The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

It was a dominant performance over the course of the last three games of the series as the Mr Ship It Regulators unseated the two-time defending champions to take the New Providence Basketball Association Division I title.

The Regulators closed out the best-of-seven series with a 100-81 win over the Mail Boat Cybots in game six at the AF Adderley Gymnasium last night.

The Regulators were led by Brian Bain who had a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds. Four Regulators reached double figures - Gameliel Rose had 23 points and eight rebounds, Eugene had 19 points and eight rebounds and Miguel Mackey finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

Livingston Munnins had 23 points and a game-high 18 rebounds to lead the Cybots. Lerecus Armbrister scored 18 points, Ernest Saunders scored 17 and Delvonne Duncombe added 10 points and eight rebounds.

After the Cybots took an early 2-1 lead in the series, the Regulators won the final three games of the series by an average margin of 18 points per game.

After an early 4-0 lead, the game was tied early at four and once again at eight within the first two minutes. Brian Bain drilled a three from the wing and on the following trip upcourt Mackey made a layup to give the Regulators a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Regulators broke the game open in the second with a timely 6-0 run to go ahead by double figures. After Munnings scored the first basket of the quarter, the Regulators followed with a jumper from Mackey, layups from Rose and Missick and another score from Mackey to take a 21-10 lead with under seven minutes left in the half. Armbrister stopped the run for the Cybots with his jumper. The Regulators pushed the lead back to 10 when Patrick Brice made the second of two free throws to make the score 28-18 at the 3:38 mark. After a Munnings score, Brice would make a three-pointer to maintain the double figures advantage. Bain would score the next four for the Regulators and Brice just beat the buzzer with a layup for a 37-23 lead at the half.

Cruz Simon and Armbrister traded three-pointers on the opening possessions of the third but the Regulators were able to stretch the lead to 19 on a Brian Bain jumper for a 48-29 advantage. The Regulators maintained a double-digit lead for the most of the period until Armbrister made a pair of free throws with less than one minute left to play to trim the deficit, 60-52. Mackey and Brian Bain scored the last four points of the quarter to give their team a 64-52 lead into the fourth.

The lead hovered in the 8-12 point range for much of the fourth quarter. Armbrister’s three-pointers trimmed it to just six with under seven minutes left to play but Mackey responded immediately with a three-point play. The Cybots would come within six again when Darrio Seymour made a pair at the line but the Regulators responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away for good. Brian Bain’s layup gave Mr Ship It an 86-70 lead with 3:30 left in regulation. The lead reached as much as 20 in the fourth

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.

Armbrister made just two field goals all game but his floater just beat the buzzer at the end of regulation and lifted the Cybots to an 84-83 win and a 2-1 series lead.

The Regulators would close it out by winning the final three games of the series in dominant fashion.

In game four, they took a 96-74 behind the frontcourt duo of Rose and Bain.

The pair was again a force in the paint for the Regulators and sparked the 101-88 win in game five.