The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Give the edge to the CC Sweeting Cobras in the latest edition of the storied rivalry between two of the top high school basketball teams in the country.

It has become a custom for the Cobras and the CI Gibson Rattlers to square off in the finals of the Providence Holiday Basketball Classic and this time the Cobras emerged with a 76-67 win at their home gym last night.

Adrian Thompson led the Cobras with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Named the tournament MVP, he added four steals and shot a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Championship MVP Corey Sands finished with 21 points and eight rebounds while Michael Bethel added 14 points. Angelo Mackey led four Rattlers in double figures with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Stephon Johnson added 15 points and seven steals, Bradley Altidor scored 13 and Asher Scavella finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Rattlers took and early 12-7 lead when Altidor made consecutive layups. The Cobras ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 13-12 lead after the first. That run continued in the second quarter, and eventually reached 17 unanswered points. Thompson, fresh off a stint this summer with the junior national team, took over in the second with a dynamic sequence where he made a three-pointer, followed by a steal and fastbreak dunk and ended the run with another three-pointer.

The Cobras half court trap changed complexion of the game and they eventually took a 30-16 lead with 3:51 left to play in the half. Mackey, also a junior national team member, was a bright spot for the Rattlers all night and his jumper made it 33-29 with under a minute left to play. The Cobras would take a 35-29 lead into the half.

The Rattlers’ lead was trimmed all the way down to two when Altidor scored and assisted on a score, but Sands responded with a three-point play to push the lead back to five and the Cobras lead 62-51 headed into the fourth. The lead expanded to as much as 16 in the fourth, and the Cobras held on despite a late rally from the Rattlers.

Cobras head coach Mario Bowleg said winning the tournament should provide momentum for the team heading into the second half of the season. “We weren’t playing quite well from the season started but we believe we have to repeat as champions and reclaim GSSSA this year. We began gelling at the right time and if we can continue this momentum we can look for great things moving forward.”

The Rattlers won the Providence Classic in 2014 and followed with the GSSSA championship series win, while the Cobras regrouped to take the Hugh Campbell title in the season finale.

“It’s a matter of us learning the defensive principles and understanding the culture of winning at CC which is that we are expected to be in the discussion of great teams when it comes to high school basketball,” Bowleg said. “In order for them to gain what they see previous players achieve, they have to fill the shoes and play to the best of their ability and this team is beginning to come around.”

The Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins finished in third place.

The All Tournament 1st Team included:

Stephon Johnson - CI Gibson

Asher Scavella - CI GIbson

Adrian Thompson - CC Sweeting

Corey Sands - CC Sweeting

Franklyn Petion - St George’s

Adam Johnson - Jordan Prince William

Azaro Roker - Anatol Rodgers

Dhylan Culmer - Redemption Christian

Garrit Moss - Redemption Christian

All Tournament 2nd Team

D’Angelo Mackey - CI Gibson

Deon’ta Tinker - Redemption Christian

Andereas Blacks - CC Sweeting

Deangelo Dames - Jordan Prince William

Alistair Deane - Temple Christian

Dominic Bridgewater - Anatol Rodgers

Christopher Collie - Queen’s College

Henrick Sands - Noble Prep

Howard Hinzey - St George’s

Troy Trembley - Doris Johnson