National Schools Basketball Festival...Marian win two in a row, Bishop’s claim first

National Schools Basketball Festival…Marian win two in a row, Bishop’s claim first

May 19, 2013 Sports

Marian Academy yesterday won their second straight game in the senior category of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) with a more impressive performance against Government Technical Institute (GTI) on their home court.

IN THE LANE! Marian Academy’s point guard, Jonathan Beaten penetrates in the lane for an easy lay-up against GTI yesterday afternoon.

Marian Academy won 40-32 when the Digicel, Banks DIH and Beharry Group of Companies-sponsored nationwide event continued with its City Conference. Selvuaghn Moseley scored 14 points for Marian and grabbed six rebounds. Darroll Williams finished with 14 points for GTI in the contest.
Marian dominated the game on both offensive and defensive ends, playing with much more ease than they did last weekend. Turnovers and missed attempts seemed to be the theme of GTI that once dominated basketball in Guyana in the 90s.
Marian also struggled early in the game with their offence, failing to capitalise on the errors of the opposition. The result was a close game at halftime with the scores at 16-14 in favour of the home team.
However, following the break, Marian came out with an offensive mindset, racing ahead and maintaining a nine-point lead with 1:53 to play in the game. Williams nailed a big three-point jumper with a 1:44 to chop Marian’s lead and provide a little hope.
But Marian was up to the task as they dismantled GTI’s offence with an intermittent zone that the opposition struggled to figure out. They scored four straight down the stretch to ensure their second Under-20 NSBF 2013 victory.
In the Under-17 game earlier in the day, Bishops High School defeated Brickdam Secondary 25-16 for their first win. After trailing 14-9 at the end of the first half, Bishops controlled the paint on both ends of the court with their ‘big men’ dominating.
Daniel Haynes had four points for Bishops, but grabbed eight rebounds, while teammate Matthew Budrah led the team with six points and hauled five ‘boards’ in a complete team effort.
Joshua Lee scored six points for Brickdam while his teammate Eon Sullivan had seven steals to give them chances that they failed to capitalise on.
The Under-14 contest saw Marian Academy edging Plaisance Secondary 18-17; although Marian had seven turnovers compared to Plaisance’s two, Marian out rebounded them 22-12 to pull off the close win.
Jaleel Young, Jonathon Mangra and Joshua Brazoa combined to score six apiece for Marian in the game. Moses Matthews scored a game high seven points while Andrew Johnson had six for the Plaisance unit.
Meanwhile, in the one Berbice (Ancient) Conference game played on Friday, Port Mourant Training Centre routed Comprehensive Secondary 42-24 in a one-sided contest. Antonio Islam scored 13 points for Port Mourant and dished four assists.
Jermaine Hope, who scored all of his nine points with shots from behind the arc, was the leading scorer for Comprehensive Secondary.
The NSBF continues today with the East Coast (Country) Conference at the Mon Repos Primary School Hard Court. (Edison Jefford)