples during the game and was the main support act to Mepana.  Varsity had no answer losing the second half 27-55 despite solid performances from Dan Pau’u (14), Will Tolhoek (14) and Josh Petermann (12). Final score Pioneer 88 beat Varsity 65

Lincoln University took the lead from the outset in their third/fourth play off against Gators and never relinquished it. Sam Smith had another man of the match performance with 30 points and was supported well by James Cawthorn (16), Nick Erwood (15) and Xavier Shaw (12). Shaw also dominated the boards grabbing 12 in total. Gators failed to get going with the usual sharp shooters of Cam Chalmers and Inga Solofuti being held to single figures. Stephen Nosworthy was the pick of the Gators nabbing 22 points with Jordan Duggan and Blase Dowall chiming in with 11 each. Final score Lincoln 83 beat Gators 69

The fight for fifth saw a much improved Wolverines side edge out Checkers. Taylor Britt showed his versatility with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Kauta was the best of the Checkers shooters with 18. Final score Wolverines 90 beat Checkers 70.

Men’s Premier Grade Hoben Trophy:

Pioneer Pacers 88(Ariel Mepana 30,17R, Harley Campbell 23, Cam Costley 10) def Canterbury University 65(Dan Pau’u 14,10R, Will Tolhoek 14, Josh Petermann 12) HT: 33-38.

Lincoln University 83 (Sam Smith 30,8R, James Cawthorn 16,8R, Nick Erwood 15,8R, Xavier Shaw 12,12R) def Gators 69 (Stephen Nosworthy 22, Blase Dowall 11,9R, Jordan Duggan 11)  HT:37-27.

Wolverines 90 (Taylor Britt 23, 10R, Shou Nisbet 14,8R, Jeremy Hancock 11,10R, Jahnim Campbell 10 def Checkers 70 (Jordan Kauta 18, Pip Johnston 14, Nat Connell 10,10R) HT: 50-37.

Hoben Trophy final placings: Pioneer 1^st, University 2^nd, Lincoln University 3^rd, Gators 4^th, Wolverines 5^th, Checkers 6^th, Atami 7^th.

 

For the second week in a row the Lincoln University Women’s Premier team matched up with the University of Canterbury’s, as both teams met in a bid to claim the Patron’s Trophy. LU was missing some key bench players, but welcomed back captain Shea Crotty, and came out fast taking a 16-4 first quarter lead, largely thanks to three 3 pointers from LU Scholar Courtney Hamblin. UC finished the first half strong closing the gap to 26-19 at the break, and eventually grabbing a 33-29 lead midway through the third quarter, largely on the back of UC veteran Pip Connell’s 16 points. LU then stormed back to take a 38-36 led as the teams headed into the final quarter. Having been held in check for most of the game WBC MVP Fran Edmondson came to life, scoring 16 of her game high 22 points in the 4^th, including a go ahead three-point play to break a 55-55 tie with 38 seconds remaining. Sapphire Wairau was unable to hit a potentially game tying three, and LU went on to a 59-55 win and reclaimed the Patron’s Trophy, whilst remaining undefeated as they head into the championship round.

In the games for the minor placings Pioneer turned the tables on North Canterbury 65-59 to take third , Halswell beat Gators 51-39 for 5^th and Minties had a comprehensive victory 60-37 over the young Wolverines team to avoid the wooden spoon.

Next week will see the start of the championship round for both the men and the women’s premier teams.

 

Women’s Premier Patron’s trophy:

Lincoln University 59 (Fran Edmondson 22,10R,2B Courtney Hamblin 13,11R,5A4S,3B Tessa Morrison 11,5S) def University of Canterbury 55 (Pip Connell 16, Ashlee Rigter 12). HT: 26-19.

Pioneer 65 (Ashley Gayle 21, Jo Casey 21) def North Canterbury 59 (Mary Goulding 21, Ash Fane 18) HT: 36-30.

Halswell 51 (Tessa Boagni 16, Cecilia Zambrini 13) def Gators 39  (Sam Duggan 14, Tsubasa Nisbet 11) HT:23-20.

Minties 60 (Anastasia Ah Tong 15, Natasha Van Vuuren 12, Jess Rathgen 11,) def Wolverines 37 (Kendall Hastie 10, Chelsea Corbett 10). HT 25-21).

Patron’s Trophy Final Placings: Lincoln University 1^st, Canterbury University 2^nd, Pioneer 3^rd , North Canterbury 4^th, Halswell  5^th, Gators 6^th, Minties 7^th, Wolverine 8^th

 

Article courtesy Sharon Erwood and Joshua Thompson