The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

UNDEFEATED in the regular season, the Queen’s College Comets, a perennial powerhouse in recent years in the league’s Junior Boys basketball division, cemented their status as favourites to claim another title.

The Comets cruised to a 67-33 win over the Kingsway Academy Saints in last night’s semifinals at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Ivoine Ingraham led four Comets in double figures with a game high 20 points. Kofi King added 14, Dylan Culmer added 13 and Rumado Ellis chipped in with 10. Ridge Greene led the Saints with nine points.

Comets head coach Dwayne Smith said despite the lopsided nature of the game, which the Comets led by as much as 42 points, he pushed his team to remain focused and run their system.

“All I told them to do was to play the trap properly and to run their offensive plays, no matter what the score was, just continue to run the plays and the points would come,” he said. “I did not want them to speed the game up, not get ahead of themselves, just stick with the plays because in the championship round, no matter who you face it’s going to be a tough team and you are going to have to run through your plays, run the system and be efficient.”

The Comets could hardly manage a more efficient effort than a nearly perfect first quarter. They scored off the opening tip and the rout was on as they opened the game on an 18-0 run.

The Saints ball-handlers struggled against the trap and suffered several turnovers on their first few possessions and the Comets took full advantage with a quick 10-0 run within the first 90 seconds of the game.

The Saints scored their first basket when Greene converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left in the quarter. QC led 18-5 at the end of the first period.

In the second quarter, the lead reached 20 points for the first time when King scored on a tip-in for a 28-8 lead at the 2:46 mark and they took a 39-11 lead into the half.

King’s runner midway through the third would push the lead to 30 points, 44-15, and they led 53-22 headed into the fourth. “We had a lot of adversities this year with injuries. We lost in the championship game of the Father Marcian tournament, my boys cried. That loss meant a lot to them so they came back to finish this year strong with redemption. This team is focused and we are not taking anybody for granted,” Smith said, “Those two teams playing on the other side of the bracket, they have a long line of tradition so I told my guys you have to respect the team, then you have to beat the team.”