Anthony Minott, Freelance Writer
If anyone had told coach of Urban Knights Calvin Martin before the game that his team would blow out defending champions St. George's Slayers 96-58 and win game one of their Best-of-Three KFC-National Basketball League series by 38 points, he would have called them a liar.
"This is a total surprise to me, especially the scoreline. To be honest, before the game I didn't think we could beat them (Slayers) because they have more experienced players than us," a shocked Martin said after the game at the National Stadium Courts on Saturday.
He added: "I think Slayers missed one of their most experienced players, Kali McCarthy, and that kind of set them back.
Furthermore, they made too many errors and we capitalised on that. The first and third quarters are where I thought we won the game, and we hope to keep this momentum going into game two on Wednesday."
The Knights got off to a flying start with a 12-0 run, making use of sloppy work from the Slayers as they scored off fast breaks. Slayers got back in the contest also with fast breaks of their own and closed out the quarter down by just two points (23-21).
Visitors dominate
However, the running game more suited the Knights and the Slayers soon found themselves in a hole they couldn't come out of. Knights outscored Slayers 18-13 in the second quarter to have a seven-point (41-34) lead at half-time. The third quarter saw Knights again dominant, opening up a 16-point advantage (63-47) at the end of the quarter. The fourth quarter was no different, with the victors scoring 33 points to the Slayers' meagre 11-point output.
Knights' captain, Linton Murray, led from the front, scoring 21 points, as five players made it into double figures. Dave Blackwood, 18, was the next best scorer for the winners, while Howard Daley (12), Rohan Robinson and Michael Jackson, 11 each, made most points for Slayers.
Slayers coach Lamar Dixon was not pleased: "We played poorly, we weren't on the same page as the Urban Knights. The team effort wasn't there at all tonight. When we were down, their bodies just shut down as if to say they can't come back, but I promise you will see a different Slayers' come Wednesday."
In the opening game of a double-header, Tivoli All Stars out-pointed Blazing Panthers 89-79 to take a 1-0 lead in their Best-of-Three series, with Damion Young scoring a game-high 25 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, while Levar Henry scored 22 points and Paul Oliphant added 16 points. Six Panthers players, Kirk Ferguson (15), Noel Wright (15), Dushane White (13), Adrian Forbes (12), Rohan Crusie (11), and Jason Green (11) made it into double figures.
