The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net Led by a dynamic MVP performance off the bench from John Delancey, the Sts. Francis & Joseph Shockers unseated the defending champions to claim the 2011 Catholic Diocesan Primary School Basketball League title. In the series finale at Loyola Hall yesterday, Delancey scored a game high 16 points, including seven of his team's 10 points in the fourth quarter, in the Shockers' 32-29 win over the St Cecilia's Strikers. Tied at 22 heading into the fourth quarter, the Shockers grabbed the lead for good when Alexander Neely made one of two at the line for a 27-26 lead with 1:25 left to play. Following a steal at half court, Delancey finished with a three-point play to put the Shockers ahead by two scores, 30-26. Khobe Mackey raced down court to respond with a layup to again bring the Strikers within two, but Delancey would seal the game with a pair at the line with just 20 seconds remaining. Mackey's three-pointer from half court came up just inches short as the Shockers claimed the win. For the Shockers, Ashanti Johnson finished with 10, while Neeley added five. Michael Cartwright led the Strikers with 12 points while Mackey added seven and Christopher Smith added six. A closely contested game throughout, neither team led by more than five points. The Strikers got off to a 4-0 lead and led 6-5 at the end of the first quarter. In the second, Delancey entered the game and provided an immediate lift to the Shockers' offense. He scored seven points in the quarter to help Sts. Francis & Joseph keep pace. However, St Cecilia still led 14-12 at the half. Johnson tied the game on the opening possession of the third quarter and a free throw from Delancey gave the Shockers their first lead of the game. Shockers' coach Devon Johnson knew that if his team stood a chance against the defending champions Strikers, they would have to step it up on the defensive end. "In the fourth quarter, I just told them they had to step up and play better defensive, be tough down the stretch and we would win this game. They came out, that's what they did and you see the end result. "It can't get any better than this. This is sweet," said Johnson, who is hoping to claim his first title since 2005. "It was great. Like I told my guys, we needed to play defense and that is what we did. We made a lot of key steals and my big man played big in the middle."