08 Mar 2010 9:11 a.m.
The Harbour Heat have made an impressive start to their National Basketball League campaign - hammering the Otago Nuggets 99-82 at the North Shore Events Centre on Saturday night.
Corey Webster top-scored for the Heat with 34 points, while Dillon Boucher added 12 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.
The game looked like a mismatch early on with the Heat leading by 17 inside the opening quarter, but a run of 14 unanswered points by the Nuggets kept the game interesting.
It was a similar story for the rest of the game, as the Heat would establish a good advantage in front of an enthusiastic first game crowd at the NSEC, only to allow the Nuggets back into the game.
Along with Webster and Boucher, Rick Rickert was another to impress - recording his own double double with 18 points and 10 boards.
Heat Coach Judd Flavell is pleased with the start, but isn't getting carried away.
“It was a bit nerve wracking at times with the big leads we gave up on too many occasions for my liking," he says. "But there is plenty of improvement left in this side so that is encouraging and with the addition of Kavossy [Franklin] we certainly have an exciting roster.
“However when we were good we were good and will be a match up for any side in the league, we just need to find that consistency throughout games and continue to take good options.”