An all-out team effort from Police inspired by centre-court player Don Wilkinson and forwards Wesley Vincent and Ronell Winter saw the officers complete its second straight win in the Barry Stewart Basketball League on Wednesday night.
The Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena in Chaguanas came alive with the intense match-up between Police and Prisons in the Men’s Premier Division and it was the former getting a 70-56 victory.
This affair followed Trailblazers dominating performance against Valencia Heat in the Boys Under-19 category, winning 51-18.
In the feature match, Wilkinson powered his way in the low post with 15, linking up with both small forward Vincent and Winter finished with 14 points each. Police jumped out to 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The trio was productive in the second session as Police remained out front despite a run by the Prisons team sparked by Mikhail Williams (23), almost matching its opponent offensively, 12 compared to Police’s 14 to trail by eight (29-21) at half-time.
The third quarter was the best for the policemen, effortlessly adding 30 points to gain a 22-point (59-37) advantage going into the final period.
The Prisons unit upped its game in the fourth quarter and attempted to make a comeback which was piloted by William and teammate Michael Jerome. Prisons outscored the opposition 21 to 11, but it was not enough to overcome the huge deficit built by Police in the previous quarter.
Police have done well thus far to bounce back from its first loss to Defence Force (99-89) on the opening day. In its first win in the second edition of the competition, Police defeated Detour Shak Attack, 66-54.
The Police outfit will be back on the court on Saturday night hoping to extend its win streak in the final of five matches against Straker Nets at the Jean Pierre Complex in Port-of-Spain from 8 pm.
Earlier, Trailblazers coached by Stephen Leonce did a great job which saw his players sharing the ball to earn the 33-point victory over and youthful and inexperience Heat outfit playing competitive basketball for the first time. Jacob Benjamin top-scored with 15 and Timothy Joel added 11 for the winner
Results
Wednesday
Men’s Premier Division
n Police (29) 70 (Don Wilkinson 15, Wesley Vincent 15, Ronell Winter 14) vs Prisons (21) 56 (Mikhail Williams 23, Michael Jerome 16).
n Valencia (12) 18 (Ozarre Daniel 4, Tareeq Gentle 4) vs Trailblazers (17) 51 (Jacoba Benjamin 15, Timothy Joel 11, Jamal Williams 9).
Tuesday: Men’s Premier Division
n Petro Jazz (34) 72 (Ako Pascal 21, Kevin Sargent 13, Fabrice Fisher 10, Steve McSween 10) vs Straker Nets (47) 80 (Jeffrey Harris 23, Joel Hinds 10, Chike Augustine 9).
U-19 Div
n Petro Jazz (24) 49 (Uriyl Cuffie 14, Jason Friday 12, Taber Mason 8) vs Straker Nets (37) 66 (Shakiem Jessop 26, Jerheim Elder 17, Yasin Ryan 12).
Matches
Today (At Pleasantville)
U-19 Division
n Petro Jazz vs Brian Chase Academy, 7.30 pm
Men’s Premier Division
n Petro Jazz vs Defence Force, 8.30 pm
Saturday (At Jean Pierre Complex)
U-15 Division
n Trailblazers vs Enterprise, 2 pm
n Grande Young Stars vs Spartans, 3.30 pm
Women Division
n UWI vs Enterprise, 5 pm
ntraker Nets vs Brian Chase Academy, 6.30 pm
Men’s Premier Division
n Straker Nets vs Police, 8 pm