Knights eye semi-final slot

WESTERN BUREAU:Montego Bay Cricket Club Knights will be aiming to join Lucea Flames in the semi-final round of the 2011-12 Western Basketball Association (WBA) Division One League this afternoon, when they play away to Montego Bay Boys' Club Warriors at the Montego Bay Boys' Club, starting at 4 p.m.

The youthful Knights, who had their three-game winning streak snapped last weekend by the competition's unbeaten leaders, Flames, are on seven points, and a win against the Warriors will take them to nine points and a place in the competition's semi-final round.

Warriors, who are on four points and have a game outstanding, will be hoping for a win, as this would significantly strengthen their weak chance of making it into the semi-finals, which will yield a qualifier for this November's NBL (west) Championship.

In their game against Flames at Watson Taylor Park in Lucea last weekend, the exciting Knights, who entered the game unbeaten with three consecutive wins, were humbled as they were brushed aside 61-30, losing the quarters by 16-4, 17-4, 16-12 and 12-9 margins.

Dominant players

Craig Dorman and Alrick Haughton, who got 13 points each, and Noberto Minto, who got nine points, were the dominant players for Flames. Fitzroy Gordon, who netted 16 points, was the only bright spark for Knights.

"For unknown reasons, Knights did not show up with a full-strength team and, as a consequence, they were no match for Flames," said Deon Williams, the competition's coordinator. "However, Knights are still on course to make the semi-finals."

Warriors should have been in action last weekend, but they ended up getting full points without taking the court as their opponents Spartan failed to show. Warriors were awarded the game with two points and a 20-0 scoreline, which lifted their points tally to four from three games.

In another game last weekend, Wolfpack gave their semi-final hopes a boost when they upstaged MoBay Lions 70-64 in their keenly contested game at the Montego Bay Cricket Club. Wolfpack won the first and last quarters by 23-3 and 25-20 margins, while Lions won the two middle quarters 22-6 and 19-16.

André Uter, 25 points, and Dwayne Keene and Daniel Malcolm, 4 points each, were the top performers for Wolfpack, while Floyd Dixon, with a game-high 29 points, tried in vain for the Lions.

The competition will continue tomorrow with Lions playing away to Spartans at the Negril Community Centre, starting at 4 p.m.