Thomas Patterson had another strong game for College. Photo supplied.Three games in three days should be a tough physical and mental battle.

Not for Ashburton College, apparently, as their boys’ A side managed to pick up three wins from three matches across consecutive days this week.

It started with victory over Burnside High School on Monday night, stretched into success over Riccarton High School on Tuesday and then was capped off with victory over Newlands in Wednesday night A Grade basketball at the Oxford Street Stadium.

Monday night’s success was arguably the most satisfying.

Beaten by nearly 30 points earlier in the season when the two sides first met, they managed to correct the anomaly and post a strong victory against a very good side 75-71.

“Every boy that took to the court contributed well, which was especially evident on defence,” coach Brian Kerr said.

The match hinged on a strong beginning, and that’s exactly what College produced in front of a silenced Burnside crowd.

With strong offense and some crisp passing College took control and led 20-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Extending the lead out to 18 early in the second they were challenged by a Burnside fightback, but still went into the half time break up by 13, 42-29.

That in itself was a huge turnaround from the opening encounter between the two sides, and the challenge became holding off an expected big finish from the hosts.

Burnside started the third quarter strong and began to break down the lead and reduced the margin down to nine at one stage.

A time-out for College offered a chance to regroup and they finished the quarter well, up 60-47.

If they were strong early in the third, then Burnside went into beast mode in the fourth and really piled the pressure on College, and eventually got the score back to 73-71 in favour of College with 39 seconds left.

A series of mishaps and time-outs followed before Thomas Patterson scooped up the loose ball and darted down the court to wrap the game up with an easy lay-up.

Patterson was one of the strongest on the court for the match.

With 24 points next to his name, he was just as good on defence as he was at the other end of the court.

Riley Sa was naturally strong again with 14 points, while Jacob Swan was very good again with 12 points.

On Tuesday night the side was back in Ashburton taking on Riccarton High School, looking to pick up where they left off the previous evening.

Up by 12 at the end of the first quarter College looked in control, and a comeback from Riccarton in the second almost derailed the match.

But again, a time-out worked the oracle and once more College found their feet to lead 41-35 at the half-time break.

Strong in the opening stages of the third, College went on a 13-4 run and took a 64-53 lead into the final quarter.

But Riccarton weren’t done with.

They drew the score back to within six through some smart play and through some defensive mishaps from College, but another time-out again proved telling as College grabbed some key plays in the final minutes to win 82-76.

Kambell Stills was the standout for the side; with numerous rebounds and strong from mid-range he claimed an impressive 31 points.

Patterson backed up his work from Monday night with a 14 points haul while Riley Sa finished up with 12 points.

Apart from a couple of lulls in their defensive intensity, it was another good overall performance,” Kerr said.

“When the fast break was on they took it, when it wasn’t they ran their offensive structures.

“They were more consistent in finding the open man as well as generating more assists which is a highlight of a team starting to sync.”

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 28 August 2020