St James High aim to deny Herbert Morrison second title

Western Bureau:

St James High School upset defending champions and favourites Herbert Morrison Technical High 61-55 in game two of the ISSA Western Conference Basketball Under-16 best of three finals at the Montego Bay Cricket Club Court yesterday.

Herbert Morrison will now have to wait until Friday's game three if they are to extend their streak to six straight titles in ISSA Western Conference Under-16 basketball. The Under-19 team, however, captured their sixth consecutive title with a 74-58 win over York Castle High.

Coach of St James High, Omar Taylor, said after the Under-16 game that they learnt from mistakes made in Monday's game one. They were up by seven with a minute to go and lost after double overtime. He said they are confident they can win their first title.

"As I said, on Monday our mistake was complacency. We were too complacent and then with the double-overtime fatigue chipped in. If you notice this game we weren't leading in the first half but come the third quarter we made a change in the game," Taylor said.

"We have the players that can win the championship but sometimes you have to build the mentality first. I think we had a mental problem that we are getting over. Going into the third game I think we are more confident and we know we can do it," he added.

He added: "You have to learn from your mistakes. In Monday's game, we were up by seven but failed to use the time by running down the shot clock. However, this game we did that which was the difference. I think we are more settled now with a better mentality towards the game and will make better decisions in game three which will be a good one."

LOOKING AHEAD

Dave Black, coach of Herbert Morrison, said he is looking forward to the all-island competition with his senior team.

"Coming into the final, we already knew the team we have put together is good enough to win the western title very easily. We are looking forward to the all-island where the real competition will be because that's our aim all along," said Black, who also weighed in on their first loss of the season with the Under-16.

"This is the first time we are going to a game three in the Western Conference, but I think this is good for the guys. This will show what they are made of. The team is very young as most of the players are Under-14."