Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
St. George's Slayers players lift the Patrick Ewing Trophy for winning the National Basketball League (NBL) after beating Urban Knights 66-48 in game two of the best-of-three finals at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday night. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE ST. George's Slayers came from 17 points down to stun the Urban Knights 66-48, wrapping up their KFC/bmobile National Basketball League (NBL) best-of-three final in just two games at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday night.
"It's always sweeter the second time around because it's always more difficult the second time around," said and elated St. George's coach, Winston Harvey, whose team lifted the Patrick Ewing Trophy for the second year running.
St. George's set the tone early in the series when they got by the Knights 84-81 in game one, led by 25 points and 17 rebounds from Andree Wilson.
However, for the Urban Knights who led the regular season with an impressive 19-2 record and swept past both the Portmore Flames and Tivoli All-Stars, the result was bitterly disappointing.
As he did in game one Paul Oliphant, who top scored for the Knights with 14 points, led the way for the Knights. After a slow start for both teams the Knights took charge early, spearheaded by Oliphant's cuts to the basket and they opened up a 30-13 lead on St. George's with 3:54 left in the second quarter after a 14-6 first quarter lead.
The defending champs, to their credit though, never looked flustered at the start of the third quarter their defense was tenacious and as they forced the Knights to give up the ball, allowing them to pour into the open court in transition, the 2004 champions began to look expended from their early efforts.
With 8:00 minutes left to go in the fourth quarter the Slayers' persistence saw them tie the game at 46-46 and then a big three by McCarthy, who top scored for the encounter with 16 points, handed them a 52-46 lead.
THE TIDE
A brave attempt by Oliphant from behind the three-point line attempted to turn the tide for the Knights, but he could have used some help, as he was in fact the only player in double figures. A technical foul on Andy Smith with three minutes left to go signalled the end of the road for the frustrated Knights as after the free throws were converted the lead ballooned to 52-46.
"We chose the wrong time to play our worst game of the season," lamented Knights assistant coach Kevin Alexander. "We've never scored 48 points in any game, coming into the third quarter we were too relaxed," he said.
"When they went big in the third quarter we should have attacked them but we bailed them out with jumpers and everytime we missed it was a fast break opportunity. Today we lacked a leader on the floor," he added.
