The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The Jordan Prince William Falcons proved to be the most dominant boys’ basketball programme in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools.

Head coach Ernest Saunders led both his junior and senior boys to championship titles at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium last night. “These guys worked hard from the jump. From day one we were conditioning, we were on the court and we had a goal in mind. This is just an incredible achievement for this programme and I can’t thank enough people around this programme that have helped us along the way,” said Saunders. “These guys have been putting in work from the summer, playing in tournaments, getting their reps up and playing as much high level competition as they can. That hard work paid off tonight.”

The junior boys won a thriller 30-29, while the senior boys won 44-31. “The junior boys came from a long way. They improved drastically from the first day we got together. They were dissappointed when they didn’t get that No.1 seed but I stressed to them it didn’t matter, we were determined to get out there and prove it on the court,” Saunders said. “For the senior boys to end the night the way they did, in a dogfight, with all the hard work, they deserved it. They left it all on the floor, and that’s not just a saying, these guys are mentally and physically drained. That’s what becoming a champion is about.”

SENIOR BOYS

Jordan Prince

William Falcons - 41

Queen’s College

Comets - 33

THE senior boys closed out the night sending three Falcon faithful into a frenzy, led once again by centre Adam Johnson, who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks. Rhandon Scottt finished with eight, Sherman Marshall and Jefferson Oliver each chipped in with seven. Elliot Greenslade led the Comets with nine points while Kofiannan King finished with eight.

The Comets dictated the pace of the game early and led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter. Scott was more assertive on the offensive end last night after a quiet game one. His layup gave the Falcons their first lead of the game (10-9) at the 3:50 mark in the second. Scott led a fastbreak and then scored himself on the ensuing possession to conclude a 7-0 run and give the Falcons an 18-11 lead at the half.

The Comets opened the third on a 6-0 run, but Johnson put an end to that momentum with a three-point play. Two plays later, he finished a fastbreak with a putback dunk that shifted that momentum back to the Falcons. With Scott on the sidelines, Marshall filled in and scored a late basket to give the Falcons a 27-21 lead headed into the fourth.

The lead reached eight on a pair of Micah Bethel free throws, and the Comets followed with turnovers on three consecutive trips up the court. Foul prone for much of the quarter, they placed the Falcons in the bonus with five minutes left to play in regulation. Johnson split a pair at the line to give Falcons a 32-22 lead with 4:11 left.

A 9-3 run brought the Comets within four (35-31) with 1:37 left to play, but following a steal Oliver made two at the line to seal the win and the title for the Falcons.

JUNIOR BOYS

Jordan Prince

William Falcons - 30

St Augustine’s College

Big Red Machine - 29

IN a fourth quarter that featured five lead changes, Mateo Taylor’s layup with 10 seconds left to play capped a hectic final minute and gave the Falcons the championship title. They completed a two-game sweep of the pennant winners in a 30-29 thriller.

Taylor, who finished with a team high 13 points, said the effort on the defensive end was what separated his team down the stretch. “It was a tough game, we just had to keep fighting. We knew we had to play better defence and get some stops and the offence would come,” he said. “It feels good to be a champion, we worked all year for this so to win means a lot for everybody.”

Trailing 18-17 heading into the fourth, Big Red Machine opened with a three pointer from Ahmad Young followed by a fastbreak layup from Cornelius Clyde.

The Falcons responded with five of their own to regain the lead capped by a Darius Lews layup.

Four lead changes through three minutes in the fourth, the game was tied at 25 at the 2:20 mark. After a Deyton Albury jumper put SAC ahead, Lewis immediately regained the lead for the Falcons with his go ahead three pointer from the wing with under a minute left (28-27).

Peter Rutherford’s floater gave the Big Machine the edge on the ensuing posession just before Taylor’s heroics. Falcons head coach Ernest Saunders said the win was a major milestone as the programme continues to build moving forward. It was poor shooting in the first, with just three field goals between both teams, but a Lewis layup gave the Falcons a 4-2 lead at the end of the quarter.

In the second, SAC opened with 10 unanswered points to take a 12-4 lead. The Falcons’ only offence in the quarter was Taylor at the free throw line where he made 4-6 to keep his team in contention.

The Big Red Machine led 12-8 at the half. After SAC scored the opening basket of the third, the Falcons scored seven unanswered points. Taylor’s steal and layup gave them their first lead of the game (15-14) with 3:47 left to play in the third. Three lead changes in the final minute ended when the Falcons eventually took a 18-17 lead into fourth.