Scorpions sting Patriots

Mar 12, 2009 Sports

– Nets easily ensnare Raiders

Drumson McCulley

Mortimer Williams

By Edison Jefford
Trevor McCleod had a bad night based on his usually high and energetic standards, but in the final minute of a keenly contested game where Scorpions desperately needed a star to come up big, he was the man the team found open.
With the Scorpions trailing 50–51 heading into the final minute against Linden’s Patriots, the diminutive McCleod scored a tear–drop (floater on the run) off the glass to help his team secure a valuable 52–51 point win Tuesday night.

After McCleod’s heroics, Scorpions retrieved the ball with 30.1 seconds remaining off a ‘jump ball’ call but failed to convert, which gave Patriots a window of opportunity with 25 seconds left in the intriguing battle.
However, the Linden team, after losing leader Alwyn Wilson owing to a suspension from the game after a flagrant foul that also implicated Scorpions’ Jermaine Lovell, buckled in the circumstances and was left with three seconds to win.
Enthusiasts at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall rose to their feet as shouts of “don’t foul” in the arena as Scorpions dominated and rightly so since a foul committed against Patriots would have sent the team to the line for free throws.

It was not to be as Scorpions held on for the morale–boosting win. Stephon Henry never missed an opportunity to entertain the crowd with his moves, one of which, an ‘And One’ nearly cost the team in the final minute of the game.
Henry finished with 13 points while Travis ‘Cook–Up’ Foster had 12 points and Darren Thomas 11 points. Scorpions will need a bigger offensive and defensive effort from their key swingman, Kester Gomes, deeper in the tournament.
It was obvious that patrons were contented with their fill of quality and intense basketball and resorted to liming during the second game as Nets completely demoralised Retrieve Raiders in a contest unfit for a feature label.

Nets ensnared Raiders with a 73–42 point drubbing after the winners held an eight point 32–24 lead at halftime. Alexander Rose and Louis James shared top honours for Raiders in the game with 12 points each.
Raiders started in good stead as expected but found no answers for Drumson McCulley in the paint and Pelham Doris at the top of the key where a rotation that included Mortimer Williams and Triston Tulloch devastated them.
McCulley finished with 17 points while Williams had 13 points and Doris 12 points in a display that was deserving of a quarterfinal berth. The final eight teams in the contest will battle for a semi–final place from tomorrow night.

Latest News