June 1, 2009 — More Fire of St. Croix completed a sweep of the Housing, Parks and Recreation Youth Champion of Champions basketball tournament Saturday by beating Come 2 Defend of St. Thomas 51-35 for a 2-0 sweep of their best two-of-three championship series at the Central High gymnasium.
The contest was over early as More Fire led by 11 points from Tikoy Felix in the opening stanza. The St. Croix team was able to sprint to a 17-8 first-quarter lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish. Come 2 Defend got six points from Troy Esprit.
More Fire cooled offensively in the second period, but turned up the heat defensively, holding Come 2 Defend to just five points in the quarter while scoring seven themselves for a 24-13 lead going into the locker room at the half.
Come 2 Defend played a much better second half, but still the home team proved to be too much for the squad from St. Thomas. Every run they made was countered by More Fire. They closed the gap to eight points in the third quarter, only to see a strong finish for More Fire extend the lead to 13 points at the end of the period, 38-25.
Any hopes of a comeback by Come 2 Defend in the fourth quarter were quickly dashed as More Fire's Nicholas Springer took the game over defensively and offensively. He exploded for eight fourth-quarter points and controlled the paint on defense for his team as the rolled to a decisive 51-35 victory. Rashad Creque netted six points in the final period for the visitors.
Felix, who netted 15 first-half points for More Fire, scored just two in the second half, but still ended up with a game-high 17 points to lead his team. His teammate Springer, on the other hand, finished strongly, with 11 second-half points for a total of 16 for the game. He was also named the tournament's most outstanding player. Creque led the way for Come 2 Defend with 12 points. No other member of his team got into double figures.
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