By RENALDO DORSETT
Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
THE back and forth battle between the Mail Boat Cybots and Mr Ship It Freight Regulators continued over the weekend and set the stage for game five in their best-of-seven series in the NPBA Division I.
The Regulators tied the series at 2-2 with a 96-74 win over the Cybots at AF Adderley Gymnasium in game four on Saturday.
Game five is scheduled for 8:30pm tonight.
Gamaliel Rose and Eugene Bain dominated frontcourt play in a must win game for the Regulators. Rose finished one assist shy of a triple double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Bain finished with 25 points, 19 rebounds and six steals. Cruz Simon scored 10 while Miguel Mackey added eight points, five rebounds and six assists.
Lerecus Armbrister scored a team high 19 for the Cybots. Ernest Saunders had 13 points, Delvonne Duncombe scored 12 and Cordario Pinder finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Bain and Rose led to a 45-33 advantage on the boards for the Regulators.
That directly led to a 56-30 advantage in points in the paint and a 14-9 advantage in second chance points.
The Regulators shot 50 per cent from the floor while they limited the Regulators to just 37 percent. They also shot 84 per cent from the free throw line and shared the ball efficiently with 26 assists.
Armbrister’s jumper gave the Cybots an early 12-11 lead late in the first quarter, but the Regulators took control of the game for good with an 18-0 run over the last five minutes of the period.
Rose grabbed the lead on the very next possession with a jumper of his own and sparked the Run for the Regulators. The lead reached double figures for the first time when Simon’s three gave them a 23-12 with 2:14 left to play. Bain scored the last four points of the quarter, capped by a dunk with three seconds left to play for a 29-12 lead.
The run extended to 22 unanswered points through the second quarter when Robert Missick opened with a jumper and Rose added a pair of free throws for a 33-12 lead. Saunders made a layup for the Cybots to finally end the run. The Regulators’ lead reached 24 on Missick’s jumper, 44-20 with 6:07 left to play in the half. The Cybots were able to trim into the deficit at the end of the period but still trailed 50-35 at the half.
The Cybots rallied in the third and the lead was cut down to just eight on a Darrio Seymour three pointer at the 3:08 mark to make the score 55-63.
Armbrister made a three pointer with just 41 seconds left and the Regulators took just a five point lead into the fourth quarter, 68-63.
The Regulators quickly pushed the lead back to double figures in the fourth when Brian Bain converted a three point play, and Mackey made a jumper for a 73-63 lead. They opened the quarter on a 12-3 run. They lead reached as much as 24 in the fourth quarter as the Cybots were limited to just 11 points.
Neither team has been able to win consecutive games in the series thus far.
Each team has one a game in this series by double figures and another by a single point.
The Cybots opened the series with a 93-83 win.
In game two, the Regulators scored four points in the final 1:30 to surge ahead for the 78-77 win and Mackey’s jumper with 34 seconds left to play proved to be the go-ahead score. The Cybots were unable to convert on their final possessions and regain the lead in the final seconds.
Game three came down to a last second thriller on Friday night.
Armbrister made just two field goals all game but his floater just beat the buzzer at the end of regulation and lifted Cybots to an 84-83 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID