2 October 2023
It was a battle of the event’s two unbeaten teams when Maritzburg College and Northwood met in the final of the Kearsney Invitational Basketball Tournament on Sunday.
In a recent meeting between the two sides in Pietermaritzburg, College had recorded an 81-71 victory, and they appeared ready to repeat that success when they blasted into a 9-0 lead in double-quick time. If there was anything that College had been guilty of during the course of the tournament, it was slow starts. But not on this occasion.
Northwood, though, were the event’s top scorers and they didn’t panic. In the blink of an eye, College’s big lead had disappeared, and they were just 12-11 ahead.
Streaky shooting
Unfortunately for Maritzburg, their hot start evaporated as streaky shooting cost them plenty of buckets. Still, they hung in there.
Northwood, the taller team, controlled the boards and benefitted from a superior offensive rebounding performance. In the third quarter, they led 33-27. College, though, responded well and levelled the scores at 35-35 as the title-decider headed into the final quarter.
There, it was all about Northwood as the Knights went on a 14-0 run without reply to record a well-deserved 49-35 victory. College’s high-pressure defence had won them a number of games, but their inconsistent shooting finally caught up to them against a side that was the most consistent shooting team at the KIBT.
Third and fourth
In the playoff for third and fourth, the hosts, Kearsney College, went up early against DHS. But the Horseflies clawed their way back against the stubborn defence of the hosts.
It was 43-43 with less three minutes to go. DHS, then, added five points as time ran down. Kearsney, though, pulled to within three at 45-48, but the Horseflies had the final say, putting up another two to finish 50-45 winners.
Semi-finals
Earlier, Northwood had posted a comfortable 56-37 win over Kearsney in the semi-finals, while Maritzburg College defeated DHS 47-41 in their final four clash. DHS, though, could take plenty out of the game, having fought back from 17 points down in the third quarter to make a game of it.
Westville won 42-37 against Pretoria Boys’ High to secure the KZN schools the top five places in the tournament.
Day Three Results
Westville 45-18 Jeppe
Pretoria Boys High 40-39 KES
SF: Maritzburg College 47-41 DHS
SF: Northwood 56-37 Kearsney College
9th/10th: Westerford 33-42 Pinelands
7th/8th: Jeppe 27-34 KES
5th/6th: Westville 42-37 Pretoria Boys
3rd/4th: DHS 51-45 Kearsney College
1st/2nd: Maritzburg College 35-49 Northwood
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