The man they call “Spanner” is really tightening the screws on the rest of the league.
Jamar Headley had 23 points, including ten straight to cap a 27-6 fourth-quarter rally of Hilton Barbados Warriors’ 80-73 win over Station Hill Cavaliers on Sunday in the Co-operators General Insurance Basketball Premier League at the Barbados Community College.
It was just another of those MVP-type performances that saw the prolific forward capture both the league’s Most Offensive and Best Defensive player awards last season.
And Headley’s impact has been so great that the team limped out to a 3-3 record while he sat out the first six games this year with an injured arm.
But Warriors look better than ever now, winning their last two games since his return capped by Sunday’s impressive double-digit comeback against the previous league-leading Cavs.
He had his fingerprints all over this victory too, scoring a go-ahead trey to start his personal run of ten straight points scored late in the fourth quarter.
Yet it was Daniel Durant who sparked the initial rally, having converted three tough drives at the ring to cut Station Hill’s once daunting 11-point lead (63-52) to a one-score game (63-61).
Justin Pile then drilled two triples before Headley turned the contest into a one-man highlight reel.
Left open at the top of the arc, Headley knocked down a very rare trey and quickly followed up with two knifing drives between multiple defenders.
And he saved the best for last, emphatically capping the run with one vicious one-handed slam over Jason Smith despite getting fouled on the fast-break play.
Unfortunately he fouled out just moments later, but not before Kevin John scored a triple to put Warriors ahead 79-69.
It was the dramatic finish to a contest that saw Warriors trailing for most of the way after Station Hill went up 22-12 on early treys from Smith and Stephan Ottley.
Durant and Shaquan Newton got them within two (28-26) early in the second period before Darren Hunte sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Cavs a 39-31 half-time advantage.
Hunte returned on the other side of the break to score two free throws, a tip-in and one big dunk in transition to stretch that lead to double digits (63-52) once more.
Pile finished with 16 points for the Warriors, who improved to a 5-3 record, while Durant scored 12 points and Headley added 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Granville Gittens led Station Hill (6-2) with 21 points and nine rebounds and Smith scored 17 points.
Earlier, John Jones had 24 points and 14 rebounds as defending champs Lumber Company Lakers moved into the league lead by routing Burger King Clapham Bulls 89-60.
Mark Bridgeman added 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists off the bench and Keefe Birkett added 16 points and eight rebounds for Lakers (7-1).
Sean Parris led Clapham (2-6) with 15 points and nine rebounds and Rahiim Gibbons also scored 15.
KFC Orange 3 Pinelands rebounded from their recent slide to get the better of Pan American International Warrens 86-67 behind 22 points, five rebounds and five assists from Zahir Motara.
Charles Vanderpool added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Pine (5-3) while Junior Moore finished with 11 points and 15 boards. Greig Springer top-scored for Warrens (3-5) with 11 points.
In the day’s first game, Romaine Lovell had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead St John’s Sonics to a tough 77-73 win against the Combined Schools Tridents.
Stefan Clarke added 17 points, ten rebounds and seven assists for Sonics (2-6) while Deroni Hurley flirted with a quadruple-double for Tridents (2-6) with 17 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and ten steals. (JM)