ROAD TO MECCA: Colts continue winning streak
By Treiston Joseph
Defending champions, Bounty Colts continued their road to a three-peat of the Road to Mecca National Club Championship with a comfortable 75-58 win of the Plaisance Guardians on Wednesday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
But while there was some good basketball being played, the referees were not at their best, missing a number of calls and even getting some extremely wrong.
Once an offensive player is fouled in the shooting motion he goes to the line for free throws. After one such call while a player was attempting a lay-up, the referees instead of issuing the shots, played the ball off the sideline.
However, one play summed up how bad the night was for the referees, during the Colts versus Guardians game. The ball was thrown off a Colts player that went out of bounds and while in that scenario the Guardians should be in possession of the ball, the refs gave the possession to the Colts, a call that sent the fans in attendance into disbelief.
Meanwhile, Shane Webster and Timothy Thompson dropped 16 points apiece in the win for the Colts while no player from the Guardians scored in double digits.
Pacesetters also remain undefeated in the tournament with their second straight win against the Eagles 76-69. Pacesetters held their opponents on the defensive end of the court and were able to run in transition to get easy buckets.
Jaleel Duke dropped a team-high 17 points in the win, while Randy Richards and Tariq Cave chipped in with 12 points each. Michael Richards dropped a game-high 23 points in the loss, while Travis Belgrave for the first time in the tournament scored under 20 points in a game.
Kobras got back on track after their opening night loss with a big win over the Republic Bank Nets that ended 65-56.
The game started slowly for both teams as they struggled on the offensive end of the floor, but by the second quarter once the Kobras turned up the defensive with deflections and steals, the game really opened up for the Kobras.
Travis Burnett was the top scorer with 18 points for the Kobras, while Carlos Edwards had 10 points. Mortimer Williams had 15 points for the Nets in the loss.
The tournament will continue this weekend at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.