A Hodyah Stewart last gasp shot with three seconds left on the clock, propelled Republic Bank Nets to a 75-74 upset win over Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters when the Phillip George Memorial tourney continued on Saturday.
With the scores locked at 74-73 in favour of the home side at the Burnham Basketball Court, the diminutive Stewart positioned on the right side of the paint would out-jump to latch on to Anthony Austin’s missed free-throw attempt, before placing the ball off the backboard and into the net. The sudden turn in fortune would force Pacesetters to utilize a timeout and in the process, advance the ball up the court in an attempt to win the fixture with last shot. This however would be further complicated as Travis Burnette, Royston Siland and Joslyn Crawford were all fouled out.
With only seconds remaining, the inbounded pass to Ruel Ritch and eventual shot attempt by the aforesaid player would materialize to nothing as he inadvertently stepped out of play, sparking wild celebrations among the Nets supporters and players as the clock expired.
Leading the Nets to their second consecutive win following their defeat of title holders Ravens was Mortimer Williams who netted 22 points. He was assisted by Drunson McCulley, Stewart and Austin who netted 13, nine and seven points respectively. Registering 18 points in the loss was Randy Richardson while Burnette, Stephon Gillis and Crawford netted 14, 13 and 10 points respectively.
The opening period of the matchup saw Colts racing off to a five point lead as the first quarter ended 22-17. Crawford led the offence with seven points through two layups and a three point play while Gillis shot his way to six points compliments of two three pointers.
Pacesetters would then extend their advantage to 12 points led by an early 6-0 as the second period concluded at 41-29. Gillis once more was the main threat for the home side, netting six points highlighted by a three pointer in the final 30 seconds of the quarter. However the resulting comeback would be set in motion in the third interval as Nets outhustled Pacesetters 18-15 to go into the fourth trailing 56-47. Williams shouldered the offence in the period as he netted six points from two layups and two free-throws. The unlikely comeback would then be completed in the final stanza as Nets, led by their own 6-0 run in the first two minutes outshot the home side 28-18.
Williams and Pelham Doris led the charge with seven and six points respectively highlighted by two big three pointers in the dying minutes while McCulley and Stewart chipped in with five and four points apiece, by constantly attacking the rim to turn the fixture into a game of two halves. Burnette played a vital hand for Pacesetters prior to his exit through fouling out as he netted nine points from three layups, a mid-range jumper and free-throw. In the third matchup, tournament hosts Colts blew-out Knights by an 82-58 score line. Dave Causway registered a game-high 24 points in the win whilst Rayon Cummings and Nikkoloi Smith netted 21 points each.
Lloyd Bart led the losers with 15 points. He was supported by Owan Walton and Yannick December who scored 14 and eight points respectively. The second matchup of the night witnessed Guyana Masters overcoming Berbice Rockers by a 75-71 margin.
Lugard Mohan led all scorers for the winners with 29 points while Aubrey Young and Kenrick Thomas supported with 18 and 10 points respectively. Scoring 19, 13 and 12 points respectively in the loss were Jason Fraser, Jamal Felix and Michael Bowen.
In the first match, Pepsi Sonics crushed Melanie Patriots 81-61. Trevor Smith led the Mandela Avenue based side with 24 points while Nevon Vyphuis and Junior Lovell netted 12 and 10 points correspondingly.
Sherlon Legall was the primary scorer for the losers with 14 points. He was assisted by Ashton Adams and Nyambekembe Bacchus who netted 14 and points respectively. The action is slated to continue at the same venue on Saturday 15th.
