Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) have repeated as champions of the Under-19 Secondary School Basketball Tournament, defeating Soufrière Comprehensive 48-36 on Tuesday at the Beausejour Gymnasium, and taking the first school sports title for the year. It was the fourth finals loss for Soufriere in the last five years.
The men from the Morne held a slim 13-10 lead after the opening period, and took a 22-20 advantage into the halftime interval. SALCC took control in the third quarter, outscoring Soufrière 12-4 to carry a 10-point cushion (34-24) into the final frame before closing out the 12-point triumph.
Nyel Joseph paced the College boys with 20 points, four steals, and three rebounds. Shayne Edgar filled the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, four steals, two assists, and two blocks. Romuald Wilson added six points, four steals, and three rebounds, while Mezan Lewis chipped in four points, six rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Marvel Joseph pulled down seven rebounds.
Co-MVP of the finals, Curdin Jones led Soufrière Comprehensive with 26 points, 26 rebounds, five steals, and two blocks. Sanchez Felix and Trenton Henry scored four points each, with Felix adding six rebounds and five steals. Aloysious William contributed six steals and two points.
The third-place playoff was a thriller, as St Mary’s College captured the bronze medals with a dramatic 53-50 double-overtime victory over Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School. The contest was deadlocked at 43-43 at the end of regulation. LHCSS outscored SMC 14-12 in the fourth quarter, but let the game slip through their fingers in the dying seconds. SMC eked ahead 10-7 across the overtime periods to seal the win.
Raine Gustave and Jabarie Archibald led the Samarians with 15 points and 13 rebounds each. Archibald added four assists, three steals, and three blocks, while Gustave picked up three steals. Rollins Estwick contributed seven points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Zaieef Mann had six points, four rebounds, two steals, and two assists. Ernel Mason chipped in with five points and three rebounds.
Sage Lewis and McKhail Felix led LHCSS with 19 points each. Lewis recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds, seven steals, two assists, and two blocks, while Felix had five steals and three rebounds. Christopher Thakur and Ahlil Cyril contributed four points each, with Cyril picking up five steals and Thakur grabbing four. De Carrio De La Cruz added six rebounds, two blocks, and two points.
Jones (SCSS) was the competition’s leading scorer and rebounder with 166 points and 132 caroms at averages of 33.2 points and 26.4 boards per game. William (SCSS) led the steals category with 70 steals (14.0 average), followed by Jones with 34 (6.8 average). Jeannarl Louis (CCSS) had 19 assists (3.8 average), ahead of Zaieef Mann (SMC) with 11. David Chandler (CCSS) led the way with nine blocks (1.8 average).
