By Mike Lacey
The first ever Auckland Tuatara Sal’s NBL fixture resulted in a comprehensive 92-59 victory in front of our home fans on Saturday at Eventfinda Stadium.
The twin towers of Rob Loe and Chris Johnson led the way as they combined for a walloping 34 points and 29 rebounds.
Both players scored 17 points with Chris adding 14 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks while Rob tallied 15 rebounds, an assist and a block.
Taki Fahrensohn (17 points and 7 rebounds), Dontae Russo-Nance (12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists) and Chris McIntosh (10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals) also made double figure contributions. Taki, despite only returning from a season in Germany earlier in the week, was within two points of a career best.
The North Harbour trio of Tom Beattie, Charlie Dalton and Boston Caldwell made their NBL debuts on Saturday night – Tom scored 9 points and Charlie 4 points.
Chris Johnson was delighted with the win and also to be back in familiar surroundings.
“I absolutely love it here it’s home away from home. There’s great energy here, I’m playing with some great guys and coach Aaron is great too,” he said.
Speaking of playing with Rob Loe the Virginia native feels it’s a combination that will only get better.
“I’ve been waiting 12 months to play with Rob because that was the plan last year (with the Auckland Huskies) so I’m glad to see he’s healthy.”
Speaking of the stuttering start, when the Tuatara trailed 21-16 at quarter time, Dontae Russo-Nance felt the team improved as the game progressed.
“Our shots weren’t falling early on but we got it going in the second half.”
Still at school, the 17 year-old St Kentigern College Year 13 student is conscious of his role within the team.
“My role is leading the team, telling everyone where to go.
“I have a year under my belt so I’m just building on that, becoming more of a leader and helping everyone get used to our systems.”
Those systems will next come under scrutiny when your Tuatara travel to the South Island for a double-header next weekend.
We take on Nelson Giants on Friday May 6 at the Trafalgar Centre and Canterbury Rams at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch on Sunday May 8.
Our next home game is on Wednesday May 18 when we entertain the Hawkes Bay Hawks at Eventfinda Stadium, tip-off 7.30pm.