March 30, 2009 — The Charlotte Amalie Chicken Hawks stunned the Educational Complex Barracudas and their many fans in the Central High School gym Sunday by mounting a huge second-half comeback to win the V.I. varsity boys basketball championships 68-64.
Down by as many as 20 points in the first half and with the Barras firing on every cylinder, the Hawks could have just as easily thrown in the towel. But Coach Pedrito Estrill saw something late in the first half that he felt could work if his team could just stay within striking distance.
"It did not look good for us in the first half, but I knew we had a chance — a slim one, but still a chance — if we could keep from going down too far," he said. "We knew we had to make some adjustments in the second half if we were going to come back and win this thing. We decided to put a man on their player calling and setting up the plays which, along with our full-court press, seemed to really rattle them. They started making a lot of turnovers, and we were able to turn them into some easy baskets for us."
For Coach Dean Heywood, it was a tough loss. His players, he said, "just stopped picking up their assignments, and when the game got tight nobody wanted to take charge and be the aggressor for the team." He continued, "It was like everybody was afraid to take the shot as if they were afraid that the finger would be pointed at him as the one who messed things up if they missed."
After winning a tough game Saturday to force the decisive third game, the Barras came out on fire on Sunday. Led by 10 points from Salim Ross and nine from James Sneed, they outscored the Hawks 21-8 in the first quarter for a 13-point advantage at the end of the first period and looked well on their way to the championship.
The lead would swell to as many as 20 points in the second quarter, but the Hawks were much better offensively this period. Although outscored 20-18 in the period, they went into the locker room at the half with a manageable 15-point deficit at 41-26.
Estrill's halftime adjustments paid dividends almost instantaneously at the start of the third quarter. His new defensive scheme caught the Barras off guard, and the Hawks began to whittle away at the lead. Stingy defense and a balanced attack, led by eight points from Shamal Caines, allowed the Hawks to outscore the Barras 16-8 in the third period to trail by seven points at 49-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hawks continued their charge in the fourth, but the Barras still had their chances to pull out the win as James Sneed seemed to put his team on his back and was managing to just keep the Barras ahead of the surging Hawks. Unfortunately for the Barras, Sneed went down, apparently from severe cramps, and the rest of the team became totally unglued. The Barras were turning the ball over almost on every inbound, and with fatigue now an issue for both teams, the Hawks seemed to dig a little deeper, as they just seemed to want it that much more.
Once they grabbed the lead, the Hawks did not relinquish it, as they were also hitting their free throws when intentionally fouled down the stretch. The Barras never stopped playing as they went hard all the way to the end. However, they just did not play well enough as a unit to win down the stretch. The Hawks were better once the game tightened up, and that is why they are the 2009 V.I. boys varsity basketball champions.
The Hawks had four players in double digits, led by Shamal Caines, who netted 16 points. For the Barras, Sneed scorched the nets for a game-high 28 points before being sidelined by the injury in the fourth.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
