RAMS NEWS: ANOTHER BUZZER-BEATER
by Piet Van Hasselt
30 May 2003

An off-balance three-pointer from Auckland Stars Lindsay Tait at the buzzer cost the Rams a much-needed win in Christchurch tonight, 79-77.  Auckland were down one with 6.1 seconds on the clock and following an Aaron Olson drive and kick out, Tait finished off the play and Auckland swept their South Island double-header to move to second on the BK League points table with six wins from eight games.  Tait was simply outstanding for the visitors with 34 points and eight assists and ran circles around the Rams defence.  His game-winning shot left the 2500-strong Rams crowd in silence and was Canterbury's third heart-wrenching loss in as many weeks.  Ex-Ram and now Stars Coach Kenny Stone was so rapt with the victory he stormed onto the court with hands held triumphant and shook Tait in congratulations!

The match was a game of runs with Auckland opening out a lead in the second quarter with a 14-2 on the end of some lackadaisical defence from the Rams, but Canterbury responded in the third with a 13-1 run of their own to get them within a sniff of the lead.   The fourth quarter was topsy-turvy, with both teams holding leads, and the result could have gone either way.

American Mike Pegues piggy-backed the Rams all the way with another outstanding effort with 42 points and 13 rebounds, in what will likely be his last match in Red & Black country with the expected return of John Whorton next week.  Other BK League franchises must be considering signing up this hard-working, no-nonsense player who accumulates points and rebounds and has performed admirably at the big man spot despite his lack of height.

Rams veteran forward Andrew Gardiner came up big in the fourth quarter with six of his 13 points in the final stanza and grabbed 11 rebounds.  Tim Edmonds also had flashes of brilliance, but was restricted to 18 minutes of action after re-injuring his toe in the first half.  Bench guard Myles Sutherland was a major part of the Rams resurgence in the third quarter with two huge three-point baskets and contributed at both ends of the floor.

Canterbury out-rebounded Auckland 54-34, with 26 of them at the offensive end, but did not win the battle from the charity stripe (free throw line) scoring only 10 of 19 attempts compared to 11 of 12 attempts from Auckland.

The tall front-line of Auckland were able to score more freely then their opponents despite being outrebounded with Casey Frank leading the way with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.  Mike Homik had a quiet game, being restricted with foul trouble, but hit a huge three-pointer late in the game which kept Auckland in the game.

Canterbury Rams 77 (Mike Pegues 42, Andrew Gardiner 13, Ben Jeffrey 6. Tim Edmonds 6, Myles Sutherland 6, Boyd Smart 4)
Auckland Stars 79 (Lindsay Tait 34, Aaron Olson 12, Casey Frank 9, Daryl Cartwright 8, Mike Homik 8, Reece Cassidy 6, Will Green 2)
Halftime 42-35
BOXSCORE