The former Tall Blacks shooting guard poured in 30 points to lead the Manawatū Jets to an important 104-97 win over the Otago Nuggets in Palmerston North last night.
He is a proven scorer and proved it again with a ruthless shooting display.
His brother, Tai, was dynamite as well. He added 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made seven assists, while Jamal Poplar jun was unstoppable in the paint.
The American forward banged in 21 points and claimed 13 boards.
The Nuggets faced problems they just could not solve.
The Jets’ ball movement was superior.
They dominated the paint.
And Corey kept slotting three-pointers, landing six of his eight attempts.
Nuggets captain Ethan Rusbatch kept his side in the contest. He knocked down 26 points before fouling out with two minutes remaining.
Craig Moller returned a double-double of 13 points, 13 rebounds. And Tyson Thata-Paese added 17 points.
But the Jets controlled the game from the outset.
The win lifts them to 5-10.
The Nuggets slip to 6-8. Their grip on a playoff spot loosened a bit more.
The Jets were missing Kaden Sand, who collected 25 points and eight rebounds the last time the two teams played.
But Corey took his place and hit an early deep two-pointer. Tai stuck a driving lay-up, and Poplar slammed in a dunk.
The Nuggets had to utilise an early timeout. They were not getting any stops.
Corey knocked down a triple with a quick release shortly after the timeout. There was no stopping that.
There was no stopping the soaring one-handed slam by Nuggets small forward Buay Tuach either.
Lukah Richards twisted his way to the hoop to stretch the lead further for the Jets.
But Thata-Paese hit a buzzer-beater from the corner and cut the lead to six.
The Jets quickly pulled away again. They went on an 8-0 run at the start of the second period.
Thata-Paese responded with back-to-back three-pointers.
But the Websters linked up again. Corey with the bullet pass, Tai with the finish under the rim, while dad Tony was drawing up the Xs and Os.
And all was going to plan. The Jets led 56-46 at halftime.
Tuach, Thata-Paese and Isaac Miller-Jose were all nursing three fouls for the Nuggets.
Alain Louis landed a three-pointer to start the third. The Nuggets’ point guard got left alone and nailed it.
The Websters countered again with 10 points between them.
The Nuggets called a timeout and coach Jeff Sparrow started flailing his arms about and tossed the whiteboard away.
For a team that hangs their hat on defence, they were getting shredded. Sparrow knew it. The Nuggets knew it and the Jets most definitely knew it.
The game was slipping away. Corey speared another from beyond the arc to put the Nuggets back in the pain locker.
The lead was threatening 20.
Rusbatch popped in a series of three-pointers to prevent the lead from blowing out.
But the Jets went into the final 10 minutes with their 10-point buffer intact.
The Nuggets kept fighting and will have to quickly rebound as they play the Taranaki Airs in New Plymouth tomorrow.
The Nuggets blitzed the Jets 56-37 in the Rapid League game. Toby Hunt scorched 29 points.
NBL
The scores
Manawatū Jets 104
Corey Webster 30, Tai Webster 23
Otago Nuggets 97
Ethan Rusbatch 26, Tyson Thata-Paese 17
Quarter scores: 26-18, 56-46, 85-75, 104-97
