Campion, St Catherine to contest ISSA urban area U19 basketball finals

Campion College and St Catherine High will face off in the finals of the urban area ISSA Under-19 Schoolboys Basketball Championship after securing contrasting victories in their respective semi-finals.

In their best-of-three series, Campion easily got past Jamaica College (JC) 2-0 to book their spot. St Catherine High had a tougher path, needing three games to overcome Kingston College (KC) in their semi-final clash.

With both teams locked at 1-1, KC and St Catherine met in the third match in Game 3 at the Edgewater Court in St Catherine. At the end of an exciting match, St Catherine prevailed 63-54.

The North Street-based KC took the early initiative, leading 19-17 after the first quarter. They maintained a slim one-point advantage at half-time with the score at 36-35.

Heading into the fourth quarter, it was still anyone’s game, with St Catherine edging ahead 45-44 after outscoring their opponents 10-8 in the third. However, the St John’s Road-based school dominated the final quarter, outscoring KC 18-10 to secure a decisive nine-point victory.

Tyrich Brown led the way for St Catherine with 20 points, and Jaheel Walker added 13. For KC, Shawayne Elliot was the top scorer with 12 points.

Earlier, Campion secured their finals berth by blanking JC. After winning Game One at home, they wrapped up the series with a convincing 60-48 victory in their away fixture. Zachary Lawrence-Smith was the standout player for Campion, recording 25 points and 19 rebounds. Joel Hamm led JC with 22 points and eight rebounds.

Camperdown High and St George’s College will battle for the under-16 title after both teams secured 2-0 semi-final series victories.

Camperdown had two close wins over Ardenne High to advance, edging them 43-42 in Game One before sealing the series with a 57-55 victory in Game Two.

St George’s had an easier passage. They crushed Calabar High 81-55 in Game One before securing their finals spot with a 61-56 win in Game Two.

Both best-of-three finals, under-19 and under-20, will tip off on February 20.

R. G.