RAMS NEWS: DOUBLE OVERTIME THRILLER
by Piet Van Hasselt
21 June 2003

The Otago Nuggets and Canterbury Rams put on a fascinating double-overtime show with Mark "Sparky" Dickel leading his home-town Nuggets with 31 points to the victory.  While John Whorton outscored ex-Rams American Mike Pegues 41 points to 28, Pegues had the last laugh coming out on the positive side of the ledger and slotted five three-pointers.  Canterbury were in catch-up mode throughout after a poor first quarter saw them down 21-13.  Towards the end of regulation, Rams Dave Langrell was fouled on a three-point attempt with his side down three points.  He knocked down all of the three attempts forcing the game into the first extra period.  Whorton was able to save Canterbury at the end of the first overtime, but couldn't hit a game tying mid-range jumper that would've forced a third overtime at the end of the second extra period.  Turnovers proved costly for the Rams conceding 30 to 19 for Otago, and the Nuggets capitalised on these mistakes with 26 points.  Canterbury had a massive 65-49 advantage on the boards and outshot Otago 47% to 36%, but the Nuggets thrived from the land of three knocking down 13 buckets which swung the momentum their way.  Allen and Pegues didn't shoot particularly well on the night, combining for 17 of 50 attempts, but Otago's supporting cast of Mike Fitchett, Dan Ryan and Mark Bracewell all contributed seven points each.  Langrell and livewire guard Tim Edmonds finished with 18 points and back-up point guard Jeremy Kench continued his fine form with eight points, six rebounds, four assists (with just one turnover) in 29 minutes playing against the Nuggets' highly-rated backcourt.  The win keeps Otago's  playoff chances alive, although they can't afford to lose many more.  Canterbury will have to win the rest of their matches and hope that others fail if they are to repeat their semi-final berth last season.

Otago Nuggets 101 (Mark Dickel 31, Mike Pegues 28, Hayden Allen 17)
Canterbury Rams 99 (John Whorton 41, David Langrell 18, Tim Edmonds 18, Andrew Gardiner 14) 2OT
Halftime 45-39
BOXSCORE