The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN the fourth meeting between the two teams this season, the SC McPherson Sharks pulled away late to take a game one lead in the best-of-three GSSSA junior boys’ basketball series.

The Sharks outscored the Pitbulls 16-4 in the third quarter to go ahead for good, en route to a 54-41 win yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Grantrion Newton led the Sharks with 16 points, Sherman Marshall added 12 points and 16 rebounds, Dianzo Bethel added 10 and Stephen Johnson added six.

Cameron Strachan led the Pitbulls with eight points while Torei Bowe added seven.

Trailing 23-17 at the half, SC McPherson came out of the break on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 23.

Sharks head coach Chevy Simmons said it was the effort on the defensive end that made the difference in the game.

“It was our defence. All year we have been harping on our defence and we realised, because we know each other so well, they like the penetration. We were able to limit that for the most part although we still made a few bad fouls by reaching but that’s kids. So we just wanted our wing players to make them shoot over some guys that are pretty tall,” he said. “After we clamped down on defence,the minute we started to get in the groove they picked up the intensity.”

Marshall regained the lead for the Sharks for the first time since early in the second quarter.

Marshall and Bethel dominated the interior on both sides of the ball to propel the Sharks in the second half.

“Our size difference came in play at the right time. The game was such a fight in the beginning because we did not use that size advantage. At the half I talked to my bigs, they are seniors they had to dig in. When the Pitbulls cut the lead to five and we were giving up rebounds, but once we controlled the boards we were able to pull ahead,” Simmons said.

Bethel and Marshall helped the Sharks to dominate the paint area. Johnson’s layup gave the Sharks a 33-26 lead and capped a key 8-2 run to shift momentum.

They took a 33-27 headed into the fourth. In the fourth, the lead reached as much as 15.

The Sharks led by a double- digit margin for the first time when Newton converted a fast break layup, 39-29 with 5:05 left to play.

The Sharks zone and interior defence stifled any Pitbulls offence and they maintained a double-digit margin for much of the fourth.

After a Pitbulls rally which cut it to six, a layup by Bethel all but sealed it at the 1:17 mark, 48-39.

“The pressure is not on us, we just have to go out there and play our game,” Simmons said.

The Pitbulls came out firing on all cylinders with scores on their first four possessions to take an 8-2 lead, but Sharks would answer on the offensive glass.

Marshall came up with a steal and fast break layup to tie the score at eight.

SC took a 10-8 lead at the end of the first.

Marshall began imposing his will on the boards in the second quarter, but the Pitbulls got key minutes off the bench from Bowe.

He scored the team’s first four points of the quarter to regain the lead. It was tied at 15 and again at 17 before Strachan’s layup regained the lead for Pitbulls.

DW Davis took a 23-17 lead at the half.

• Game two in the series is slated for 5pm today at Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.