Bay side just seconds from nailing title

Thursday, September 9, 2010 11:28

Daniel Green, of the Fraser Titans, has the ball and tries to get past Mitchell Francis, of Tauranga Boys' College Old boys. Photo: John Borren.

Tauranga City Basketball's men's premier title is heading out of town after Hamilton's Fraser Titans snatched an 81-77 win over Tauranga Boys' College Old Boys in the last few seconds of the season showdown.

In an epic final, Fraser Titans stole the ball to grab a basket, sealing the victory with only a few seconds on the clock.

The schoolboys from Fraser High and Old Boys started the encounter strongly, matching each other early with some great perimeter shooting.

The Titans jumped to an early seven-point lead in the first quarter.

Old Boys fought back to cut the deficit and take a 58-55 lead into halftime.

But Fraser were far from done and kept pegging the lead back, only for Old Boys to extend it again after great defensive turnovers by standout Jade Williams.

Going into the final quarter six points down, Old Boys looked confident. On the other side of the court Fraser were not panicking as they prepared to finish strongly, a trademark of the Jeff Green-coached team.

The large crowd were treated to the most exciting quarter of the season as Old Boys jumped to a nine-point lead, holding it until only about five minutes were left, at which point it was reeled in by from Daniel Green and Dyson King Hawea's big three-pointers.

The turning point came with a minute to go. After a Green three, Fraser forced a turnover to level the scores. Then, as overtime loomed, another Titans steal produced a basket, with fouls to Green putting them ahead with seconds left.

Green's 36 points saw him awarded the league MVP, and players from both teams - Jade Williams (Old Boys), Matt Fullerton (Old Boys), Duane Bailey (Fraser), Dyson King Hawea (Fraser) and Daniel Green (Fraser) - made up the league's all-star five.

In the playoff for third, A & J Demolition beat BOP FM Jay Hawks 97-62.

Final score:

Fraser Titans 81 (Daniel Green 36, Dyson King Hawea 17, Duane Bailey 15) Tauranga Boys' College Old Boys 77 (Matt Fullerton 24, John Dishroon 19, Jade Williams 18).