Mpact STATION HILL Cavaliers wanted to kick-start their season – but this surely wasn’t what they had in mind.
Cavs’ forward Ricardo Yearwood could be facing a lengthy suspension after drop-kicking an opposing player, all while the defending Premier League basketball champs registered yet another loss following Tuesday’s 73-62 defeat to Nicholls Baking Company Cougars at the Wildey Gym.
The result itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary considering it was the third time in succession the perennial cellar dwellers downed Station Hill following last season’s preseason and regular season victories.
But this was the definite low point of the Cavs’ already tumultuous season, which has seen the woeful champs slump to a 2-4 record by dropping four of their last five games.
However, the Cavs have claimed all is fine, even going out of their way to publicly refute media reports of alleged in-house feuding.
They certainly can’t deny they’ll be without Yearwood for a while.
The temperamental swingman was immediately ejected after stunningly jump-kicking opposing point guard Keith Mayers in the neck on what should’ve been a harmless inbounds play early in the second quarter.
That situation actually started just seconds earlier on another inbounds play while the two were battling for position in the middle of a stack.
But Yearwood took the tussle one step further, waiting for Mayers to receive a pass near midcourt before landing a kick to the dreadlocked player’s neck at the 7:47 mark.
It brought an immediate end to a 6-0 Station Hill run that was fuelled by the open court exploits of overseas-based swingman Marlon Bascombe, who put the Cavs up 22-19.
From there it was all Adrian Stewart, as the veteran Cougars small forward responded with 12 of his team’s next 14 points – none coming better than the Dirk Nowitzki-like fade-away jumper over Kevin Sealy off of one leg.
However, Cougars could only manage a 35-34 half-time lead and never led more than six points (54-48) in the third quarter despite a rare three-point from Peter Bancroft.
The Hothersal side did eventually blow open the contest in the ensuing period though, as Godfrey Leacock erupted for 12 fourth-quarter points to spur a decisive 11-4 run.
He finished with 14 points overall while Stewart scored a game-high 26 for Cougars, who improved to 2-5. Sealy led the Cavs with 14 points and Bascombe added 10.
In the night’s other game, Ramon Simmons had ten of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including six during a decisive 13-4 run as Pinelands downed Roll-A-Way St John’s Sonics 65-56.
The win was the fourth in six game for Pinelands (4-2), who held St John’s to just four points over the first 6:17 minutes of the fourth quarter. Charles Vanderpool had a game-high 19 points while Jefferson Trotman top-scored for Sonics (2-3) with 18.
