The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Both the Sports Center Elites and TMT Giants evened their respective playoff series in the New Providence Basketball Association Division II playoffs at the AF Adderley Gymnasium on Monday night.

The Giants and Leno Eagles Nest are slated to meet 7:30pm tonight to earn a spot in the finals while the Elites and Asphalt Marine Pirates are set to play their game three at 7:30pm on March 13.

Sportscenter Elites - 95

Elite Asphalt Marine Pirates - 92

Series tied 1-1

Dario McKenzie’s triple double and game-winning three-pointer led the Elites to a thrilling win and staved off elimination.

McKenzie finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and nearly had a quadruple double with six steals.

Simar Rolle finished with 26 points and a game high 15 rebounds, Tario McKenzie scored a game high 27 points with nine rebounds while Brandon Ingraham finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Jefferson Oliver led the Pirates with 25 points, Antonio Hanna scored 22 and Valention Simon added 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Elites trailed by four with 1:19 left to play on a Simon layup to make the score 90-86.

Rolle and D Mckenzie each split a pair at the line and Ingraham tied the game at 90 on a jumper with 33 seconds left to play.

Rolle capped the 6-0 run with a jumper to give Sports Center a 92-90 lead. Oliver tied the game at 92 with free throws, setting the stage for D McKenzie’s late-game heroics.

His three on the ensuing possession with 15 seconds left in regulation was the go-ahead score and Oliver missed an opportunity to tie late and force overtime.

Sports Center had a 10-point advantage at the free throw line and outrebounded the Pirates (64-46). The rebounding edge also led to a 12-point advantage on points in the paint and on fastbreaks (48-31).

The Elites took a 27-26 lead at the end of the first quarter and took a 52-45 lead at the half.

The Pirates trimmed the deficit to just one headed into the fourth quarter and neither team led by more than six in the final frame.

The Pirates took a decisive 104-93 win in game one behind 22 points from Oliver and 20 points from Hanna.

TMT Giants - 102

Leno Eagles Nest - 96

Series tied 1-1

The Giants got a pair of double doubles from Cameron Strachan and Ira Farrington to rebound from a hard-fought, game one loss where they were outscored down the stretch.

Strachan finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots while Farrington added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

D’angelo Mackey had 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Davon Bonaby Jr scored 12 and Taleo Bethel added 11.

Jonaldo Joseph led Leno with 22 points and 14 rebounds, Tyrell Butler scored 26 and Donte Deveaux also scored 26. They were the only players on the roster to reach double figures.

Depth was one of the deciding factors as the Giants scored 63 points to Leno’s 18. The Giants ended the first quarter on an 11-3 run to take a 29-23 lead at the end of the first frame. They limited Leno to just 18 points in the second and outscored them by 10 to take a 57-41 lead at the half.

An 80-71 lead at the beginning of the fourth was cut to just two at one point. A Joseph layup cut it to 86-84 with 7:22 left in regulation.

The Giants responded with a 6-0 run. Leno had another run late and a Butler layup cut it to three (98-95) but they were unable to score a field goal down the stretch in the final 2:35. Leno took a 93-90 win in game one.