OPPONENTS: ALEX

1^ST       43 – 40

2^ND       33 – 24

16A     42 – 12

15A     34 – 23

14A     12 – 07

14B      11 – 10

14C      16 – 0

The last meeting of these two KZN schools was at the Alex pit and saw Alex destroy the Kearsney basketball team by 30 points. As has been the case all season the Kearsney team has fought hard and not backed down even when playing opponents that are much more fancied then they are. The first quarter saw the home team take the lead 13 – 06 as they seemed to work well against the Alex defence and the Alex team was slightly baffled by the Kearsney defence. Kearsney went off the boil in the second quarter which allowed Alex to take a four point lead (17 – 21) going into half time.

The third quarter was a tough and bloody affair with both teams working hard to maintain and fight for the lead but as the bounce of the ball would have it the quarter ended in a draw (31 – 31). Setting up a tense fourth quarter. The crowd were enthralled and captivated with the game, even those to whom basketball is a foreign sport. The Fourth quarter saw the lead change hands a number of times and both coaches forced to dig deep to lead their teams to victory. Both Kearsney gig men Julien Strauss and Bradley Vincent were out with five fouls and it was let to undersized post Xolani Msimago to finish the game against much bigger opposition. The Kearsney team took the lead with a basket by Ian Sprague and then maintained possession forcing the Alex Players to foul to stop the clock, this put Figs Qoboshiyane on the line for two free throws which he made and put the game beyond doubt. The victory (43 – 40) a first for Kearsney in a long time against the Pietermaritzburg opponents was sweetly savoured while it must have left the Alex team wondering what had happened.

Article by Myles Delport