Prince Andrew Squeaks By Cole Harbour, spearheaded by Dominique Hill & Drew Crowther!
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Prince Andrew Panthers
- Dominique Hill – 21 points
- Drew Crowther – 18 points
Cole Harbour Cavaliers
- Dequawn Beals- 24 points
- Markeem Grant– 20 points
Photo Courtesy: Ryan Stacey
FALL RIVER, NS–When you have a tournament that features teams that are so close in skill level, you know you’re going to have very intense match-ups. That is exactly what happened in the Bill Dompiere Memorial Tournament this past weekend.
The last two teams standing in the finals were the Prince Andrew Panthers and the Cole Harbour Cavaliers. Both teams had played exceptional over the weekend, but they didn’t easily coast to the finals. On route to the championship game they had some pretty difficult match-ups against teams that didn’t subside to an easy loss.
Prince Andrew managed to come out on top with a 71-64 win over Cole Harbour. Prince Andrew showed great team work and passing and were led to victory by their elite level guards, Perdell Downey and point guard Dominique Hill.
Prince Andrews noticeably started the game with a ferocious mindset and didn’t look back. Dominique Hill started strong with an early steal which lead to an easy fast break layup. On the very next play Hill managed to knock down a three pointer, creating momentum for Prince Andrew.
Not only were the Panthers using their range but had Drew Crowther inside the paint using his size to their advantage, grabbing rebounds and cleaning up any missed shots. Cole Harbour wasn’t able to answer back and was failing to connect on any of their shots.
Markeem Grant of Cole Harbour had been on a roll and scored 36 points in the previous game earlier that day. He started to open up midway through the first quarter, hitting contested mid range jump shots and was using his size to get to the bucket. Cole Harbour’s De’quawn Beals managed to sink a three pointer and joined the frenzy of threes that were being made.
In the last minutes of the first quarter the game was very quiet, with constant turnovers by both teams. Perdell Downey was able to use his athleticism as he weaved his way through traffic managing to hold a strong lead for his team. By the end of the first quarter Prince Andrew was in control 21-12.
In the second quarter Prince Andrew dominated Cole Harbour. Prince Andrew’s intensive defence pressure led Cole Harbour to numerously turn the ball over. At one point PA went on a 6-0 run, four of those points coming from steals by Dominique Hill. At half time the Panthers had a solid lead on the Cavaliers with a score of 37-24.
Drew Crowther started after the halftime break with back to back baskets. Cole Harbour was looking exhausted and turned the ball over three times in a row causing PA to take momentum. PA’s defensive pressure was too much for the Cavaliers with an 8-0 run from both turnovers and fast break plays.
After a Cole Harbour timeout, they brought out a whole entire energy level and intensity. That led to a 6-0 run. Not only did they pull together their offensive game but defensively they caused PA to turn the ball over four times in a row. By the end of the third quarter Cole Harbour managed to close the gap making it a thirteen point game.
Markeem Grant rolled into the fourth quarter with a nice steal and scored off of a ridiculous circus shot.
The Cavaliers seemed to find their game in the fourth hitting almost all of their shots and were still able to maintain great defensive pressure, resulting in numerous PA turnover’s.
Grant completely took control of this quarter making jaw dropping shots and drove to the basket fearlessly. The Cavaliers just kept feeding the ball to MG and he seemed to always find a way to either drive in or get a shot off. After Coby Downey drained a three pointer with only 50 seconds remaining, the Prince Andrew lead was only two.
NPH caught up with point guard Perdell Downey in the post-game about containing Markeem Grant.
“We just had to slow the tempo down and use the clock smarter plus make good passes. Markeem is just one of those players who his going to get his points regardless.”
After another three pointer by Dominique Hill, the lead was 69-64 for the Panthers. Cole Harbour tried a risky full court pass but had it stolen. The Cavaliers resorted to fouling and sent them to the line. They made both free throws giving Prince Andrew a 71-64 lead and victory.
