Gators gave the departing Marques Whippy a perfect send off when they defeated the previously unbeaten University of Canterbury team in the Hoben Trophy Final.
Piet Van Hasselt’s UC team was served well by Konrad Tota’s 25 points, with Josh Petermann scoring 16, and both Nathan Campbell and Brent Fisher both scoring a dozen points each. An early ten-point lead for UC was eaten away by the Gators though, to be only three points at half time (39-36).
A 20-8 run in Gators’ favour to open the third quarter saw them move out to an eleven-point lead of their own, with Marques Whippy’s 24 points being a huge key in this run. After UC managed to close the gap to only three points late in the game,Tim Bennetts’ Gators team managed to score 13 of the final 18 points in the game, winning the Hoben Trophy 91-80. Sam Lees and Tom Higgins both had 19 apiece for Gators, and Cam Chalmers had 12, to lend some scoring punch to Whippy’s big game.
The Patron’s trophy Women’s Premier Final between North Canterbury and Lincoln University was deferred due to the untimely death of 45 year-old Mark Whittaker, deputy chairperson for North Canterbury Basketball.
Miles Toyota Men’s Premier League Results
Hoben Trophy Final: Gators 91 (Marques Whippy 24; Tom Higgins 19; Sam Lees 19; Cam Chalmers 12) University of Canterbury 80 (Konrad Tota 25; Josh Petermann 16; Nathan Campbell 12; Brent Fisher 12), HT 36-39
Other results were: Checkers 78 (Joshua Lowe 22, 13r; Joe Cook-Green 14, 4s) Pioneer Pacers 63 (Marty Davison 18, Oli Davies 13), HT: 46-25
Lincoln University 81 (Sam Smith 22, 9r; Ben Bowie 18, 15, 4s; Ben Williams 14, 5a; Josiah Williams 11, 11r) Wolverines 75 (Kieran Ball 38, 11; Jordan Duggan 15). HT: 41-41
Miles Toyota Women’s Premier League Results
Patron’s trophy Final North Canterbury v Lincoln University deferred
Pioneer 79 (Tessa Burry 27; Lauryn Hippolite 24; Maja Burry 12) University of Canterbury 36 (Lily Nicol 10; Ashlee Rigter 10). HT: 37-20
Minties 61 (Tessa Boagni 16; Sam Duggan 13) Halswell 52 (Laken Wairau 16). HT: 36-23
