Disciples trim Fryers in 1st battle of ex BVI basketball champs

BY DEAN GREENAWAY

The Disciples trimmed the Fryers 78-75 to close play on Sunday night in the BVI Big Ballers league at the Multipurpose Sports Complex in Road Town, in the first of 12 feature match-ups between former BVI Basketball Federation champions.

Devon Smith scored four of his 18 points off turnovers in the in the last 22 seconds to give the Disciples the victory, after guard Caleb Liburd gave the Fryers a 75-74 lead, following a backcourt steal and a foul, by converting both free throws with 22.9 seconds left.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, but, we showed that we are strong and we are a veteran team and we can do a comeback,” Disciples coach Vern ‘Bego’ Turnbull said. “Most of the time we were down in the game, but we kept calm and fought our way back to the top. Late in the game, we put pressure on Caleb (Liburd) coming down to the stretch and told Devon to go to the board because nobody could stop him.”

Smith also had six rebounds and four steals. Jason Taylor matched Smith’s stats with 18 points, 6 rebounds and four steals. Halstead J.R. Chiverton added 17 points with seven rebounds and Clifton ‘Mackadoo’ Corum finished with an 11 point 12 rebound double double. Liburd had a season’s best 40 points and five rebounds for the Fryers. Raymond ‘Dinkie’ Richards added 12 points.

Fryers coach Dean Simmonds said his team lost its focus in the second half. “The guys were lapsing, they just weren’t in the game and lost everything at the end of the game,” Simmonds said. “I hope the guys keep their spirits up. We are working really hard with some guys but we are a sick team. Most of my guys have knee problems and other problems so I’m really working with half of a team right now.”

Andy Ramirez scored 19 of his game high 46 points in the third quarter as the Lations beat the Sonics 85-81. Ramirez also dominated the boards, snatching 14 of his game best 24 rebounds in the second quarter. Yeimi Soriano added 20 points. Melbourne Francis had 26 points to lead the Sonics, while Vince Pickering added 18.

Careem Scatliffe had 18 points to lead Squad Up over And One 73-58. Sherome Fahie had a 17 point 12 rebound double double to go with seven steals, four assists and three blocks. Jerome Barnes chipped in another 15. Cordero Monsanto led And One with 12 points. Ray Victor added 10.

David ‘Bolo’ Lettsome who was held to 11 points in his first game by the Virgin Gorda Mystics, had a break out game with 43 points in the East Rockers’ 110-71 victory over Last Minute. Lettsome also grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists. Cardianl ‘Wolf’ Fahie added 19 points and Brent Henry 15. Tad Martin and Kharim Skelton were Last Minute’s leading scorers with 16 and 14 points respectively.

The Jr. East Rockers whipped Run It Red 104-70, behind Tad Martin’s 27 points and 13 rebounds. Travis Malone added 26 points and pulled 13 boards while Curt Rabsatt chipped in another 12 points. Run It Red got 18 points and six rebounds from Duron Phillip. Kevin Solomon and Lloyd Graham finished with 15 and 14 points a piece.

Roger Phillip had 18 points in leading the Apostles to a 109-70 triumph over Nuttin 2 Do. Nicholas Laurac and Tyrone Tyson added 16 and 15 points respectively. Aldric Lans had 18 points to lead Nuttin 2 Do scores. Aubrey ‘Kong’ Frett and Jason Fonseca added 16 points each.

The Rebels improved to 2-0 after overcoming an eight point deficit to hand the Hawkeyes their second successive loss 77-75. Reynaldo ‘Crossover’ Smith had a game high 20 points to lead the Rebels. Jamal Todman had 15 points and seven rebounds. Marlon ‘Spier’ Meyers added 12 points to go with eight rebounds and seven steals. Calvert White lead Hawkeyes with a 17 point 10 rebound double double. David Archer narrowly missed a double double with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Terry ‘Federal’ Turnbull tossed in another 11 points.

Four scorers hit double figures as the HLSCC Stingrays climbed to 2-0 with an 89-74 triumph over the Bulldogs. David Souzana and Jeremy Wattley each had 14 points to lead the Stingrays. Souzana also had seven steals and seven assists. McKenzie Baltimore and Dwight Brookes added 12 and 10 points each. T’shaun Henley was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer with 22 points. He also had six steals and dished out five assists. Kyle Scatliffe just missed a double double with 21 points and 9 rebounds.

The Rejects got past Off De Chainz 51-47. Robert Richardson was the leading scorer with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rhodni Skelton and Wayne Robinson added 11 and 10 points respectively. Off De Chainz’s Dalvern Blyden narrowly missed a triple double with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 9 steals. He also had five assists. Alfred Greenaway finished with 13 points and pulled down a game high 13 rebounds.