Police put away the Senators

By Morissa Lindsay

Police Sports Club unshackled themselves from initial arrest and ran away to a 60-49 victory against rivals Senators as the Co-operators General Insurance Barbados Amateur Basketball Association Club Challenge continued last night in Bay
Street.

It was expected to be an evenly contested showdown and it lived up to expectation until Police began to find the basket rapidly especially in the final stanza. The first three quarters ended 9-9, 29-21 and 40-39 as the Bay Street, St Michael-based team carried the momentum.

Police forward Dario Cumberbatch top scored with 14 points and Captain Jamario Clarke contributed 13 in what was a keenly contested match until the latter staged when Senators were unable to defend as well as they would have liked against Police.

Credit to Senators for putting in a good effort as they strung together several passes in an effort to find the basket particularly at the beginning of the match which started a bit late because they did not have their allotted number of players to start.

But eventually the match commenced and Rasheed Harte as always did what he does best for Senators and that is score with a contribution of 13 points inclusive of four three pointers. However, it was Senators’ other danger man Kyhia Dyall who registered a game-high 19 points.

It was a defensively intense match between the two sides who played a very physical game with a number of turnovers and steals resulting. The fact that at halftime the scores were only 29-21 was a testament to how strong they played defensively as it was hard for either side to find the basket.

At the end of the third quarter
Police had a slim one-point advantage (40-39) in the keenly contested exchange. It turned out to be a battle in the fourth stanza and Police did well to ensure they maintained the
lead scoring a number of layups. Senator’s sharpshooter Harte struggled to connect with the basket at that crucial stage of the
game while Police further extended their advantage.

With Police bringing on their three biggest players in Cumberbatch, Clarke and Jamali Holder to defend, scoring continued to prove problematic for Senators. Desperate for points, Senators, coached by former outstanding national player Dwight Rouse, took the gamble and brought back  Tristan Yarde who was in foul trouble with four to his name. It was a good move as Yarde did well to challenge Police’s big three inside the paint along with his father Brian Yarde.

However, with eight seconds to go, the gap between the two teams was too wide. Senators managed to score a two-pointer but that was not enough to stop Police as they went on to claim victory.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb