Basketball triumph

Canterbury High School used a dominant second half to pick up an 87-65 win over Harris Academy on Wednesday.

Harris had initially jumped out to a double digit lead late in the first quarter through a series of scores in transition. Inconsistent play from both teams in the second quarter allowed Canterbury to recover slightly but Harris held on to a 42-41 lead at halftime thanks to a trio of 3 pointers for David Ejinkoye.

The second half was a different story as Canterbury stepped up their defence and held Harris to only 23 second half points. Rael Williams did everything possible to keep them in the game, scoring 17 of the 23 second half points for Harris (as he finished with game high 31).

Those stops, combined with better execution on offence allowed Canterbury to gradually stretch their lead, eventually pushing the lead past 20 points late in the fourth quarter.

Canterbury Captain Stewart Havinden summed up the game saying, "We lacked focus through the first half where we didn't execute on defence. However players stepped up in the third quarter where we were able to go on a key run. I'm really pleased with the guys and how they dug in in the closing periods."

James Lloyd led a balanced attack of 5 players in double figure with 21 points. Last week's EABL Player of the Week had 20 points, Havinden 15, Ryan Murunge 13 and Tongai Mude 11. Ejinkoye was Harris' only other player in double figures with 15.

Harris now travel to 2013-14 EABL champions Barking Abbey next week, while Canterbury resume play after half term hosting a strong and experienced Oaklands team on 4th November.