Tevin Brown scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Canterbury to a 93-82 win over Auckland in the New Zealand National Basketball League championship game on Sunday. This is Canterbury’s first NBL title since 1992.
Auckland, the defending champion, was tied with Canterbury at 61 heading to the fourth-quarter. That’s when Brown took over. The former Murray State great scored 12 of his 23 points in the final quarter to help the Rams win going away.
This was Canterbury’s first trip to the championship game since 1999. The Rams now have five NBL titles, which is the third-most in league history.
Brown ended the season with six-straight games of scoring at least 20 points. During this six-game stretch, he averaged 23.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Brown struggled from beyond the arc for the entire season, shooting just 31.1% from three-point range. During these final six games, he caught fire shooting 47.9% (23-of-48) from deep.