SAWA out fly Hawks

THE Students Athlete World Association (SAWA) had to fly high to get above the late, locally unbeaten Hawks, to take the win 92-89, in an exhibition touring game at the Barbados Community College.

The United States-based association came to Barbados with the intention of giving some of their gifted High School and College players some international exposure. This is not the first time they have toured the island, and have always brought a good crop of competitive and skilled basketball players to take on the island’s best. This year they have brought two teams – a junior and senior team – to compete in a week of games held at the Barbados Community College.

Hawks are a locally unbeaten Barbados Amateur Basketball Association First Division side, which had so far not been beaten for the season. The game was highly anticipated by the players, as well as the spectators, who came to watch the young Garrison side take on the touring team.

The SAWA squad and the Hawks got off to a very aggressive start, to the game with the two teams going at each other testing the defences. Hawks players were taking the ball to the rack and finishing strong at the hoop, but so was SAWA. Hawks made an early run, only for it to be answered by the opponents, who cut the deficit and then took over the lead, as the first quarter ended 26-23.

Hawks made another run ,with attacking plays by Daniel Durant and Shaquan Newton. Durant was especially aggressive in the first half and was patient in his strategy, and broke down the US defence many times. Durant scored 8 of his 16 points in the first quarter, while Newton took over the scoring in the second, scoring 14 of his 26 points in the second quarter, including 2 three-pointers.

SAWA was moving the ball well, as the players ran plays to get each other free, and as a result got quality looks at the basket on most possessions. One thing that must be said is that the SAWA squad supported each other on the court and off, always encouraging the other to keep pushing. The half ended with them outscoring the Hawks 21-14, to stage a comeback, after being down earlier in the quarter.

With the second half still to play, with SAWA up 44-40 and all to play for, once again the two teams started the quarter aggressively.  The US boys were playing more cohesively than the Hawks and baskets came easier. Though they came easy, it was the effort and hustle of the players that created the opportunities. Adam Epson was especially annoying for the Hawks’ defence, with his constant movement around the ring. This allowed him to grab many an offensive rebound, which created another scoring chance for his team. Epson had 14 points in the second half, 8 in the third and 6 in the fourth. He earned many of those points by shooting well from the free-throw line.

At the end of the third, Hawks were in a deeper hole, down 73-61 with only one period left in the game. The Hawk fans were not pleased, and started to shout at the guys on the court ,asking them to give more effort, and also for them to play like they wanted to win. With the Coach, Tremaine Shaw, also giving words of advice, the Hawks came out to win the game. Durant and Shaw continued to drive to the ring from the wings and finished strong or kicked for the outside shot. They both scored 6 points each in the run to try to take home the win for the team and Barbados. Epson had other plans, as he scored 6 points as well in the final period of the game, to stave off the Barbadian run. Even with a 28-19 fourth quarter and some last minute buckets, the Hawks could not overtake SAWA, and they lost their first game of the season by 3.

Jordan McNeil and Colin Hyland both contributed 11 points apiece to the winning effort, while Rommel Boyce and Jamalie Holder finished with 17 and 8 points respectively for the Hawks. (AS)