Manchester High take lead in ISSA Rural area basketball semis
MANCHESTER, Jamaica—Defending champions Manchester High have taken the lead in their best-of-three semi-finals in the ISSA Rural Area boys’ basketball after wins over Knox College and Herbert Morrison Technical at Manchester High on Monday.
Manchester High beat Knox College 67-48 in the Under-16 section and handed Herbert Morrison Technical back-to-back losses with a big 72-33 victory.
Holmwood Technical also took the lead in their Under-19 semi-final, beating Knox College 75-70.
On Tuesday, Herbert Morrison Technical will host York Castle in the first game of the other Under-16 semi-final.
At Manchester High on Monday, Jayquan Palmer had a double-double with a game-high 23 points and 25 rebounds as the home team won easily, leading 19-14 after the first quarter, 35-23 at halftime and 52-26 at the end of the third quarter.
Dante Matthews also scored 15 points, and Hasim Wright scored 13 points for Manchester High, while Kaden Dunstan scored 18 points for Knox College.
In the Under-19 game, Oral Daley also had a double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds for Manchester High, who led 20-0 after the first quarter, the first time any Herbert Morrison team had failed to score a point in any quarter of a basketball game.
The Montego Bay-based school continued to struggle as they trailed by 27 points, (35-8)at halftime and 56-17 going into the final quarter.
Shavar Bogle also scored 15 points for Manchester High, and Samuel Smith scored 12 points, while Joshua Ferguson had a game-high 16 points for Herbert Morrison.
Holmwood Technical overcame a slow start to beat Knox College by five points in their games, trailing by five points after the first quarter 19-24 and down 32-40 at halftime before rallying in the third quarter to lead 55-54 and cruising to a lead in the final quarter.
Melvin Ragoo led Holmwood Technical with 30 points, Ja-dan Reid scored 18 points, and Romeo Smith had 16 points.
Marc Anthony-Bennett had a game-high 31 points for Knox College and 10 rebounds, while Tajay Leslie scored 29 points.
-Paul A Reid
