Giants junior boys advance to championships
By SHELDON LONGLEY
NG Sports Reporter
"This was a big game and big players shine in big games," said Bahamas Academy Stars guard Mitch Bain after a splendid all-around performance yesterday, proving why he is considered one of the best players in high school basketball in the country.
The Stars senior girls weren't the school's only team to advance to the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools basketball championships yesterday as their senior boys followed suit.
In a playoff rematch for which the Stars senior boys waited a whole year, their leader Bain exploded for a game high 28 points to lead them to a crashing 67-52 victory over the St. Augustine's College Big Red Machine, officially ending the Machine's four-year reign atop private school hoops.
"You have to give them credit. They played well all year and I wish them much more success as they continue into the championship," said SAC's head coach Reggie Forbes who took over for Felix Musgrove this year.
"He (Bain) is an excellent player and he is extremely talented. He dribbles the ball well and he can play without the basketball and he makes things happen on the basketball court. By looking at what I see in New Providence, by far he is the best player in high school this year and I wish him a whole lot of success," added Forbes concerning Bain.
With the win in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium, the Stars advanced to their third BAISS senior boys championship in school history and their first since 1995. They are still in search of their elusive first title.
After winning the pennant and bowing out in the playoff game to SAC last year, Bain and the Stars were determined not to suffer the same fate this year as they pulled away from the Machine in the second half and coasted to the easy victory.
"We knew that we had to go through that team in order to be successful and it just happened to be SAC today," said Stars head coach Winston Symonette.
From the first quarter, Bain came out shooting and as his shots kept dropping, one got the feeling that it was going to be a long night for the Machine. Bain lit up the nets for 40-plus points twice during the regular season but that was against non-playoff teams. He struggled in the playoff game against SAC last year but (despite not scoring 40) he proved that he could step up in the big game as he scored at will on the helpless Machine yesterday.
SAC had no answer for Bain's prominence, but they continuously worked the ball inside in the first half and was successful in getting the Stars' big men in foul trouble. Consistent free throw shooting along with a few transition baskets allowed them to keep pace with the high powered Stars but Bain's hot hand kept the Stars out front.
Bain scored 17 first half points to account for most of the Stars offence and atone for his backcourt mate and the Stars number two scorer, Terrance Brown. As a result of the offence running through Bain, Brown only scored four points in the first half.
Bain, who is arguably the best player in high school basketball, couldn't be stopped whether he was driving to the basket, pulling up for long range jumpers or simply out-running SAC's transition defence in the open court. His first half outburst bought time for Brown who didn't heat up until the third quarter.
"We came out and we played with great intensity today and everything they threw at us we had an answer for it," said Bain. "I wasn't concerned at all (in the first half) because everything was running good for us. It really doesn't matter who we play in the championship, we are just going to play our best and hope for the best. The way we are playing right now they can't beat us," he added.
SAC trailed by only three points at the half, 33-30, but when Brown started scoring in the third quarter to complement Bain, who still was 'on fire', the Stars stretched their lead to double digits even though their starting big men were relegated to the bench in foul trouble. Brown finished with 12 points, eight of which came in the third period.
SAC tried to mount a comeback in the final period behind long range bombs from Brenville Saunders, but the combination of Bain and Brown and a strong fourth quarter from starting forward David Fox finished them off. Fox dropped in six in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points in total.
Brendon Albury added nine for the Stars.
"They (Brown and Bain) are good players and we have to give credit where credit is due. Mitch and Terrance are our leaders but they are surrounded by other talented players and we have good depth in the bench, so we have to give them credit as well," said Stars coach Symonette.
Ricardo Cleare and Brenville Saunders paced SAC with 14 points apiece followed by Rico Cleare with 10, and Jethro Forbes with nine.
"We're not concerned about where we finish because each year we work on the programme," said SAC's coach Forbes. "We came out and did the best we could. We made some mental errors and it caused us. Next year we will go back to the drawing board and try to build on what we have done this year and you will see a much more improved team next year," he added.
The undefeated Stars aren't satisfied with just knocking off the four-time defending champions, but they want to complete the season undefeated capped by their first ever BAISS senior boys title. They will take on either the Prince William Falcons or the St. Anne's Blue Waves in the best-of-three championship.
"Our quest is to go undefeated and we are very confident that we can do that," said Symonette. "We must have a certain degree of confidence to go into the championships," he added.
Junior Boys
Giants 42, Stars 24
The undefeated St. John's College Giants junior boys advanced to their second Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools championship in three years with a resounding win over the Bahamas Academy Stars yesterday.
The pennant winning Giants were defeated by the Stars in the championship two years ago and missed out on the playoffs last year but were determined to get back to the finals this year where they have high hopes of winning this time.
They got a balanced scoring attack to put away the Stars yesterday. Dario Pratt led them with 10 points, followed by Sherad Lightbourne with eight, and Torex Hanna with seven.
The Stars were led by Demetrius Kemp with a game high 11 points while Lasalle Thompson added seven.
