Resolute Cornwall cop U-19 title

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Many-time champions Cornwall College won the Under-19 section of the 2010-11 ISSA/KFC Western High Schools basketball competition on Thursday, when they defeated Manning's High 59-49 in game two at the Montego Bay Cricket Club, to take the best-of-three finals 2-0.

Coached by Sheldon Pearson, the unbeaten Cornwall College, who had also won Tuesday's game one by a 70-61 margin, have now qualified for the all-island championship play-off series, which will feature the winners of the other regional championships.

"Unlike game one where we started fast and finished slowly, today we played a much more controlled game, which showed the versatility of this team," said Pearson.

In the Under-16 game two clash between Rhodes Hall and Holland High, which preceded the Under-19 game, Holland rebounded from Tuesday's 46-44 loss with an impressive 55-36 win, to tie the series at 1-1. The deciding game three decider will be played on Monday.

"We really wanted this win today because we knew we could play much better than we did in game one," said Clifton Shettleworth, who was the outstanding player for Holland.

Full throttle

In the Under-19 match, both teams started out at full throttle and traded baskets at regular intervals. It was therefore no surprise that only two points separated them at the end of the quarter, as Cornwall College established a close 16-14 lead.

The second quarter was again quite tight, but this time around Manning's emerged with the advantage, winning the quarter 15-12 to establish a thin 29-28 half-time lead.

Cornwall College stamped their authority on the game in the third quarter when they took charge, running Manning's into the ground with relentless attacks. They easily took the quarter 15- 8 to create a comfortable 43-37 lead going into the final quarter, which they also won handily by a 16-12 margin to seal the title.

Christopher Smith, the competition's MVP-designate, was the outstanding player for Cornwall College, scoring 24 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and making 14 blocks.

Robert McIntosh and Alex McFarlane also contributed well with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Adrian McCallum was the bright spark for Manning's, scoring 17 points and pulling down 21 rebounds.

In the Under-16 contest, Holland were ruthless in the first two quarters, which they won 13-4 and 22-2 to establish a commanding 35-6 half-time lead. Rhodes Hall took the third and fourth quarters by 12-7 and 18-13 margins, but that was not enough to give them victory.

Shettworth was the top player for Holland, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He was well supported by Cornell Draggon and Kenrick Lindo, who got 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Ewan Symester scored 12 points for Rhodes Hall.