The Disciples Basketball Club disposed of Eagles in a 68-28 blow-out Wednesday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to secure the final Division-Three semi-final spot of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Associa-tion/Next Level Entertain-ment Super Eight Knockout tournament.
The Disciples executed flawlessly to frustrate the Eagles early in the game since they could neither manage a defensive stop nor convert on the offensive end.
On defence the Disciples forced many early turnovers which small forward Travis Steward was able to convert into points at the other end.
Stewart finished the night with the game-high 25 points most of which were transition points as guards Marlon Chesney and Shelroy Thomas found him with accurate, almost baseball-like passes on many occasions on fast breaks.
Sixteen-year-old Shelroy Thomas, whom many will remember for his MVP performance in leading Kwakwani all the way in the 2007 National Basketball Festival, made his first start as a `Disciple’, scoring 11 points while dishing countless assists in the process.
Thomas played fearlessly in the first half, pulling the trigger from beyond the arc almost at will to score nine first half points and pilot the early lead.
Marlon Chesney had a silent night but still managed to score sixteen points for the Disciples who led by as much as fifty points in the second half.
The Disciples stuck rigidly to their strict defensive regimen which continued to reap immense benefits so much so that forward Kiev Chesney managed two consecutive fast break dunks after Eagles’ players were robbed of possession and up-court passes delivered.
The Disciples will meet the steaming hot Ravens tomorrow evening for the chance to play the winner of Pacesetters versus Pepsi Sonics encounter in the final of the Division-Three category of the knockout tournament.
The second game of the evening was the most competitive with Bounty Colts prevailing over Scorpions 77-73 in over-time. Hopes for a Colts’ win seemed dashed when they trailed 43-49 with 9:32s remaining in regulation time.
However, a few careless turnovers by the Scorpions, allowed the Colts to steal the lead 61-57 with a minute remaining in the game. But Trevor Mc Leod, who had scored the last four points for the Scorpions, was once again to the forefront with assistance from Travis Foster who managed back-to-back steals to help Scorpions tie the game and force over-time.
In over-time Mc Leod continued to carry the Scorpions on his back but Colts played basic basketball which resulted in the win at the end of the six-minute extra period.
Kayode Murray led all scorers for the Colts with 16 points with Gavin Beeram and Nico Fraser contributing 14 and 13 points respectively.
Mc Leod led the Scorpions with 16 points while Travis Foster completed a solid performance for his new side with 13 points. Dave Green chipped in with 12 points.
Courts Pacesetters sent a message to the other Division-One sides when they swept aside Legends 83-46 in the final game of the evening.
Legends were no match for the experienced Pacesetters who demonstrated much chemistry and unselfish play.
Stephon Gills and Naylon Loncke collectively hurt the Legends as they connected with early three pointers to establish an early lead while starting point guard Hugh Arthur and forward Clement Brushe made the lead almost impossible to surmount.
Pacesetters’ newest offseason acquisition Aubrey Smith fitted perfectly into the offence and dazzled the few spectators in the nearly empty Clif Anderson Sports Hall when he delivered consecutive jaw-dropping passes late in the third quarter.
While Smith ended the game with nine points, team-mate Gills effortlessly registered a game-high 19 points while Hugh Arthur scored 16.
Brushe controlled the low block and finished the game with 15 points in his team’s mammoth victory.
Brenthnon Gordon was the only player in double figures for the Legends with 13 points.
The GABA/NLE tourney will continue tomorrow evening at 19:00h when Ravens meet Courts Pacesetters in the division three matchup, followed by Nets versus Pacesetters in the much-anticipated division-one semifinal which it is hoped will draw basketball fans out in their numbers.