Herbert advance

BY PAUL A REID Observer West writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com

Thursday, December 15, 2011

BOGUE, St James — HERBERT Morrison Technical's Under-16 team confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the ISSA/KFC Western Conference high school boys' basketball competition, after beating archrivals Cornwall College by 21 points (51-30) at Bogue on Tuesday.

The loss snapped Cornwall College's four-game win streak and dropped them to third place in the standings.

They are now tied with Spot Valley High on nine points.

Herbert Morrison leads with 12 points from six straight wins with two more games to play, followed by Muschett High who were on 10 points from five straight wins, while newcomers Knockalva Technical were on eight points with just one more game to go.

Meanwhile, defending champions Cornwall College and Green Pond High are tied for the lead in the Under-19 section, followed by Spot Valley High on nine points and Holland High on eight points.

The top four schools on points at the end of the round robin format will advance to the semi-finals with the winners advancing to the best of three finals.

The competition takes a break after today's Under-16 game between newcomers Green Pond and Frome Technical at Green Pond.

On Tuesday, three players scored in double digits for Herbert Morrison as they dominated Cornwall College who failed to score in double figures in any quarter.

David Peck, Ralique Grant and Daniel Henry all scored 12 points each, as Herbert Morrison led 14-5, 20-14 and 37-21 at the intervals.

Cornwall College's Rashid Davis scored a game-high 14 points but was the only serious contributor for his team.

In an Under-19 game played on Tuesday, William Knibb Memorial beat Green Pond 57-45 in Martha Brae.

Shavaughn Reid led all scorers with 31 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots, while Stephen Greaves scored 12 points and had five rebounds. Christopher Thompson scored 11 points for Green Pond.

The home team led by 10 points (17-7) after the first quarter but had the margin cut to six points at half-time (26-20) and by a further point (40-35), going into the fourth quarter.

William Knibb, however, picked up the pace in the fourth quarter to run out easy winners.