The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Coach Kevin Johnson and the CI Gibson Rattlers ended a seven-year drought in the Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic and claimed the fifth title in school history.

The Rattlers claimed their first title since 2006 with a 61-58 win over the Dame Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins in the tournament finale last night at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Point guard Shakwon Lewis was named the most valuable player and finished with 10 points and four assists. Johnley Noel came off the bench to finish with a double double - 14 points and 12 rebounds - Oatman Lightbourne added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Shamir Rolle added nine points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

Dwayne Dormeus led the Mystic Marlins with 15 points. Game Atlius added 13 points and 16 rebounds, Brendan Stubbs added 12 points while Deangelo Jolly added nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Rattlers saw a 14-point fourth quarter lead evaporate to just three, but were able to hold on late for the win with a key effort on the defensive end.

The Rattlers led 53-41 in the opening moments of the fourth but the Mystic Marlins went on a 9-0 run to pull within three. Following back to back layups from Game Atilus, Stubbs followed with a fastbreak layup to make the score 53-50.

With the Rattlers on the ropes, Lewis responded with a floater on the following possession and kept the Rattlers ahead with an assist to Rolle, 57-52 with 2:10 left to play.

Rolle followed with a block to start a fastbreak on the next play which Lightbourne finished with a layup for a seven point lead, 59-52. Leading just 61-58 following a Stubbs jumper, the Mystic Marlins recovered the loose ball with 28 seconds left to play but failed to convert on several opportunities.

Dormeus missed a pair at the line, but Shamir Rolle threw the ball away on a turnover to give the Mystic Marlins another opportunity. Atilus and Dormeus both missed shots from point blank range and Dormeus missed the game tying three pointer with 2.8 seconds left to play.

Johnson, who stands just one title win behind Tabernacle Baptist Falcons head coach Norris Bain with a record six titles, said the win was a result of a total community effort by the Rattler family.

“It feels good. First off I just want to thank God. I want to thank my wife for being supportive. I want to thank the entire CI Gibson staff for being supportive,” he said. “I knew they would make a run, we were a bit more disciplined but I knew once we would sustain we would be able to win the game. We just wanted them to slow down the tempo, work possession basketball and once we did that we knew we had a chance to win the game.”

CI Gibson struggled offensively early on and Wilton Johnson Jr was the lone bright sport for the Rattlers. He scored the first six points for his team, but the Mystic Marlins constant fastbreak attack led them to an early lead, which has been their hallmark all tournament.

Dormeus responded with a 5-0 run, which included a three pointer from the wing and a fastbreak layup for an 11-3 lead.

Johnson again responded with a three point play. Jolly gave the Mystic Marlins a 13-7 lead with around 3:17 left to go but it would be his team’s final field goal of the quarter as the Rattlers finally gained their offensive composure to pull ahead and end the quarter on a 12-3 run.

Lewis would score five of the next seven points for the Rattlers and with just seconds remaining Johnson came up with a steal and passed it the full length of the floor to Lightbourne for an easy fastbreak layup and a 19-16 lead just before the buzzer sounded.

In the second quarter, CI Gibson capitalised on the Doris Johnson full court press, easily getting the ball up the court for fastbreak baskets.

CI Gibson led 27-20 and it looked like the Mystic Marlins were in trouble until leading scorer Brendan Stubbs converted on a three point play, 27-23.

With Stubbs hampered by injury for much of the game, the Mystic Marlins struggled in the halfcourt set and erratic shot selection led to easy fast break opportunities for the Rattlers.

After Oatman Lightbourne missed a pair of free throws, he stole the outlet pass and converted the ensuing three point play for the Rattlers first double digit lead of the game, a 37-26 lead.

The Rattlers took advantage of porous interior defence from the Mystic Marlins 42-28.

Lewis opened scoring in the third quarter with a three pointer for a 45-28 lead and it seemed as if the Rattlers were on pace for a rout, but Doris Johnson responded with a 9-1 run to again pull within single digits.

Shanton Pratt capped the run with a three pointer from the top of the key to make the score 46-37.

Noel gave the Rattlers another key basket when they needed it most and regained a double digit lead and they took a 51-39 lead into the fourth.

For head coach Denycko Bowles, it will be back to the drawing board for his Mystic Marlins who made their first Hugh Campbell title game appearance in school history.

“We started out well, in the second quarter we got away from our gameplan and caused some unforced turnovers. Had we keyed in on those things it would have been much different,” he said. “I know we’ll be back next year. This is an experience they can use for themselves. Now they know what it is to make it this far, we will go back to the drawing board and come back bigger and stronger next year.”

The Rattlers finished the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record with wins over Aquinas College, Queen’s College, twice over Agape, Eight Mile Rock and Doris Johnson.