Tucker Trophy with Mya Johnston in action. Photo Karen McKenzieIt has been a largely disrupted secondary school sports season, however several Asburton College pupils leapt at the chance to shine on Mt Hutt.

The Tucker Trophy skiing and snowboarding championships took to the mountain slopes three weeks ago as a handful of competitors prospered on the skifield.

Mya Johnston clinched first placing in the females’ and first overall in the skiing event, holding off first-placed male Kayne Johnston and Parker Bradford.

Todd White took out the snowboarding event ahead of Mac Burdett.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 20 August 2020

Tip-off in the Ashcoll v St Thomas game. Photo supplied.The Ashburton College A boys took on St Thomas College at Oxford Street on Tuesday and again the emphasis was on their help defence with their man-to-man defence, which had improved markedly in the last few games. Here’s the game from coach Brian Kerr:

The first quarter started evenly as both teams sized each other up. College then went on a roll as they managed to execute their game plan. They managed to pull away from St Thomas forcing a time out to be called. This settled St Thomas somewhat as they began to repair the damage. They ended up trailing 30-22 at the break.

The second quarter started off well for College as they were able to continue to run their offence as well as restrict St Thomas with their defence. However it wasn’t long before things began to break down. The defence dropped off in intensity and St Thomas started exploiting gaps to claim the lead 46–43 at the halftime break.

At the start of the third quarter St Thomas upped their defensive intensity and College turned the ball over easily which gave St Thomas the momentum. The score blew out to 20 points until College finally managed to finally reset and finished the last two minutes of the quarter well to only trail 77–63.

So the fourth quarter was all to play for and College were focused. They chipped away at the lead with smart plays on the offensive end whilst working hard to shut down the St Thomas offence. Through that hard work they’d dragged it back to a seven-point differential until a number of unforced errors plus some very poor shot options allowed St Thomas to stem the flow and regain parity.
They controlled the last two minutes to take the game out 93–83.

For College, Riley Sa showed excellent skills at both ends of the court. He was good on the drive, causing problems for the St Thomas defence. Sa was also tireless on defence. He finished with 27 points (three 3-pointers)
Kambell Stills was good on the boards and chimed in with 14 points, whilst Jamie Reid also had a good game finishing with 14 points (two 3-pointers)

For a good part of the game College played well. However a lack of discipline on their offence and the issues around their help defence re-emerged. This allowed St Thomas to not only overcome a deficit but to also put a 20-point spread on the College team meaning once again they had to play catchup basketball.

However to the College team’s credit they fought back really well and were back in the game halfway through the 4th quarter. That was until a series of poor shot selections were taken which lost them the momentum and ultimately the match.

Simply a frustrating loss when again this game was for the taking.

© The Ashburton Courier - 19 August 2020

Mid Canterbury Combined’s Michael Hennings puts on a fend on St Andrew’s lock Ben Farrell during the sides’ UC Championship thriller at the weekend. Photo Robyn HoodForegone conclusion right?

Not on Mid Canterbury Combined’s watch.

Perhaps the unbeaten frontrunners of the UC Championship were lured into a false sense of security at the weekend, against one of the competition’s bottom teams.

Whatever the bottom line was, a brave Combined side went just shy of causing the biggest boilover of the competition against St Andrew’s, behind closed doors at Ashburton College on Saturday.

A late try by centre Isi Saumaki ensured STAC escaped with a 35-30 win to keep their winning streak intact, now extended to nine games, as they hold an eight point lead at the top of the championship.

However it was a close run thing, as Combined picked up a bonus point, and even had a chance to snatch it at the death as the home team hammered away at the St Andrew’s line.

Despite the defeat, it was a remarkable performance from Combined, who led 24-14 at the break as the usually resolute STAC defence was opened up.

The 30 points Combined scored were the most STAC had conceded in a game all season, and only Christchurch Boys’ High School had gotten as close to them on the scoreboard.

Adding to the off-the-wall theme of the day was the fact the game was played with no spectators under Alert Level 2 restrictions, as some reportedly used their cars as viewing platforms.

Mid Canterbury Combined were only able to field a 21-man squad after suffering a withdrawal on the morning as the injured Caleb Ward took a spot on the bench, only for the team to lose outside back Cade Whittaker during the warm-up.

Charlie Brown nudged Combined ahead with an early penalty, however STAC responded with the game’s first try following a lineout.

The visitors stretched their lead soon after when first-five Jack Harding dummied from first receiver to go in under the posts untouched as the competition leaders raced to 14-3.

At this point it was going to script, but then Combined started upping the ante at ruck time as they established some field position.

The side worked their way into STAC’s 22 before lock Pasi Hala hit a superb ball on the angle and powered through several defenders to score under the crossbar.

Combined kept the squeeze on before the hosts claimed the lead after replacement Taurangi Daniel chased and seized a fortuitous bounce off a blindside kick to round the posts.

The home team delivered another blow before halftime, when Thomas Patterson dotted down courtesy of some wily footwork, with Brown adding the extras for a deserved 10-point lead at halftime.

St Andrew’s came out firing early in the second stanza, with a five-pointer to get the deficit back to three.

Combined hit back when Brown kicked his second penalty of the day as the hosts refused to relent.

Down 27-21, STAC began emptying the bench as some fresh legs gave the side some impetus.

A converted try then handed St Andrew’s the lead as Combined fought valiantly to go with the UC powerhouses.

In what was a fluctuating second spell, Brown banged over another penalty with six minutes left on the clock, with a massive upset looking well and truly on the cards.

Combined were unable to hold on as STAC’s imposing midfielder Isi Saumaki ran through the home team on the kick return to give his side the lead with full time nearing.

The Mid Cantabrians got themselves into position for one last launch, pinning STAC on their line, however a winning try eluded them as a turnover sealed a lucky escape for the competition leaders.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 18 August 2020