Lacey Lowdown:
The third round of Auckland Secondary Schools Premier basketball competition was played on Monday and with the way results have gone to date it appears to be the most open race for some seasons to claim a top four play-off spot.
Only Rosmini College remains unbeaten after pulling away in the second half to beat Avondale College 108-77. Rosmini were led by guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt who tallied 34 points.
Rosmini guard Terrence Abdon scored the first five points of game followed by a brace from Taine Murray making it 9-0 and Avondale coach Kevin Goodwin needing a timeout.
Armand Donaldson (18 points in the first half) got Avondale on the scoreboard with a couple of baskets.
However a series of turnovers forced Goodwin to burn his second timeout inside the first five minutes as Rosmini darted to an 18-6 lead. Jaga Mete and Jack Childs reduced the arrears as Avondale trailed 27-22 at quarter-time.
Perrott-Hunt opened the second quarter scoring to initiate a 10-0 start for the hosts before a Mete steal and dunk cut the Rosmini advantage to 37-28.
A Kainoa Lepou triple and a Reimar Cruz drive extended the Rosmini lead (54-34) although Avondale had the better of the closing stages of the first half. A three from Preston Karatau and six straight points from Donaldson meant the visitors were just eleven points adrift (57-46) at the break.
Karatau’s jump shot and a score from Zakiah Puia looked promising for Avondale before Marvin Williams-Dunn notched a couple of baskets.
Perrott-Hunt landed a pair of threes either side of seven straight points from Sean Murphy as Rosmini took control of the game to lead 79-61 at three-quarter time.
Donaldson returned to the fray after sitting out for a long spell due to foul trouble. He and Mete kept the score ticking over for Avondale but not at the same pace as Rosmini who made it three wins from three outings.