01-25-10
CIA slay the Knights
CIA put their Quarter Final loss firmly behind them as they pulled off an emphatic victory over the Camden Knights on Sunday afternoon. Daniel Montague led by example as Captain with a double-double, 26 points and 12 rebounds, including a block that would be right at home on the NBA Top 10.
CIA were almost at full strength, only missing Lee Fraser and Chi Lewis-Parry and welcoming experienced Guard Shaun Gray into the line up. Both teams were evenly matched in the first quarter, Sladojevic opening the scoring for the Knights. Darryl Lewis got out ahead on the break to attract two fouls and two trips to the line in as many minutes before sharp shooter Nik Lawry found his range from behind the 3-point line and Babs Maye added one of his own. Small Forward Gene Brown made his presence felt coming off the bench, drop-stepping his man and go hard to the basket. CIA ended the quarter with a narrow 1-point lead.
In the second CIA would have to wait 4 minutes for a basket when Montague hit from 3-point range and added another a minute later. Montague and Brown (Gene) scored all of CIA’s points in the quarter netting 9 and 5 respectively. Shaun Gray made his CIA debut, controlling the floor and settling play. The scores were tied going into the half-time interval.
In the third quarter CIA begun to increase the tempo on the defensive end with Tayo Orija and Rob Cornthwaite both providing solid play coming off the bench. Bowler and Montague both hit from outside and Michale Brown dominated on the inside boards. Knights’ go-to-guy Jovanovic dropped 4 points in quick succession but was visibly frustrated as he was forced to sit with foul trouble. CIA took advantage of the foul count with everything going hard to the basket. CIA led by just 2 points going in to the final quarter, 43-41.
In the fourth, CIA showed their character as they held the Knights to just 8 points whilst they went on a scoring spree. Brothers Michale and Gene Brown did the damage in the first 3 minutes before Montague added two powerful layups. Bowler and Montague scored the remaining points, Bowler going to the line 4 times and shooting 7-10 from the line for the game whilst Montague netted 5 more points. To add insult to injury Montague hustled down a loose ball, soaring to swat Jovanovic’s layup way out of bounds and seal the victory 65-49.
The win puts CIA in fourth position and forces the Knights back down the table. CIA will need to continue the winning form to stay on track with league leaders Knights who hold a 7-2 record so far. CIA will return home on 30th January to host the Greenwich Admirals. After a disappointing loss to the Admirals earlier in the season CIA will aim to put things right this time around.
Top scorers: D Montague 26, G Brown 13, L Bowler 10
Top assisters: L Bowler 5, D Montague/S Gray 2
Top rebounders: D Montague 12, G Brown 5
