Spartans end Clippers’ win streak, as EBL playoff push heats up

Like a sprained ankle, Spartans TT (4-7) weren't to be played with at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sport Arena, Tacarigua last night, as they put an end to Caledonia Clippers' eight-game winning streak in the Electrical Industries Group Elite Basketball League (EBL) with a tight 91-90 victory. It was the first defeat for the league-leading Clippers since an overtime loss to Southside Elite on September 4, and saw their record slipping to 9-2.

The Spartans win was impressive on different fronts, as they were coming off a close midweek loss to NCA Warriors, while they were without the services of coach Garvin Warwick and All-Star point guard Zachary Julien. Having been blown out by the Clippers 88-64 on October 24, there could have been worry in the Spartans camp when their opponents flew out of the gates in Tacarigua, with the three-point shooting of Adrian Joseph (24 points, seven threes) and Kevin Sargent (19 points, five threes) helping the Clippers to an early double-digit lead. However, the Spartans never dropped their shoulders for one minute, and backed by their partisan fans, they closed the Clippers' lead to 25-16 by the end of the first quarter.

With the Clippers initially living lavishly from the three-point line, they took a 51-38 lead to the half, with Joseph and Sargent taking their tallies to 15 and 17, respectively. Slam dunk champ William Francis was also getting in his groove for the Spartans to lead all scorers with 19 at halftime, with Ahkeel "Smally" Boyd playing the role of distributor in the first half for the Clippers with a stat line of nine points, seven assists and three steals.

The third quarter was a thing of beauty for the Spartans, as Idriis Martin came to the party in the point guard role to provide great support for Francis. The Spartans opened up the third quarter with a 14-4 run, and though Boyd had 17 in the period, the Clippers saw their lead cut to just five (72-67) going into the fourth. With all the momentum on their side, the basket seemed to be getting bigger for the Spartans players.

The Spartans tied the game up at 75 with roughly eight minutes left to play, and with the push for the Big 4 firmly on their minds, they played at a relentless pace and fought for every possession like their lives depended on it. With players such as Jaheim Furlonge (nine points, two threes) and Ruel Martin (11 points, 12 rebounds) making timely plays to keep the Spartans in the fight, another player in Christian Gillineau (seven points, three rebounds), stepped up at the opportune time to aid his team's comeback down the stretch. Bringing high-energy to attack the offensive glass, Gillineau tied the game at 84 with 2:07 left with a put-back. After a Francis free throw put the Spartans up 85-84, Gillineau then drained a clutch three to give his team an 88-84 lead with 1:21 to play.

Spartans bring hustle, hit clutch shots

Perhaps missing the defensive intensity and hustle of Jason Best and Leshaun Alfred down the stretch, the Clippers were second-best to loose balls and were killed on the boards, with the Spartans eventually out-rebounding them by a staggering 56-33. Keeping in that vein, Ruel crashed the offensive glass to give Spartans a 90-84 lead, with Boyd knocking down three free throws to close the gap to three after being fouled beyond the arc.

With 16.7 seconds left and nervous energy in the air, Idriis made it a two-possession game (91-87) with a free throw of his own. Needing a big hit, Clippers put the ball in the hands of Boyd, the league's leading scorer, who drained a three on the second attempt to cut the Spartans' lead to 91-90. However, with just 1.5 seconds left in the game, the Spartans safely inbounded the ball to Idriis, who hurled it in the air as time expired.

It was a fitting end to the game for Idriis, who scored 24 points, including four threes, and dished out eight dimes. Francis was excellent again as he led the Spartans with 31 points on 14-of-29 shooting, to go along with four assists, eight rebounds, and two steals. The Clippers, who are already assured of a top-four finish, had three players hit five or more threes. Boyd connected on 7-of-24 threes for a game-high 33 points, to go along with nine assists and five steals, with Joseph and Sargent also contributing to the Clippers' overall tally of 19-of-53 from three-point range.

NCA make it two-for-two, leave Oilbirds on the brink

With the Spartans consolidating fourth spot with their victory, the pressure was on NCA to keep pace when they faced the cellar-placed Morvant Oilbirds (1-10) in the second game of the double-header. Not for the first time this season, the Oilbirds showed fight, promise and competed well. However, after taking a five-point lead to the half, they became unstuck in the second and eventually succumbed to a 91-80 loss, as the fifth-placed NCA matched Spartans' 4-7 record.

With only a seven-man squad at his disposal, Oilbirds coach Shaka Dwayne Brewster was notably without the presence of leading scorer and ace shot-blocker Obel Guerra, with the team's second-leading scorer, Tyrese Fields, away on national duty. For the first 20 minutes, the Oilbirds seemed to be coping just fine, and they even opened up a 14-point lead in the second quarter, forcing NCA associate head coach Stephen Edwards to call a timeout early in the period.

Much like the Spartans in the game before them, NCA kept their composure and stayed within striking distance at halftime with the Oilbirds leading 47-42. New acquisition Esan Babb took up the scoring mantle for the Oilbirds and had 14 of his 18 points at halftime, while Kushaiah King (15 points, four assists, three steals), Rashawn Hope (15 points, seven rebounds), and young guard Isaiah Mitchell (14 points, four rebounds, two steals) also hit double digits.

With Edwards juggling a 12-man rotation, NCA slowly chipped away in the third and took a 65-61 lead into the fourth quarter. The Oilbirds desperately needed a win to keep their own Big 4 hopes alive, and they were still in the game with 5:38 to play as NCA called time with a slim 73-72 edge. The last five minutes were dominated by NCA as they got stop after stop, and scored easily in transition as well. NCA opened up a nine-point (81-72) lead with just over three minutes to play after a Jameer Young (11 points) lay-in, while Alexie Alexis (five points, five rebounds) and new man Nicholas Strawter (16 points, four assists, six rebounds) also hit buckets to drive home the advantage.

In total, four NCA players hit double figures, with Amari Scott leading the way with 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals. NCA's overall points leader Jervais Edwards-Caracciolo tallied 14 points and four steals, while fellow EBL All-Star Josiah John-Andrew (seven points) sank the dagger with a three-pointer with under 30 seconds left as NCA grabbed the 11-point win.

With round three now up and running, the EBL action will roll into the Maloney Indoor Sports Complex on Saturday November 7, with Southside (9-1) facing Spartans and NCA taking on Police, who are third with a 5-5 record.