Munro, Knox top Central KFC leagues

Richard Bryan, Gleaner Writer

Munro College kept their composure in the last minute to defeat Belair 67-65 and top the Central Conference KFC/ISSA senior schoolboy Basketball league in Mandeville on Monday.

In the under-16 final played earlier, Knox College easily disposed of Edwin Allen 80-26 in game two for a 2-0 shut out.

For new champions, Munro, the win in game two followed their similarly close 56-54 win in the first game of the series final at the same venue - the courts of the Church of Nazarene on Gordon Road.

Reversal win

The win was a reversal of last year's final in which Belair won 2-0 in a home and away play-off. It was Munro's first hold on the senior schoolboy title but the fifth for coach Dwayne Mullings, who had won four consecutive titles at Manchester High earlier in the decade.

The 6-foot-6 tall Dorian Ricketts, who had scored 24 in game one, but probably missed more than the 17 he scored in game two, got the final basket for the winners, after the scores were level at 65.

Belair looked the more assertive team in the first quarter and duly led before Munro stormed back for a 34-33 lead at the half-time interval.

Cheered on by supporters who pounded drums and sang, Munro held a decisive 59-49 lead with five minutes remaining.

Matthew Reid, the best of the free-throwers on the day, was the leading scorer with 23 points for Belair.

Kenton Facey (24) and Marlon Reid (16) were the top scorers for Knox in the Under 16 final. Knox had defeated Edwin Allen 81-51 in game one.