SPORTS SECTION E
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
SUPER BOWL 60 - Page E8
Giants tie series 1-1 By JONATHAN BURROWS Tribune Sports Reporter jburrows@tribunemedia.net
THE defending champions St John’s College Giants responded to a game one loss as they evened the BAISS Senior Boys championship series at one game apiece with a dominant 74-42 win over the Charles W Saunders Cougars in game two of the best-ofthree final. Playing with urgency after dropping game one, St. John’s College Giants set the tone early, racing to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter. The Giants controlled the tempo from the opening tip, scoring in transition and forcing the Cougars into rushed possessions. Charles W. Saunders was further disrupted when leading scorer Bryson Rolle arrived late and missed half of the opening quarter. Despite the slow start, the Cougars attempted to change the momentum by switching to a full-court press late in the first quarter. The adjustment produced some stops, but the damage had already been done as St. John’s carried a 20-8 lead into the break. The Cougars opened the second quarter with renewed energy. Rolle scored the first basket of the quarter for the Cougars, and the press began to generate better looks. The Cougars briefly found rhythm, trimming the deficit to nine points with 50 seconds left in the half. However, St. John’s responded with composure, closing the quarter with the
St John’s College senior boys pull off dominant 74-42 win over Charles W Saunders Cougars lead. The Giants went into halftime 29-20. Any hopes of a second-half comeback were quickly erased as St. John’s dominated the third quarter on both ends of the floor, stretching the lead to 60-30 by the start of the fourth. The Cougars struggled to score against the Giants’ half-court defence and were unable to capitalise in transition, missing several layups and committing costly turnovers. The game took an unfortunate turn with just over three minutes remaining. Following a foul call and brief altercation on the court, three Cougars players were ejected after leaving the bench area to go on the court. At that point, the score stood at 63-37. Officials called six technical fouls against Charles W. Saunders, resulting in six consecutive free throws for St. John’s College and the possession, effectively ending any chance of a comeback. The final minutes played out with the Giants firmly in control, closing out
the 32-point victory and evening the series at 1-1. The win was a statement performance from St. John’s, showcasing their depth and defensive discipline. “It feels great to get a win, you know, we were resilient all year, we came in the season, undefeated, and you know, we just had to fight to keep our season alive,” said Giants head coach Dastyn Baker. “We switched up a lot of defensive schemes and, my guys in this game, they were more focused and they were locking in and listening to the coaching. Game one their minds were everywhere, I think they were a little overly hyped for the game. “I spoke to them about being focused, their discipline and that's what they did. They came to play in game two,” said Baker. D'A'fer Gibson Jr led the giants with 16 points. With the championship now on the line, game three is set for Wednesday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Both teams will have one final opportunity to claim the senior boys’ BAISS title.
ON THE REPLAY: St John’s College Giants senior boys in action against the Charles W Saunders Cougars. Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr/Tribune Staff
CI Gibson senior boys win sudden death playoff thriller over Timberwolves 52-49 By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net JOE Valdo Wright will probably never forget his biggest play down the stretch that sent the CI Gibson Rattlers back to the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association senior boys’ basketball championship series. With 1.9 seconds left, Wright completed a threepoint play to lift the Rattlers to a hard fought 52-49 sudden death playoff thriller over the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves last night at the CI Gibson Gymnasium. While they clinched their berth as the second seeds, the top ranked RM Bailey Pacers out-lasted the pesky Government High Magicmen for a 67-57 triumph to earn their berth into the best-of-three finals that will get underway today at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Meanwhile, the senior girls’ matchup was also completed yesterday and will be another showdown between the undefeated top ranked defending champions CI Gibson and the second ranked RM Bailey. Rattlers 52, Timberwolves 49 With the game keenly contested in the fourth quarter, Wright's threepoint play sealed the deal down the stretch as CI Gibson capped a 15-12 scoring spree in the fourth period. Wright finished with 16 points, but Mario Rolle Jr poured in 19 to lead the attack. Dario Hanna had eight and Melvens Simeon helped out with five.
