The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THREE of the four No.1 seeds in the GSSSA Basketball semi-finals remained undefeated and advanced to their respective championship series.

Junior Girls

TA Thompson Scorpions – 35

CH Reeves Raptors – 33

Scorpions win series 2-0

Dominiqua Rolle scored 11 points to lead the Scorpions and was active from the opening tip. In the highest-scoring quarter of the series, the Scorpions took an 11-5 lead at the end of the first. In the second, the Raptors trimmed the lead to two when Vincinique Dames made a pair of free throws to trim the deficit 14-12. The Scorpions got a layup and score from Nathalya Lightbourne to stop the run and they took a 17-14 lead at the half.

The Raptors trimmed the lead to one in the third quarter but couldn’t pull ahead. The game was tied briefly at 20 before the Scorpions scored on the following possession and again late in the quarter to lead 24-20 headed into the fourth.

TA Thompson dominated time of possession for much of the fourth and went ahead by two possessions when Rolle converted a three-point play. A late layup from Dames cut it to 34-33 with 5 seconds left to play, but the Scorpions were able to maintain possession and advance.

Junior Boys

DW Davis Royals - 53

HO Nash Lions – 13

Royals win series 2-0

The Royals’ defence clamped down in the second half and shut the door on any hopes the Lions had of extending the series.

Royals held the Lions without a single field goal following intermission and outscored them 37-2 in the second half to earn another championship berth for the perennial title contenders. Fredrick King had 11 points for the Royals, Phillip Dawkins scored eight and Keith Forbes scored seven.

Jacob Williams’ pair of layups gave the Lions a 6-5 lead at the end of the first. The Royals’ run began in the second when Forbes made a floater, followed by a King block on the defensive end which sparked a fastbreak score and Keishon Dorsett scored for a quick 6-0 run. DW Davis led 16-11 at the half.

Forbes dished an assist to King for a layup to take a 21-11 lead early in the third and the rout was on. The Royals took a 34-12 lead into the fourth as both teams emptied their benches.

Senior Boys

Doris Johnson Mystic

Marlins – 54

Anatol Rodgers

Timberwolves – 50

Series tied 1-1

A foul-plagued Malachi McCoy played sparingly in game one, but the Mystic Marlins’ team captain had a dominant performance in the paint last night and powered his team to a game two win.

McCoy finished with a team-high 18 points as the pennant winners forced a third and deciding game. Joshua Burrows scored 17 while Janus Shepherd added eight. Tyeko Lowe made a pair of clutch free throws with 5.3 seconds left to give Doris Johnson a four-point advantage and seal the win.

Kelson Riley led the T’Wolves with a game-high 21 points, Kelson Riley scored 10 and Tyrell Butler added nine.

Anatol led 40-39 headed into the fourth quarter which featured three ties and four lead changes.

The game was tied at 42 and 44, then tied at 47 for nearly a three-minute stretch before Shepherd made a pair at the line to give the Mystic Marlins a two-point advantage, 49-47.

Farrington split a pair in his trip to the line moments later and Shepherd converted a three-point play on the next possession to put his team ahead by four (52-48). Riley scored on an offensive rebound and putback to come within two with 6.7 seconds left to play. Game three is set for Saturday afternoon.

Senior Girls

CI Gibson Rattlers - 43

CR Walker Knights - 21

Rattlers win series 2-0

Game one was a struggle that went down to the game’s final possessions but the Rattlers left nothing to chance in the series clincher.

The Rattlers opened the game on a 9-0 run, led 22-10 at the half and led wire-to-wire to enter the championship with an 8-0 record so far.