Keefe Birkett may be struggling but that certainly isn’t the case for his Lumber Company Lakers.
Make that three in a row now for the defending champs, as Lakers went on a late 18-4 run in Sunday’s 79-69 victory over Orange 3 Pinelands in the Co-operators General Insurance Basketball Premier League at the Barbados Community College.
It was the latest victory the Husbands men managed to pull out in spite of Birkett’s early woes that have seen the reigning MVP shoot just 31 per cent from the floor and a worse 23 per cent from deep.
And Sunday’s finals rematch provided no relief either considering the national shooting guard shockingly missed all seven of his three-point attempts, to end with eight points on three-of-12 shooting.
But John Jones came up big yet again, particularly when it mattered most, scoring three late baskets and assisting on another as the catalyst of that game-winning surge.
Trailing 62-61 with five minutes left, Lakers took the lead for good on an Adrian Allman triple before Jones drilled a jumper of his own to give them a two-score lead (66-62).
He wasn’t done there either, scoring out of the post on a deep seal prior to finding Allman underneath on a timely backdoor cut.
Mark Bridgeman then put his stamp on the proceedings, throwing down a one-handed jam and another layup in transition before Jones punctuated the run with another midrange jumper (79-66).
It capped yet another standout performance from the national forward, who entered the contest fresh off of successive 30-point games.
And he dominated this finals rematch from early too, pouring in eight first-quarter points on an array of dunks, hooks and drop steps while making life difficult for Pine forwards Charles Vanderpool and Junior Moore at the other end.
Bridgeman then provided the perfect complement in transition and off the dribble in Lakers’ quick 28-16 lead.
However, Vanderpool and Moore took advantage of when Jones sat early in the second quarter, having combined for 13 points in the second period to key a 10-0 Pine run (28-26).
Pinelands eventually took the lead on the other side of the break (50-49) as Ramon Simmons attacked in transition and spaced the floor well for Moore and Vanderpool to operate.
The two sides went back and forth for all of the third quarter and most of the fourth in a contest worthy of a finals preview.
Jones led Lakers (3-1) with 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Bridgeman finished with 22 points and nine boards.
For Pinelands (2-2), Simmons top-scored with 20 points, Vanderpool had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Moore added 13 points and ten boards.
Earlier, point guard Deroni Hurley and Kiserian Adams barely missed out on triple-doubles in NexGen Tridents’ stunning 90-87 upset of title contenders Hilton Barbados Warriors.
Hurley finished with 18 points, five rebounds, seven assists and 11 steals and Adams added 17 points, 13 boards, nine assists and six steals for the schoolboys (2-2), while Rasheed Maynard top-scored with 23 points.
Justin Pile scored 26 points for Warriors (2-2) and Nicholai Williams had 15 points and 17 rebounds.
American student Granville Gittens poured in 21 points to lead unbeaten league leaders Station Hill Cavaliers to their fourth straight win in an 80-66 victory over Burger King Clapham Bulls (1-4).
Pan American International Insurance Warrens (2-3) then got their second win in as many nights by beating Urban Vbyz St John’s Sonics 85-59. (JM)