The GSSSA basketball championship series tipped off last night at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium and while the top seeds won out in the juniors, the lower seeds took control at the senior level.
Both DW Davis Royals junior teams, the CV Bethel Stingrays senior girls and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves senior boys all took game one in their respective series
The junior girls game was a showdown between two of the top scorers in the league, Tahjanique Morley of the CH Reeves Raptors and Makia Bowles of the Royals.
Morley scored a game high 31 but Bowles had 30 and the Royals came away with the 36-34 win.
The same two teams faced off in junior boys play, but it wasn’t nearly as close.
DW Davis took game one 71-45.
Joevardo Wright led the Royals with 24 points, Ednel Pierre scored 18 and Breon Poitier finished with 15.
Devante Crawl scored 17 for the Raptors and Michael Mackey had 15.
In senior boys, the CI Gibson Rattlers had no answer for the T’Wolves duo of Derek Francis on the perimeter and Paulston Stuart in the paint.
Francis scored a game high 27 points, including five threes in the T’Wolves 67-62 win.
Stuart finished with 15 points.
Mario Rolle led three Rattlers in double figures with 19, Darius Hanna scored 17 and Condae Smith added 10.
In senior girls, Ricarra Beadle led the third seeded Stingrays to a 37-31 win over the Rattlers.
Beadle scored a game high 29 points, 13 in the first quarter, and also made five three pointers on the night.
Porhianna Farrington led the Rattlers with 11 points.
Game two in each series will be friday at 4pm at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
