Former champions Harrison College had no mercy for Combermere whom they trounced 77-14 in today's semifinal of the Co-operators General Insurance Under-16 Basketball Knockout Competition.
Under the guidance of coach Dario McCollin, hosts Harrison College dominated proceedings from the opening whistle with a torturous 29-2, 41-10 and 62-11 onslaught in the first three stanzas to ensure a place in the final.
Rising talent Kyrone Alexander produced a game-high 18 points with eight of those being scored in the opening quarter. It was the easiest of victories for the Crumpton Street side, as they basically schooled Combermere on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.
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Combermere had a tough time marking Harrison College’s top scorer Kyrone Alexander (second right) who puts up yet another lay-up. (Pictures by Morissa Lindsay)[/caption]
Harrison College have one of the strongest teams at this level and when Alexander wasn't scoring, point guards Simeon Maynard and Nikosi Boardi with 12 points respectively offered support inside the paint. Also registering points for Harrison College were Keayon Connell with ten, Jason Stephney had six along with four each from Nathan Inniss and Justin Edghill.
Clearly, Combermere are going through a rebuilding phase, as none of their players seemed capable of handling the ball or able to put away simple layup opportunities. In fact, the going was so tough that no one made it into double digits, as captain Jannick Emile- Smith and Zachary Taylor both accounted for just four points each.
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Amari Mottley with a rare chance for Combermere as he goes up for a lay-up.[/caption]
In 2016 Harrison College did the double by capturing both the knockout and league titles and coach Dario McCollin is confident of a repeat. McCollin explained that the team was made up of experienced players at this level and with that in mind they were going to be tough to beat.
“I have guys who can make good decisions at this level in terms of handling the basketball. They can dribble and score among other capabilities, so we are confident heading into the final and even more confident about completing the double,” McCollin said.
New champions will be crowned this year and Harrison College will come up against Queen's College when the two teams square off in the final scheduled for next week Monday, July 2nd at the Barbados Community College.
In the second semifinal, host and last year's runners-up Queen's College defeated Ellerslie 40-27 (14-6, 25-15, 30-21) to book their place in the final. Makhaya Moore and Rory Taylor tallied ten points each and were the only players to reach double digits, with the next best score of six coming off from Neil Morris and John Clarke.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
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