Pacers beat Magicmen 67-57 triumph to earn their berth into best-of-3 finals set for today "We chose the most important game to play the worst offensive game, but we were tough enough to pull it out down the stretch," said CI Gibson's coach Kevin “KJ” Johnson. He noted that they will have their hands full with RM Bailey, but they will be prepared. Lavan Aritis scored 14, Jathyn Jones had 12, Israel White had nine and O'Nagio Fowler added seven in the loss for Anatol Rodgers, who played without coach Denykco Bowles, who is serving a suspension from the GSSSA. Despite the Timberwolves making the most noise with their goatskin drums and their fans cheering, the Rattlers opened a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Anatol Rodgers continued their intensity level on and off the court as they managed to dismantle CI Gibson to rally back for a 24-17 lead at the half. Coming out of the break, the Rattlers got into a full court press and they disrupted the flow of the game, cutting down the Timberwolves to snatch a 37-35 lead at the end of the third. Pacers 67, Magicmen 57 Coach Lamont “Redhead” Armaly relied on a balanced scoring attack, led by Quency Rigby, with 24 points, to hold off the pesky
ON THE REPLAY: CI Gibson Rattlers in action against the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves at CI Gibson Gym last night. Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr/Tribune Staff fourth ranked Government High in one half of the senior boys’ matchup. What Rigby didn't provide, Stanley Pratt helped out with 17, Wodson Antoine powered inside with 15 and Keith Bonaby contributed 10. "It was a good game. Government High played a good game. We didn't play the way we wanted, but we grinded it out and got a tough win," coach Armaly said. As they prepare for the championship, he said his Pacers have to work on everything because he
knows CI Gibson will play a hard-fought game. The Pacers set the pace for the game with a 19-8 margin in the first quarter, thanks to eight from Rigby and six from Antoine. They used another 19-17 advantage to post a 38-25 halftime lead. They came back in the third with a 14-12 run, but GHS made it close in the fourth on a 20-15 spurt as RM Bailey held on for the win. Government High, coached by Ricardo Lees, saw Jameko Hart erupt for a game high 29, including eight three-pointers, but it
wasn’t enough Magic to get the win. Aaron Brown was their only other scorer with 16, including four three-pointers. John Joseph, who also had a three-pointer, finished with six. Rattlers 59, Stingrays 17 Vonnisha Rolle and Brihanna Farrington provided a 1-2 punch to lead CI Gibson as they routed the fourth ranked CV Bethel in one half of the senior girls’ showdown. Rolle produced seven of her game high 29 points and Farrington had six of her 18 in the first quarter as the Rattlers took a 12-1 advantage at the end of the period. Kyasia Rolle was the Rattlers' next highest score with six, while Savonte Rolle had four as CI Gibson never trailed and was never threatened the rest of the way. They opened an advantage at the half and surged to a leading margin at the end of the third. Craig Smith Jr, one of the coaches for CI Gibson, said it was like clockwork for the Rattlers. "We did pretty well. We expected to win. We've been working pretty hard all season long," Smith Jr said. "Once we come out and play hard, everything else will take care of itself. "We just have to be ready for RM Bailey because
when we played them in the regular season, the game went to double overtime and we won by a shot at the buzzer. I'm looking forward to the rematch." For the fourth ranked Stingrays, coached by Glenda Gilcud, Anthonique Pedican had nine and Gleniqua Cole Brooke chipped in with seven. Pacers 45, Knights 36 Kenisha Capron came up with 22 points and both Tyesha Johnson and Malia Bowles had 11 apiece as RM Bailey polished off the third ranked CR Walker Knights in the other half of the senior girls’ match up. "It was a significant win for us because the jitters are out and everybody is now at 0-0 when we get to the championship," said Pacers' coach Bernice Penn. Capron and Bowles both had five as the Pacers went up after the first quarter. They had six and four respectively in their 17-6 run for a 28-15 halftime lead. But after going through a scoring drought in the third, holding onto a slim 34-33 margin going into the final break, they used an 11-4 run in the fourth to secure the win. CR Walker, coached by Pamela Bethel, got 16 from Shania Munroe, eight from Aniyah Darius and five each from Stera Fenelus and Keyara Jennings.