Knights, Flames burn rivals

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Former champions Urban Knights thrashed Majesty Legends 78-35 to move into second place in the Flow National Basketball League competition on Sunday night at the University of the Technology auditorium.

In the night's other game, Portmore Flames, led by a game-high 32 points from Kenardo Smith, defeated Waterhouse Blazers 64-50. The Flames trailed the Blazers 22-25 at half-time. However, the Flames rallied in the third quarter to take a 53-37 lead.

Smith also grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out three assists

Raymond Layne, with 16 points and 11 rebounds, was the main contributor for the Blazers.

The Knights' record now stands at eight wins and three defeats, one behind defending champions Tivoli Wizards who have chalked up nine wins and one loss with a game in hand.

The Legends, who have a game in hand, have slipped to third in the standings with seven wins and three losses.

The Knights, who won back-to-back titles in 2007-08, took command of the match from the opening whistle as they quickly sped to a 20-8 lead at the end of the first period.

game-high points

The Calvin Martin-coached Knights, who were very aggressive at both ends of the court, extended their advantage in the second period courtesy of national representative Javon Bailey, who scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the period, as they romped to a 43-18 lead at half-time.

The Knights were unstoppable in the third stanza, and they took advantage of the Legends' sloppy play and poor shooting which resulted in nine turnovers as they extended their lead to 60-28.

Centre Oneil Mundle was also excellent for the Knights in the third quarter, with a perfect three from three, as he scored six of his 15 points in the third period.

The Legends' coach, Marland Nattie, brought on a number of his bench players at the start of the fourth period. However, this did not slow the pace of the Knights as they continued to mesmerise the Legends with some fancy plays, which also included a monster dunk by Mundle on a break-away in the final minutes, as they outscored their opponents 14-7 to complete a comfortable victory.

Bailey and Mundle received solid support from Paul Richards who got 12 points and eight rebounds.

"I think that this was a good performance from us because it shows the potential that my team has if we stay together for another year," said Martin.

He added: "I think that we caught Majesty on a bad day because they didn't play their normal positive game as they weren't attacking us."

Damion Young, with seven points and 15 rebounds, was the Legends' top player.

Nattie, who was very disappointed with his team's effort, said: "The team is not playing the way that I expected them to play because we are not playing with discipline, and they're also not playing as an unit."