CAMBEWARRA product James Hunter and his Southland Sharks put on a cracking show in their first home game of the New Zealand National Basketball League season and the Manawatū Jets were on the receiving end.
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After four games on the road, the powerful Sharks roster cut loose on return to ILT Stadium Southland, beating the Jets 109-79 to open week three on Thursday.
With Australian NBL players Alex Pledger, Reuben Te Rangi and Jarrad Weeks in their starting five, plus another New Zealand Breaker James Hunter on the bench, the Sharks had too many guns for the Jets whose imports Kuran Iverson and Daishon Knight carried a hefty burden.
Weeks led the way for Southland with 18 points, one of six Sharks to reach double figures.
Derone Raukawa was one, and added eight rebounds and eight assists in a handy performance.
Iverson hit a game-high 28 points and Knight contributed 22 for the visitors.
By halftime it was all over with the Sharks leading 62-31, as Iverson and Knight had all but one of the Jets' points between them.
The Sharks' third victory from their first five games moved them into a tie for the competition lead with Hawke's Bay, who made a flying start with three wins from three.
Nelson Giants are the only other unbeaten side with two from two, having also toppled the Sharks last weekend.
Meanwhile, the Jets look set for a long season as the difference between the top and bottom of the eight-team ladder was clear.
Back from a two-year hiatus, they fell to an 0-3 record, the same as bottom-placed Super City Rangers.
Southland Sharks 109 (Jarrad Weeks 18, Luke Aston 16, James Hunter 15, Alex Pledger 15) defeated Manawatū Jets 79(Kuran Iverson 28, Daishon Knight 22).
