Division One of the Thomson Trophy Playoffs are now set
A three-way tie eventuated between Christchurch Boys’ High, Rangiora High, and St. Andrew’s College, after each of the teams won on Tuesday night. After using the FIBA classification procedures, Christchurch Boys’ finished in fourth place, Rangiora fifth, and St. Andrew’s in sixth.
Cashmere High finished their unbeaten regular season to finish first, and a guaranteed spot in the semi-finals (and will hold onto the Dowson Cup the rest of the year). Shirley Boys’ finished third after the game of the week battle with CBHS. Middleton Grange finished second and used a gigantic 32-5 run in the third quarter to eliminate Christ’s College from the playoffs. Gators had five double-figure scorers (Ah Li Fenika 15; Jarred Burnett 14; Trey Te Awa 11; Jedidiah Rea 11; Harry Roth 10) with Christ’s College having similar scoring outputs, but only three players above ten points (Will De Geest 14; Mason Whittaker 13; Aiden Palmer 13).
Division Two of the Thomson Trophy Competition had a barnburner eventuate between Ellesmere High School and Lincoln with both teams battling to try force their way into the playoffs, with the top three all but assured (St. Thomas and Ashburton are both 7-1; Papanui 6-2). Ellesmere looked to be cruising, up 57-45 at halftime. A 22-2 run in Lincoln’s favour turned the tide before the visitors managed a tough fight-back – snatching the lead late in the fourth quarter. Back to back three-point buckets for Lincoln’s Kyle Koster (25 points) saw them tie, and then take the lead, as they went on to win 98-96. Cody Wareham top scored with a huge 43-point game for Lincoln, but was outdone individually by Ellesmere’s Sean Lemon (57 points), who had support from Matthew Riches (20 points).
In the Whelan Trophy Competition, Avonside Ellesmere and Lincoln are all tied for first equal in Division II at 7-1, with St. Margaret’s just behind in fourth place at 6-2. The Avonside Lady Eagles easily won against Papanui on Tuesday after a slow start, but finished off the game on a 36-2 run to win by the convincing score of 95-34. Molly Cockburn led the way with 23 points, and had four other double-figure scorers join her in the win (Bella Digby 19; Megan Shannon 18; Kyla Lynch-Brown 11; Cynthia Patea 10). Paige McIlraith top scored with 13 for Papanui and Izzy Orr had 12.
Lincoln High built a 28-10 first quarter lead against St. Margaret’s and despite being tested numerous times, never relinquished it as they hung on to win 60-54. Samantha McCrone scored 15, while both Mandy Herman and Sophie Withell had 10 each for Lincoln. Alex Cooper knocked in 24 points for St. Margaret’s with 24.
On August 15 the NZ Broadcasting School will be live-streaming two fantastic games from Cowles Stadium (free entry as well). A top four Whelan Matchup between Rangi Ruru and Christchurch Girls’ is scheduled to tip off at 6:30pm, with a boys’ Quarter-final matchup between the Shirley Boys’ High Spartans and Christchurch Boys’ following (scheduled to tip at 8:00pm) – we’ll have more details on this next week along with all of the other matchups.
Macca’s Week Nine Results
Thomson Division One:
St. Andrew’s 80-63 Hillmorton
Christchurch Boys’ 87-76 Shirley
Rangiora 73-65 Burnside
Middleton Grange 98-52 Christ’s
Cashmere 121-65 St. Bede’s
Thomson Division Two:
St. Thomas 87-76 Papanui
Cathedral 77-53 Riccarton
Lincoln 98-96 Ellesmere
Kaiapoi 88-80 Linwood
Ashburton 74-45 Hornby
Whelan Division One:
Rangiora 62-56 Ashburton
St. Andrew’s 72-68 Christchurch Girls’
Middleton 92-50 Cashmere
Whelan Division Two:
Hillmorton 50-42 Villa Maria
Ellesmere 67-45 Burnside
Lincoln 60-54 St. Margaret’s
Avonside 95-34 Papanui
Marian 89-50 Te Pā
Picks last week: Whelan 7/9; Thomson 9/11
Year to date: Whelan 59/72; Thomson 69/88
Upcoming Games – all Tuesday 7 August unless noted. Picks are underlined:
Whelan Division II
(5:30pm Monday 6 August) Ellesmere @ St. Margaret’s
5:15pm Villa Maria @ Avonside
5:15pm Burnsde @ Marian (hosted at Cathedral)
5:15pm Te Pā o Rākaihautū @ Lincoln
5:15pm Papanui @ Hillmorton
Whelan Division I
5:15pm Rangi Ruru @ St. Andrew’s (Phil Burns Cup Challenge)
5:15pm Cashmere @ Ashburton
5:15pm Christchurch Girls’ @ Kaiapoi
5:15pm Rangiora @ Middleton Grange
Thomson Division II
5:15pm Riccarton @ Linwood
5:15pm St. Thomas @ Rangiora New Life (hosted at Rangiora)
7:00pm Hornby @ Cathedral
7:00pm Lincoln @ Ashburton
7:00pm Papanui @ Kaiapoi
Thomson Division I
(Empty Week due to U23 Nationals and St. Mary’s Exhibition Game)
