Xmen finding form at right time - Week 8

Kelvin Hotel XMen sounded a warning to the rest of the A-Grade Men's top four with a thumping performance on Tuesday night to hand out a 127-73 thumping of Southland Boys High School.

Boys High jumped out to an early lead and held a 25-19 advantage after the first quarter but from there XMen took over, running away with the contest to the tune of 108-48 over the remaining three quarters. Tyler Hawke went off to finish with the highest tally of the night with 46 and was ably assisted by Jamie Campbell's 30. Cody Stevens topped the scoring for Southland boys with 26 with Mack Raines adding 16 of his own.

Invercargill Magic completed a clean sweep of the round-robin with a 86-53 win over The Turbos in a prelude to next week's semifinal. Magic did it by committee with five scorers in double-figures. Dylan Pennicott finished with 23 while Josiah Laracy added 15. By contrast Tevita Latu's 21 saw him as the only Turbo to reach double figures.

Rip City survived some early nervous moments against MPMW Harleys Pango with Pango leading at the halftime break 33-30. Rip City kicked clear over the second twenty minutes, led by Quake Webster's 27, Jayson Collett's 23 and 14 from Hayden Gutsell. Gemar Atenta did his best to get Pango home scoring 40 of his team's 60 points with Tierney Horler adding the bulk of the remaining offence with 14.

In the other Men's contest the Northeast Ballers claimed a comfortable 34-point win over MPMW Harleys Whero, 94-60. Ethan Mitchell drained eight three-pointers on his way to 33 and was ably assisted by Mitchell Robinson's 24 and Campbell Scott's 19. Kupa Hawea-White topped the box score for Whero with 14.

Next week's semifinals will see Magic face The Turbos and XMen take on Rip City for places in the Grand Final.

In Women's action, James Hargest jumped back to the top of the standings with two weeks to play with a crucial 87-77 victory over Sparks. Hargest looked the part in the first half, jumping out to a 17-point halftime lead but Sparks got themselves back into the contest closing the game up to as close as 4 down the stretch. Maddie Tinnock was in the middle of everything Hargest did with 35 while Laura Jackson (17) and Holly Cunliffe (15) played vital hands. Morgan Hunter added 36 of her own to help bring Sparks back into the game with Grace Holland, Ruby Duffy & Lucy Kean adding double-digit returns.

Razzmatazz opened their account for the season with a 65-61 win over Eastern Dev. After a number of near misses throughout the season Tyra Dunn's 30-point haul got her team over the line with Sahdina Anderson adding 12. Ella King and Erin Howes both finished with 20 for Eastern.

James Hargest are on the bye next week and face Razzmatazz in the final round. A Hargest win in a fortnight combined with one Kelvin Hotel Rogues loss over the next two weeks will get the students home. Sparks also remain in the hunt but after Tuesday's loss they need two wins and need Hargest and Rogues to suffer at least one loss each.

Results:

Kelvin Hotel XMen beat Southland Boys High School 126-67

Rip City beat MPMW Harleys Pango 73-60

Northeast Ballers beat MPMW Harleys Whero 94-60

Invercargill Magic beat The Turbos 86-53

Razzmatazz beat Eastern Dev 65-61

James Hargest beat Sparks 87-77

FINAL MEN'S STANDINGS

1. Magic 7-0

2. Kelvin Hotel Xmen 5-2

3. Rip City 5-2

4. The Turbos 4-3

5. SBHS 3-4

6. Northeast Ballers 3-4

7. Pango 1-6

8. Whero 0-7

WOMEN'S STANDINGS (Points +/-)

Two Rounds to Play

James Hargest 5-2 (+18)

Rogues 4-2 (+14)

Eastern Dev 3-4 (-30)

Sparks 3-3 (+36)

Razzmatazz 1-5 (-38)