Xmen Upset Rip City - Week 3

Xmen handed Rip City its first defeat of the 2022 A-Grade Men’s competition on Tuesday night with an 89-79 in the feature men’s game at ILT Stadium Southland.

Xmen were paced by Isaac Riwhi and Tyler Hawke who contributed 20 a-piece while Jamie Campbell chipped in with 17. Quake Webster did his best to keep Rip City in the contest finishing with an even 30 including six from beyond the arc. Hayden and Ryan Gutsell both finished with 15.

The individual performance of the round came in the late game on Court 1 where Jarrod O’Connor dropped 47, including seven three-pointers, for the Northeast Ballers in their 94 to 57 win over MPMW Harleys Whero. He was ably supported by Mitchel Robinson who scored 21 as the Ballers, without Sharks’ development players Ethan Mitchell and Campbell Scott due to illness, played the 40 minutes with only five players. Matthew Andrews was the only Whero player in double figures with 22 on the night.

Invercargill Magic made it three wins from as many starts with a thumping 128-42 win over MPMW Harleys Pango. Joseph Riwhi was deadly from long range with seven three-pointers on his way to a game high 33 for the Magic with Lawson Wiseman (22) and Connor Coll (21) also featuring prominently.

The other scheduled game between Turbos and Southland boys High School was rescheduled to be played at a later date.

In Women’s A- Grade, the James Hargest College 1st V moved to the top of the table on points differential, outlasting the Kelvin Hotel Rogues 64-59. Laura Jackson with 22 and Holly Cunliffe’s 16 proved to be game winning hands with Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickett top-scoring for the Rogues with 21.

In Gore, the Sparks opened their account for the season with a comfortable 90-57 win over previously unbeaten Eastern Dev. Jen O’Connell turned in the women’s performance of the week with 32 points while Lucy Kean wasn’t far behind her with 25. Erin Howes led the Eastern effort with 22 for the locals.

STANDINGS (After 3 weeks)

WOMEN

1 James Hargest 2-1 (+4)

2 Eastern Dev 2-1 (-12)

3 Sparks 1-1 (+15)

4 Kelvin Hotel Rogues 1-1 (+5)

5 Razzmatazz 0-2 (-12)

MEN

1 Invercargill Magic 3-0 (+120)

2 Xmen 3-0 (+90)

3 Rip City 2-1 (+80)

4 Turbos 1-0 (+54)

5 Northeast Ballers 1-2 (+4)

6 MPMW Harleys Pango 1-2 (-137)

7 SBHS 1st V 0-1 (-20)

8 Brickies 0-2 (-109)

9 MPMW Harleys Whero 0-3 (-82)