The Georgetown senior men’s basketball team avenged the defeat of the junior team with a resounding 21-point win against their Linden counterparts Saturday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall during the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Super League exhibition tournament.
In the feature encounter of the evening, Georgetown’s senior men crushed Linden 66-45 in a low-scoring encounter that was dominated by turnovers and offensive miscues. Georgetown’s leading scorer was native Lindener Akeem Kanhai with 12 points while Travis Burnett and Tyron Hamid added 10 points apiece for the victors.
Linden’s juniors managed to complete a thrilling one-basket win against Georgetown 71-69 in the first match up of the evening. That match up was considered by many as more impressive and entertaining than the senior clash which was supposed to be a contest of the country’s premier players.
From the get go, both teams struggled to score and it took more than 10 possessions before Georgetown opened the score sheet with a basket. The compilation which was supposed to reflect Georgetown’s top players scored just 10 points in the first quarter, but that was still enough to lead Linden by two.
In the second quarter Georgetown continued to struggle and allowed Linden to pull ahead briefly (18-11) before they got some rhythm offensively. Raven’s guard Hamid asserted himself and drilled two key jump shots to help Georgetown make strides in the first half when most of his teammates struggled to connect. The first half ended with the capital city players on top 26-19 after capitalising on a few transition baskets.
Though they failed miserably in their half court execution in the first half, Georgetown made the adjustments in the locker room that led to their win. Georgetown applied pressure on the Linden guards and got in the passing lanes to prevent Linden’s predictable wing pass to initiate their half-court offense. The tactical adjustments led to early steals for Georgetown and they managed to extend the lead. In fact, the first eight points of the second half were fast break points off steals.
Georgetown continued to execute in transition, and Hamid and Burnett made their way to the basket on a few more occasions with little resistance from the Linden defence.
Harold Adams, who finished with 12 points, was the only Linden player in double figures. Former national captain Steve Neils (Jnr) adopted the role of facilitator rather than scorer and only finished with two points. Former junior national player Orin Rose scored five points while former national forward Neil Marks finished with six points. Former national shooting guard Marvin Hartman was scoreless on the night.
Junior scoring sensation Nikkoloi Smith led all scorers with 30 points in the junior contest but his impressive individual effort came in a losing effort for Georgetown. Linden’s multi discipline athlete Parish Cadogan led his team with 23 points, while 2012 junior national player Travin Dryden scored 16 and Sheldon Noel added 13. Georgetown’s forward Nicholas Cassius and Nyamebekyere Bacchus added 11 points each. The exhibition contest between Georgetown and Linden was organised by GABA to reenergise the basketball community prior to yesterday’s launch of the GABA Super League on the Burnham basketball court.
