Black pleased after Herbert Morrison reach ISSA U-14 basketball final
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Herbert Morrison Technical beat cross-town rivals Cornwall College 60-22 in Wednesday’s semi-finals of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) rural Under-14 basketball to advance to Friday’s final.
They are set to face the winner of the other semi-final between Manchester High and Knox College.
The second semi-final is expected to be completed on Thursday after the game was interrupted by rain.
Herbert Morrison’s Alexander Corrodus led all scorers on Wednesday at Herbert Morrison with 18 points as the Dave Black-coached team beat Cornwall College for the second time this season. They had previously defeated them 46-32.
Black told the Jamaica Observer that shutting down Cornwall College’s Nathan Hines was key to their game plans.
“I think we did a pretty good job on Hines, we know that he is Cornwall’s best player. I think we did a good job of jamming the lane and forcing the other players to beat us,” he said.
Black said, despite the 38-point winning margin, his team did not play up to expectations.
“I think the score is not a true reflection of the game; I think we are way better. Some of the guys are new to it, it’s their first year, and I think we have a really good team and a really good chance going into the final.”
Paul Reid, the Cornwall College coach, admitted he was not expecting such a lop-sided score.
“This was not the result that I was expecting based on the first game we played against them. Herbert Morrison came with a plan and we thought we had one that would have worked, but we have no excuses. They played a really good game and our guys played well, but only in spurts and not as consistently throughout the game, so hats off to Herbert Morrison,” he said.
The home team took control of the game early and led 14-5 at the end of the first quarter. Herbert Morrison shut Cornwall College out in the second quarter to lead 25-5 at half-time and were up 36-14 after three quarters.
Two players had ‘double-doubles’ for Herbert Morrison. Corrodus scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds and Shamar Russell scored 15 points and had 18 rebounds, while Michael Johnson scored nine points.
Hines was the only Cornwall College player to score in double digits, getting 12 points, while Conway Campbell scored five.
