Point-guard Dereck Boxill missed the most important lay-up on the night, which then allowed Petro Jazz to record an 86-82 over Defence Force when competition in the Men's Division of the Mackeson Super 10 Basketball League continued on Saturday night at the Southern Indoor Sports Arena, Pleasantville, San Fernando.
The win was Jazz's tenth in as many matches, while it brought an end to the army/coastguard team's eight-match winning streak.
With 12 seconds left, Boxill, the team's hero in its previous matches missed an uncontested lay-up, which would have tied the scorers at 84-84 but it allowed the host, playing in front its chanting fans, to record an exciting victory.
Jazz led the first quarter, 29-17, and maintained control of the contest 31-15 in the second quarter to lead 60-32 at half-time, forcing their opponents to play from behind.
In the third session, the visitors started to put their game together. Defence Force outscored Jazz 21 -12 in the third to reduce the deficit and then, 29-14, in the fourth to bring the encounter down to a two-basket contest.
In the end, it was the three-point shooting of point-guard Adrian Joseph, which made the difference.
Joseph connected with five three-pointers to finish with 21 points, while veteran forward Ako Pascall sank 29 points and centre Dextroy Manswell, 12.
For Defence Force, which moved into the Big-Four zone, Boxill, despite his missed effort in the closing stages, was once again prolific with a with a match-high 30 points.
Steven supported with 19, while centre Kevan Bacquain added 16. Meanwhile, playing without suspended leading forward Fabrice Fisher, Valencia Heat displayed total team basketball to get the better of the 2009 champion team Detour Shak Attack 76-65 on Friday night at the Maloney Sports Complex.
The match was important for both teams seeking to keep their Big-Four aspirations alive.
Valencia went into the half with a 32-27 lead. They kept control after three sessions with a 22-18 advantage before securing the win.
The win gave Valencia a foot into the final-four. For the victors, guard Kevon Noreiga led the way with 22 points, while centres Jeffrey Saunders and Duane Virgil dropped in 15 and 14, respectively. For Shak Attack, forwards Kenyatta Alfred and guard Orlando Mapp each scored 12 points.
Standings
Teams Pld W L Pts
Valencia 12 9 3 21
UTT 12 8 4 20
Petro Jazz 10 10 0 20
Defence 9 8 1 17
Caledonia 9 7 2 16
Shak Attack 10 6 4 16
Maloney 9 6 3 15
JCW Quart .11 4 7 15
Police 11 4 7 15
MoS School .11 2 9 13
Diego Martin 11 3 8 13
Sangre Grande 11 1 10 12
Monarchs 10 0 10 9
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