Herbert Morrison notch quick basketball double

Herbert Morrison Technical High School's (HMTHS) under-19 team crushed Glenmuir High 52-33 to keep their unbeaten record intact, in their quarterfinal clash of the ISSA schoolboy rural basketball competition, at HMTHS in Montego Bay yesterday.

On Monday, HMTHS were led by Joshua Ferguson's 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals, while Ryan Jurdine added 10 points to go along with two rebounds and three steals. Glenmuir's Deshaun Smith scored 17 points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

"We started off hot in the first half but the cold front got us in the second half so we 'cold up' in our performance. It was a good overall win ... I will take an ugly win over a bad loss any day," LeVar Rose, coach of HMTHS told STAR Sports.

The St James-based school, competing in rural group two, outclassed their opponents with quick transition play and aggressive defending for a one-sided contest.

HMTHS raced to a 20-5 first-quarter lead, but Glenmuir came roaring back to keep the game competitive and were not blown away in the last three quarters. The scores were - second quarter 17-9, third 6-10, and fourth 9-9.

Meanwhile, Sheldon Shirley, coach of Clarendon-based Glenmuir High, said the team did well.

" (It) seemed as if they were a little bit flat at first but they got it together in the second half. I guess we were outmanned and outplayed," said Shirley.

"We just have to pay some attention to the fundamentals of the game and helping the guys to understand the IQ aspect of the game. After that we will have a good foundation," added Shirley, whose team has been eliminated from the quarterfinals.

In under-16 action, HMTHS's Rafael Stephenson's sizzling performance helped to hammer Munro College 102-30 in their quarterfinal showdown. Stephenson scored 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. His teammates Shamar Russell scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, two assists and 12 steals, and Trey Turner had 14 points, two rebounds and two steals. Munro's Sadre Gordon scored 16 points, and grabbed eight rebounds and four steals.

Dayne Campbell, coach of Munro, said it was a disappointing loss, but remains optimistic about the future.

"It kinda hurts to lose, especially that bad but you know it's understandable because we just restarted our programme. It is a really young team so we are able to play U-16 again next year and looking forward to the future," said Dayne Campbell, Munro's coach.

In other games, Clarendon-based Knox College thumped Old Harbour High 73-13. Kaden Bantan from Knox scored 15 points, 13 steals and seven blocks.

When the competition resumes today, group one's Muschett High will host Belair High at 1 p.m. in a U16 match at the Muschett Court.