By SAM WORTHINGTON - The Dominion Post Last updated 05:00 14/05/2010SharePrint
A dominant first quarter paved the way for the Wellington Saints to extend their winning streak to six games at the TSB Bank Arena last night.
The Saints flew out of the blocks to lead 27-11 after 10 minutes and though they let their foot off the throat somewhat, the 103-91 win against the Hawke's Bay Hawks was never seriously threatened.
The Hawks beat the Saints by 20 points in their previous meeting this season but Saints coach Pero Cameron has since worked wonders in gaining consistency with a talented group.
Outstanding American import Eric Devendorf again led the Saints scoring with 36 points but Cameron got valuable output from everyone he sent on court.
After an atrocious start, the Hawks gradually clawed their way back into the contest and Josh Pace (30 points) and a three-pointer from big Ben Hill cut the lead to seven halfway through the final quarter.
But Devendorf, fresh from signing with the Melbourne Tigers, demanded the ball and hit key shots to ice the game.
Billed as a contest between two of the NBL's hottest teams, the Hawks were initially anything but, ice cold in the first quarter as coach Shawn Dennis watched on in horror.
Dennis' plan was to harass Saints guards Devendorf and Lindsay Tait (18) but they continued their blossoming partnership while big men Casey Frank (18) and Nick Horvath (14) were effective pounding away in the paint, the Saints dominating the boards 39-28.
Tait is a much improved player this season.
No longer having to share point guard minutes with Luke Martin, this is his team and he is relishing the responsibility.
After a slow start to the season, Cameron appears to be priming the Saints to peak at the business end of the year and Wellington are now 9-3 and clear of Nelson in second place, though the Giants have a game in hand, hosting Taranaki tomorrow night.
The top two teams host semifinals while teams three and four play quarterfinals against five and six.
The Saints' next game is at home on Friday week against Nelson, while the Hawks drop to 7-6
