Hornets land knock-out punch

Hornets defeated Diamondz to land the first punch in the best of three of the Under-16 Knock Out finals of the Bequia Basketball Tournament last Saturday evening at the Clive Tannis Hard Court.{{more}}

The two were slated to be once again on the court last Wednesday in game two, as Hornets tried to close off the series and Diamondz force a game three.

Hornets won the opening round 40-36. The leading scorer for the victors was Liston Williams, with 18 points. He also pulled down 14 rebounds. Shantell Joseph had 15 points for the losing Diamondz.

Diamondz earlier in the week defeated Admiralty Transport Eagles, 63 to 40, with Joseph recording 24 points and 8 rebounds, to set up their date with Hornets.

In Second Division action, also played last weekend, Liberty defeated Gladiatorz, 99 to 50, with Vibert Davis having a game high of 26 points and had 10 rebounds, but in a losing effort for Gladiatorz. The leading scorer for Liberty was Annette King, with 21 points.

Gladiatorz rebounded, though, to knock out Warriaz, 64-55. Lindelle Sandy had a game high of 719 points for Warriaz.

In one of two matches in the First Division, Duke had a 74-71 triumph over East Blazers. Bradford Duncan scored 34 points to lead Duke’s scoring. Michael Penniston was the high hand for East Blazers, with 15 points.

But Craiglee Sam had a bad send off as his team, Rising Stars, could not shine against East Blazers in a Division One knock out encounter.

Despite Sam’s 22 points, his team fell 63-64. Penniston had 16 points for East Blazers.

Sam left the state last Monday to attend Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon, the USA.

He captured the 2005 Bequia Tournament Most Valuable Player award, and maintained that title for two consecutive years. He was also awarded Most Valuable Player in the Grenadines Championships in 2005. He has also received numerous awards for his shot blocking, rebounding and scoring prowess. Sam averaged 19.6 points per game, 11.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game. Sam also played for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Annual Windward Islands Secondary School games, and in the Secondary Schools Basketball Championship, where he represented the Bequia Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School.