January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
St. George's International holds on despite Crumpler's 48 points
St. George's International holds on despite Crumpler's 48 points
With St. George's centre Charjuan Knight not available, Crumpler took full advantage of the missing 6'4 big man, however, the shooting of St. George's guards Damon Saunders and Jonathan Lugo kept their team in front for most of the first half. As the Bearcats, struggled from the field in the last two minutes of the first half, St. George's went on a 12-4 run to give them a 31-23 halftime lead.
After trading baskets the first three minutes of the second half, St George's pushed their lead to double digits after capitalizing on a series of offensive rebounds by Dean Jones. With an essential timeout called by the Bearcats, Crumpler implored his team to step up the defensive intensity against their opponents. Responding to Crumpler's plea, the Bearcats defensive ignited, resulting in a series of defensive stops and forced turnovers which saw St. George's double digit lead evaporate.
As the momentum shifted in the Bearcats favour, Lugo quickly took the wind out of the Paget's sail after hitting a three point followed by a lay-up to lead an 8-0 run and give St. George's a 51 - 42 lead with eight minutes remaining.
Lugo continued to shoot lights out from the field scoring 14 of his game high points in the final eight minutes of action.
Paget would rally back with five minutes remaining after Crumpler hit back-to-back field goals, giving him 40 points for the night and pulling his team within 8. Dean Jones responded with an emphatic dunk down the lane to give push his teams lead back to double digits. Crumpler's scoring frenzy continued as he maneuvered his way through St. George's defense to score back-to-back baskets at the rim. With one minute and thirty seconds remaining, Paget pulled within their closest margin of the half, 61- 57, after Juron Tucker connected on a three-point play, scoring at the rim and at the free throw line after being fouled. After fouled in the act of shooting a three point shot, Crumpler missed two crucial free throws that could have pulled his team within one. Despite a 48 point effort by Crumpler, tying his own PBL most points scored in a game, Paget was unable to pull off the upset against St. George's falling in a final score of 68-60.
St. George's Leading Scorers: Jonathan Lugo 24 points & Damon Saunders 21 points
Paget Bearcats Leading Scorer: Chris Crumpler 48 points
Hamilton Parish Chargers still alive to defend their title 56-52
The defending champions Hamilton Parish Chargers came out the gate running taking an early 12-2 lead against the Hamilton Tsunamis. Despite the offensive of Tsunami's Greg Todd and Graham Robinson, Hamilton Parish continued to share the basketball and score with ease. Hamilton Parish Captain Mike Smith stated, "Although we struggled during the regular season, it's playoff time and we are definitely not prepared to hand over our title without a fight."
The Chargers showed their tenacity on defensive and offensive, maintaining a comfortable lead and connecting on their final three field goals, to give them a 37-25 lead at the end of first half.
In the second half, the Tsunamis came out on fire, as Robinson hit a pair of three point baskets followed by a lay-up at the rim by Josh Nesbitt to pull within four points. As the Tsunamis begin to find their scoring touch, Hamilton Parish struggled, shooting 3-9 from the field over the next four minutes. The Tsunamis zone defense appeared to cause great difficulty for the Chargers as their shots were frequently contested, altered or forced with the shot clock winding down. The Tsunamis continued to chip away at the Chargers lead and pulled within two with five minutes remaining after a layup by Greg Todd.
As Che' Powell entered the game his impact was quickly felt as he hit back to back shots to give his team a 52- 46 lead with four minutes remaining. With Tsunami scoring guard Charles Peters forced out of the game due to a knee injury, the depleted Tsunamis put the ball in Graham Robinson hands who hit a baseline jump shot and found Greg Todd for an open layup at the basket to bring his team within four points with two minutes remaining. Despite trailing by only four points, Robinson was unable to continue as he suffered a hamstring injury in the final minutes of action.
With key injuries to the Tsunamis backcourt players, despite only scoring 19 points in the second half the Chargers were able to advance to the semi-finals defeating the Hamilton Tsunamis in a final score of 56-52.
Hamilton Parish Chargers Leading Scorers: Che' Powell 19 points & Lavar Powell 10 points
Hamilton Tsunamis Leading Scorers: Graham Robinson 23 points & Greg Todd 20 points
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