MpBoyz survive final quarter Tigers comeback to book Broome basketball finals spot

The MpBoyz survived a late scare and wayward shot-making on Wednesday night to advance to the Broome basketball final with a six-point win against the Tigers. That scoreline could have blown out significantly had the MpBoyz found their radar. Dozens of points were left on the court and free throws in particular were cause for concern, with the boys in blue missing about 20 shots from the line. But in the end consistent attacks, repeat offensive plays and a string of late CJ Oakley (22pts) three-pointers were enough to see the MpBoyz through to take on Roey Misfits in next week’s final. The Tigers were missing mercurial point-scoring machine Lattrell Matthews and it showed; dangerously fast counter-attacks which have been a feature of the Tigers’ game all season were nullified in centre-court time and time again. But in Matthews’ absence others stepped up to the plate — Dylan Pross’ patience in waiting for the right moment to take his shots kept the Tigers in the game and gave them a real chance of a comeback late in the final term. And Joseph Dann and Johno Pearson both looked threatening too, with the former amassing 13 points, the highest total for the Tigers on the night. The opening quarter set the tone for the game — the MpBoyz dominated possession and had the ball locked in attack for much of the term but struggled to sink the ball. By contrast the Tigers made use of what few attacking forays they had. Raquell Bin Rashid hit the scoreboard several times early to have his side ahead 8-6 at the first break. The game played out much the same way in the second term until a decisive five-minute, 12-point passage of play in which the MpBoyz finally seized the momentum. That lead carried through to the final term until the Tigers pounced. Pross and Pearson led the charge as the Tigers came back to take the lead with seven minutes to play, then Pearson sent his side into raptures by sinking a three-pointer to push the score out by four points. Oakley was having none of it though — a clutch three-pointer of his own seconds later brought it back to a one-point game before Malik Bin Rashid got the Tigers out by four again with three minutes to play. The Tigers held the lead right up until the last minute, when Cedric and Daniel Cox each sunk two-pointers to reclaim the lead for the MpBoyz before Oakley finished it off to settle the final score at 51-45.