The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE defending champions Dame Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins made an early statement in a matchup of Government Secondary School Sports Association senior boys title contenders.

The Mystic Marlins withstood a late run from the CC Sweeting Cobras and emerged with a 47-40 win last night at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

Joshua Burrows led the Mystic Marlins with a team high 11 points while Richard Lowe, Rillen Saunders and Brandon Francis each finished with eight.

Haywood Seymour led the Cobras with a game high 18 points. Rickey Moxey Jr and Donovan Aranha each finished with seven points.

Doris Johnson led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, and forced four turnovers that turned into eight fastbreak points.

Francis outscored the Cobras by himself in the quarter and paced the Mystic Marlins early in the wire-to-wire win. They extended the lead to 24-16 at the half and took a 30-24 lead into the fourth.

The Mystic Marlins’ lead grew to as much as 13 in the fourth quarter, but the Cobras would rally late. A three-point play from Seymour, followed by a layup from Aranha, got the CC Sweeting faithful back into the game. A three pointer from Eugene Ferguson cut the deficit to just three (40-43) with just over a minute left to play. The Cobras would put Lowe on the line who missed the first, but the Cobras were called for a lane violation.

Lowe would convert the two free throws and the Cobras had two turnovers down the stretch in their final possessions as the comeback fell short.

“Hats off to CC Sweeting. They are well coached and they played hard, my guys they came out very strong during the first part of the game. We got careless late in the fourth quarter but for the most part this is a new group, some that’s expected early in the season, but I think we have to just be stronger,” head coach Denycko Bowles said.

“We will continue to get better as a group, we just want to thank God for the victory and continue to grow during the year.”

Bowles said the Mystic Marlins will go as far as his experienced backcourt of Burrows and Matthew Saunders leads them as they prepare to make a late postseason run.

“We have some smart guards with great experience. The mistakes we made, some they shouldn’t have made as leaders but we will stay with it. They are great leaders of the team, on and off the court so I’m not too worried about them. They will lead and the guys will follow suit,” Bowles said. “I trust their leadership and they are going to be good.”

Saunders said the team’s ultimate goal is to repeat as GSSSA and Hugh Campbell champions and make school history by winning its first national championship.

“We weren’t communicating too good late. We were scoring but we were in situations where we should have had more stops. It got physical, but it didn’t bother me any, it keeps me locked in and focused but I really don’t mind any of that,” said Matthew Saunders.

“It was a good win, every game is important in us getting where we want to be at the end of the year. The important thing is that we are able to fix the things that held us back today and to keep moving forward.”