The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The Shockers and Mail Boat Cybots took early leads in their respective series as the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) Playoffs got underway Monday night. Both series will continue with game two on Friday.

Shockers – 93

Rockets – 69

Salathiel Dean’s double-double led four Shockers in double figures en route to the lopsided win.

Dean finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, all game highs. William Rigby also posted a double double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, Crosley Wilmore added 14, Floyd Armbrister scored 13, while Lamont Armaly finished with six points and a game high nine assists.

Henderson Curry led the Rockets with 15 points, Tomeko Moxey scored 13 and Rashard Morley finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

Armaly’s ability to share the ball spread to the entire Shockers offence as they finished with 24 assists to the Rockets’ nine. Defensively, they also recorded 17 steals and forced 28 turnovers.

Dean opened the game with back-to-back three pointers for an early 6-0 Shockers lead. The Rockets would pull within two, but the Shockers would close the first quarter on a 10-5 run.

Wilmore’s late jumper gave them a 19-10 which they took into the second.

Wilmore would also give the Shockers an eight-point lead in the second quarter with a three at the 8:25 mark for a 24-16 lead.

The Rockets would respond with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to grab a 28-26 lead on a Curry three pointer. The final two minutes featured several lead changes before Armbrister’s three-point play with 17 seconds left gave the Rockets a 37-34 lead at the half.

In a back and forth game, it would be the Shockers turn to go on a run in the third.

Leading 41-39, Jackson Dalmon made a jumper and it sparked 10 unanswered points as the Shockers took a 51-39 lead. They led 63-51 headed into the fourth quarter and were never threatened the rest of the way. The Shockers led by as much as 27 on a Diangelo Woodside layup late in the quarter.

Mailboat Cybots – 96

University of the Bahamas

Mingoes - 65

The Cybots had a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures and eight players with at least seven points.

Ernest Saunders scored a team high 19 to lead the Cybots, Livingston Munnings added 14, Dario Seymour finished with 13 and Dominique Beadle added 11.

Jeremy Huthcinson finished with nine points and 13 rebounds while Delvonne Duncombe, Cordario Pinder and Lerecus Armbrister each chipped in with seven points.

Kemsey Sylvestre was the lone Mingoes player in double figures with 21 points. Ramon Dames added nine points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Mingoes shot just 31 per cent from the field and a paltry four per cent (1-24) from the three-point line while the Cybots were 42 per cent from the field and 42 per cent (8-19) from three.

The Cybots had a 12-rebound advantage on the boards and dished 14 more assists. The Mingoes took an early four-point lead on their opening two possessions but the Cybots would take control midway through the first period. Clinging to an 11-10 lead, the Cybots ended the first on a 9-1 run. Hutchinson’s tip in with 1:16 left to play gave them a 20-11 lead.

The lead reached double figures for the first time on the opening possession of the second quarter when Munnings made a layup. UB reduced the lead to five at the 6:23 mark when Justin Smith made a jumper for a 28-23 score, but the Cybots finished strong to take a 47-35 lead at the half.

The Mingoes were held to just eight points in the third quarter as the lead ballooned to 30 headed into the fourth (73-43).

The playoff series in the John Archer Division began over the weekend with the Commonwealth Bank Giants defeating the Pirates 104-87 and Mr Ship It Regulators beating the defending champions PJ Stingers with a 108-86 victory.

The four teams are expected to be back in action for game two of their best-of-three series tonight.