ST GEORGE’S College beat Ardenne High 51-49 as the 2016 Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Southern Basketball Conference (SBC) High Schools Under-16 and Under-19 League got under way at St George’s College yesterday.

The North Street aggregation was led by a game-high 32 points from Samora Williams, which rallied them to victory. It was the second time St George’s were beating Ardenne in the Under-19 competition.

Winning coach Clifford Brown was pleased with St George’s comeback in the fourth quarter after Ardenne had led throughout the entire game.

“It was a good game for St George’s, as Ardenne had the better of play until the players came through with a late charge, especially through Williams’ scoring. The team has lost only two matches this season in the preliminary round to Calabar High and St Jago High, but that is now history,” Brown said.

He said this play-off series is what the team is concentrating on mostly as they look towards reaching the semi-finals. “The team has two remaining matches to play against defending champions St Catherine High and Kingston College, and we are looking forward to winning both games.”

Meanwhile, losing coach Basil Barrett said the players just stopped playing in the final quarter and allowed St George’s College to come back into the game.

“The players now will have to win their other two remaining matches if they want to qualify for the semi-finals. We have Kingston College and St Catherine as our next two opponents,” Barrett said.

Ardenne gained a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and held a narrow two-point lead at the half-time break, 22-20. The third quarter was evenly contested between both teams with Ardenne holding a 43-38 lead at that break.

The fourth quarter became more crucial for the teams as they went hustling for baskets, with St George’s College closing in at 43-44 before taking the lead for the first time of the match at 45-44.

A ding-dong tussle then ensured with Williams being the outstanding player for St George’s College with his accurate shooting. Ardenne led 49-48 with 38 seconds remaining, but Williams managed to score his two free-throw shots at the line to put his team in the lead 50-49 before going on to win an exciting game by two points.

The top scorers for Ardenne were D’Andre Forbes with 23 points and Matthew Lee with 15 points.

Meanwhile, the Under-16 match was not played as there was only one official present for the start.

Zone A in the Under-16 comprises Campion College, Calabar High, St Jago High, and Camperdown High, while Zone B is made up of defending champions St Catherine High, St George’s College, Kingston College, and Ardenne High.

In the Under-19 category, Zone A features defending champions Calabar High, Camperdown High, St Jago High, and Campion College, while Zone B is made up of St George’s College, Ardenne High, Kingston College, and St Catherine High.

The Zone winners and runners-up will advance into the semi-finals in the Under-16 and Under-19 competitions.