MONTEGO BAY, St James — Spot Valley High avenged last year’s upset loss in the final of the ISSA Western Conference basketball competition after a hard-fought and exciting one-point (37-36) win over defending champions Mt Alvernia High last Friday at the Montego Bay Cricket Club.

The game went down to the last six seconds when Mt Alvernia’s Shaneray Wilkins missed two free throws that would have won the game and resulted in them retaining the title.

The teams have combined for some close and exciting games since last year after Spot Valley won both regular season games, but were outplayed in the final.

This year Mt Alvernia won by four points at home, while Spot Valley won by a point in overtime on their court.

In the third-place play-off Muschett High beat Holland High 33-12 with Sasahanel Smalling scoring 17 points, Rockel Mason eight points, while Ann-Marie Latty had two points, 20 rebounds and 13 steals.

In the final, Lanacha Smith, who was named season MVP, came up big in the second half when she out-duelled Wilkins and carried her team to victory, scoring a game-high 23 points.

Mt Alvernia scored nine straight points in the first quarter and led 12-6 at the first break, but Spot Valley rallied to tie up the scores at 16-all at half-time.

Spot Valley outscored Mt Alvernia 12-10 in the third quarter to take a two-point lead, 28-26, thanks to four straight points by Smith to end the quarter as they scored 11 straight to dig themselves out of a hole.

Mt Alvernia levelled the scores at 28-all with eight minutes to go, and with five minutes 45 seconds on the clock Smith scored her second three-pointer of the game to give Spot Valley a 31-30 lead.

Wilkins shot a three-pointer to put Mt Alvernia back up 33-31, but Smith tied the scores with a lay-up.

With just under a minute to go, Wilkins scored her second three-pointer to give Mt Alvernia a three-point lead, 36-33, and Smith, who was fouled attempting a three-point shot, made two of three free throws to pull them level before Sahnna-Kay Anderson, the only other player other than Smith or Nassan Gaye Ricketts to get a point, gave Spot Valley a one-point lead with a lay-up with 22 seconds to go.

Wilkins was fouled under the basket and needing to make just one shot to tie up the scores, she missed both.

Ricketts had a triple-double for Spot Valley with 12 points, 18 rebounds and 13 steals, as she combined with Smith to score 35 of their 37 points.

Wilkins led Mt Alvernia with 22 points, 12 rebounds and six steals, while Sashalee Spence scored six points and had 14 rebounds.