A Jermaine Slater layup moments before the expiration of normal time propelled Ravens to an 87-85 win over Colts when the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League Championships continued on Wednesday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
With his side in possession of the ball and only 15 seconds remaining at 85-85, Slater upon collecting a Ryan Stephney pass, after the latter ran the clock down to less than two seconds, calmly converted his attempt from under the rim to seal the win at the buzzer.
The dramatic conclusion came following a turnover from Dave Causway after his errant and unnecessary pass from the right side of the court, sailed out of the reach of a team-mate on the left side, with 15 seconds remaining and the score level.
This occurred after Colts erased a seven-point deficit at the start of the fourth period with the score locked at 67-60. Causway was the main scorer in the final period with 11 points, as Colts pulled level at 78-78 with 4:20 remaining.
However Ravens restored their lead through Slater who netted seven points in the period, taking an 85-81 advantage with less than minutes remaining. Nonetheless, Colts pulled even at 85-85 with less than a minute to go as Webster netted four points.
Colts eventually took possession of the ball with 28 seconds remaining and the score unchanged at 85-85, only for an unlikely blunder by the experienced Causway to seal Raven’s win.
Overall Tyrone Hamid top scored in the win with 23 points while Stephney, Ryan Gullen, Slater and Dominic Vicente netted 22, 13, 10 and eight points respectively. On the other side, Shelroy Thomas recorded 25 points while Causway supported with 21 points.
Chipping in with 14 points each were Shane Webster and Kurt English while Rayon Cummings supported with six points.
With the opening period failing to separate the two sides at 22-21, Ravens seized the initiative in the second stanza as they netted 21 points to Colts 12 points to enter the half time interval ahead at 43-33.
Gullen top scored in the period with seven points inclusive of a three-pointer while Hamid and Kester Gomes netted five points apiece. Ravens’ dominance in the period was highlighted best by a monstrous dunk by Gomes at 5:51 after rising high to pounce on a missed layup by Slater.
For Colts, Webster top scored with four points while English and Cummings had three points each. It then became a game of two halves as Colts outshot Ravens in the third stanza 27-24 to go into the final period trailing 67-60.
The period was highlighted by a mini battle between Stephney and Thomas who top scored on either side. Stephney led the period with 13 points while Thomas matched him with 12 points studded with two three-point daggers.
Ravens’ next best scorer in the period was Hamid with six points while Causway came second in the scoring with 10 points, in the process setting up the dramatic end. In the opening u-23 matchup, Plaisance Guardians downed Pepsi Sonics by an 81-61 margin.
