The Tribune

By RENALDO

DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Third time’s a charm.

After falling to the CI Gibson Rattlers in the 2014 and 2015 GSSSA Senior Boys finals, the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins finally captured the elusive championship title.

They completed the two-game sweep over the Rattlers with a 54-51 win in the finale last night at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Trae Davis built on his stellar game one performance and earned series MVP with 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the way.

Gailyn Young finished with 14 points, Gregory Seymour pulled down 10 boards and Lathaniel Bastian added five points and eight rebounds.

Asher Scavella led the Rattlers with 16 points and 10 rebounds, D’Angelo Mackey finished with 11 points while Stephon Johnson finished with five points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

In a game of runs, the final run by the Mystic Marlins and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch were the deciding factors en route to the title.

After trailing by as much as seven in the fourth quarter, the DDJ surged ahead, before Davis’ layup made it made it 45-43 with 3:01 left to play. Both teams traded scores for the next few possessions before a Bastian put back slam ignited the crowd and tied the game at 49.

Young stepped to the free throw line and made a pair to give the Mystic Marlins the lead for good. Scavella had an opportunity to tie, but missed both and Seymour followed by splitting a pair at the line for the game’s final margin.

Mackey’s final three point attempt came up just short and sent the Mystic Marlins faithful into a frenzy.

As the fourth seeded team, they had defeated both the No.1 ranked CC Sweeting Cobras and No.2 ranked Rattlers.

A closely contested game throughout, neither team led by more than eight points or had a scoring run of more than seven. The game featured four ties and a single lead change, Young’s free throws giving the Mystic Marlins the decisive advantage in the waning moments.

The Rattlers held the lead for more than 25 minutes in the contest while DDJ led for just over five minutes.

The Rattlers led 14-13 after the first, with both Mackey and Davis setting the tone for their respective teams. The Rattlers would cling to that 29-28 lead at the half and take a 40-35 lead into the fourth quarter.