PREMIER LEAGUE PROMOTION is now but a game away for Dayrells Road’s other tenants.
Tyrone Alexander scored the go-ahead basket with three minutes left while Plus Garrison Chargers held Patriots scoreless for a decisive four-minute stretch before pulling off Tuesday’s 58-54 win in Game 1 of basketball’s Intermediate finals at the Wildey Gym.
In an otherwise uneventful series opener, the crucial fourth-quarter spell proved the pivotal turning point for a Chargers team hell-bent on joining neighbouring Warriors in the top flight next season.
But the experienced Garrison side never looked deserving of a 1-0 series advantage, not after eking out only six points in the second quarter to cap a dismal first-half effort where they fell behind by as many as 12 (30-18).
Patriots weren’t that much better though, especially over the game’s final four and a half minutes when they managed just one single field goal in “garbage” time with the contest already decided.
This was after Patriots scored successive baskets behind Stefan Brathwaite and Justin Gaskin, transforming a three-point deficit into a slim 48-47 lead with 4:37 remaining.
However, they didn’t score again until the waning seconds after committing three turnovers in succession while failing to keep Alexander and Ryan Lucas off the offensive glass.
Alexander subsequently put Chargers back ahead with a basket underneath before he and Shawn Grosvenor had six free throws between them while stretching the lead to five (53-48).
Neil Yearwood eventually ended the drought with a pair of free throws, and Patriots had a chance to make the contest a one-possession game when Gaskin was left open near the free throw line the next trip down.
But the dreadlocked guard couldn’t make good on the midrange jumper, leading to a Lucas leak-out at the other end that sealed the deal before Hadrian Lokai scored a layup with the game out of reach.
The late-game meltdown was a far cry from Patriots’ earlier machine-like efficiency in the first quarter that saw them score on five of their first seven possessions for a quick 11-0 lead.
Junior Clarke responded with a pair of drives to spur a run of eight unanswered points from Chargers, but the run proved short-lived as Shawn Ifill hit two quick treys to reopen Patriots double-digit lead.
Their offence would slow to a crawl once Gaskin and Lokai went to the bench in the ensuing second, with the side incessantly turning over the ball without any ball-handlers on the floor.
Chargers just never capitalized though, having failed to get the ball in the paint to Lucas and Alexander amidst their own sea of turnovers and poor decision-making.
However, David “Ernie” Smith turned the contest on its heels with back-to-back long range bombs on the other side of the break before Lucas got going in the paint as part of a surreal 20-6 rally.
About the only offence Patriots could muster came via a put-back from Julian Walcott as the Husbands men managed just two field goals all quarter while surrendering all of a previous 12-point advantage.
Grosvenor led all scorers with 14 points, Smith added 13, while Lucas finished with ten. Gaskin, Lokai and Walcott all scored ten for Patriots, who will be looking to extend the series with a win tonight at the same venue.