The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

CHAD Smith and Denrico Burrows converted a pair of free throws in the final 16 seconds to help lift the CI Gibson Rattlers to a 79-73 victory over the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s defending senior boys champions CC Sweeting Cobras.

It was game one of the classic rematch between the second and third place finishers in the first game of their best-of-three playoffs at the AF Adderley Gymnasium last night.

Also Tuesday night, the HO Nash Lions’ junior girls blew out the SC McPherson Sharks 68-14, while the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves’ senior girls got by the CV Bethel Stingrays 40-18 and the CH Reeves Raptors’ junior boys nipped the AF Adderley Fighting Tigers 37-36.

Game two in all series will be played on Friday.

Rattlers 79, Cobras 73: With CC Sweeting making a final push to get back into the game as Clifton Barr canned his fourth straight three-pointer for a 75-73 deficit with 28.7 seconds left on the clock, CI Gibson’s Chad Smith was fouled on the next play.

Smith converted the pair of charity shots with 16.6 remaining and after the Cobras turned the ball over, Denrico Burrows was fouled with 7.5 seconds left and he too canned his pair of foul shots to seal the deal for the Rattlers.

“It feels good. We had to keep grinding and keep grinding and play CI Gibson basketball and execute our game plan,” said Rattlers’ head coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson.

“But CC Sweeting played a hell of a game. They shot the ball extremely well. But we just have to continue to defend and be smarter. I think we made some mental mistakes down the stretch that could have cost us the game. They shot the ball well. I can’t do anything about that.”

In game two, Johnson said his Rattlers will just have to defend the ball a lot better than they did, especially against Barr, who exploded for eight three-pointers to finish with a game high 27 points for the Cobras.

Burrows and Smith led a 1-2 punch on the inside for CI Gibson with 19 and 17 points respectively as they took over from the guards, who controlled most of the tempo from the outside.

Emmanuel Alexander and Jaden Strachan both had eight and Kenvon Farrington, Rasheed Sanusi and Rus-Shown Strachan all contributed six.

While Barr had the hot hands down the stretch, he was followed by Joshua Anderson and Anthon Williams, both with 14 for CC Sweeting, but it just wasn’t enough. “We didn’t execute. We didn’t execute at all,” was how CC Sweeting’s head coach Wayde Watson described his team’s performance. “All of the things we practiced didn’t come to fruition, so down the stretch, the guys were just playing off their adrenaline. “With no shot clock, you have to be prepared to go man-to-man. If you can’t play anybody man-to-man, you will have a long season.”

Watson was referring to the fact that his Cobras didn’t apply the pressure on the Rattlers’ big men when they needed too down the stretch and that made the difference in the ball game.

CI Gibson actually led from start to finish in the game. They opened a 19-13 run in the first quarter as Burrows and Smith came up with five and four points respectively.

They held on to a 32-29 margin at the half, thanks to Burrows and Darryo Saunders four apiece. At the end of the third, the Rattlers were still out front, 53-47, thanks to Burrows’s five, including a three-pointer.

Lions 68, Sharks 14: This one was over from the first quarter as HO Nash opened an 11-4 spurt behind Chavela Philip’s four points. At the half, they were up 21-7 as Geranique Bethel came up with six in the second quarter.

By the end of the third, the Lions were roaring 46-9 as Philip and Jonique Cunningham both scored four. And in the fourth, coach Patricia Johnson went deep in her bench as Shenell Stuart led the way with 11.

Bethel finished with a game high 16, Philip had 15, Cunningham 13 and Stuart 10.

“It was a pretty game in the second half. They finally start reading the game plan, running the lane and scoring the easy baskets,” coach Johnson said. “We need to work on coming out from the beginning. “

Johnson admitted that she doesn’t know what to expect from SC McPherson on Friday, but they will be prepared defensively.

“We have to follow the ball,” she stated. “We have to follow the ball baby.”

The Sharks, coached by Nikita Henfield, will certainly have to find a way to stop the Lions’ potent offensive attack. They also need some offense as they only managed to score all of their points on free throws.

Taliyah Marshall and Shemial Carey scored five and four respectively free throws to keep them in the game. They didn’t get in double digits until the third quarter on a free throw from Marshall for a 48-11 deficit.

Timberwolves 40, Stingrays 18: Amir Thompson was unstoppable, scoring more points than the entire CV Bethel team as she led Anatol Rodgers with a game high 21 points.

She had three as the Timberwolves opened a 7-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, eight in thew second as they extended it to 19-6 at the half, six in the third as they increased it to 30-15 and four more in the fourth to close out the game.

Chesternique Thomas helped out with seven and Laverne Armbrister chipped in with six.

For CV Bethel, B Alexis scored eight.