After holding a lead for the first time in the Lime Hoops Classic, the Southern Warriors still came up short, falling to the Morne Fortune Gladiators in a thriller to the buzzer, 48-45.

This was a must win for the Warriors, who badly needed to end their losing streak before facing the more experienced teams in Courts Jets and VBCC Warlords. Now a wide open tournament has shifted to a “do or die” position for the Warriors as every match has become critical to make it to the playoffs and also to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

To the Warriors credit, Saturday showed a marked defensive improvement over previous games. The predominant zone defense was a lot more active leading to 32 Gladiator turnovers. The Warriors took care of the ball a lot better recording 16 turnovers, but the killer statistic was the field goal misses, 73 of 92 attempts!! The Warriors field goal percentage was an abysmal 21%. And the free throws, 6 of 22, 27%. Other glaring statistics were 26 offensive rebounds by the Warriors which should have lead to more second chance points and 20 steals which should have cashed in at least 10 or more transition baskets.

Luckily no one was left down at Barre De L’isle on this trip. The Warriors driver, Douglas, warned he would be taking matters into his hands if the Warriors shamed him in another match. But after Douglas seemed calmer than previous matches, perhaps placated by the improved scoring margin at the end of the quarters. The Warriors ended the first quarter behind, as usual, but by only four points. Quarters 2 and 3 were won by the Warriors, giving them the lead at the end of both intervals.

But again, the Warriors could not close out in the fourth quarter and their lack of structured offense reared its ugly head again making the points hard to come by. The Warriors scored a measly 8 points in the fourth quarter, but still that wasn’t what sealed the coffin. What did the Warriors in was their lack of focus on defense in the final two minutes. Perhaps a change in defensive tactic would have sufficed to maintain better coverage on the last two Gladiator baskets scored first by Noel on a backdoor dunk and Edward, who laced a dagger from the right baseline corner with approximately 3 seconds remaining. The last shot put up by Sham Hunt, on the pass from Jayant Quinlan, clanged badly off the front of the rim as the final whistle sounded.

               Gladiators     Warriors

Final Score     48             45

POINTS PER QUARTER
1st Quater      18             14
2nd Quarter     14             13
3rd Quarter     03             10
4th Quarter     13             08

Gladiators Performance
Paul Hippolyte 18 Points 14 Rebounds 2 Steals
Kurt Hyacinth 5 Points 9 Rebounds 4 Steals

Southern Warriors Performance
Gillan Joseph 10 Points 14 Rebounds 2 Steals

Statistics
Official Scoresheet
Warriors Stats
Gladiators Stats