FORT MILL, SCFor the third straight year, the PrimeTime Players and the Cary Invasion met for the Tobacco Road Basketball League Championship. This years venue was the Banks Street Gym in Fort Mill, PrimeTimes home venue. The last two years have seen PrimeTime come away victorious, and 48 minutes stood between them and a third consecutive championship.
PrimeTime jumped to an early 7-0 lead to start the game before Cary settled down and started hitting some of their shots. The long ball was falling early for the defending champions, especially for Donald Rutherford, who hit a pair of threes late in the period to stretch the PrimeTime lead to double digits. Cary was able to cut the lead to nine at the first break at 32-23.
The second quarter was indicative of the stakes of the game, as both teams settled into their offensive sets and went to work on each other. The game turned physical and both teams saw their way to the bonus, shooting a total of 21 free throws in the period. The teams traded baskets for the majority of the period and Cary was able to cut their halftime deficit to six at 52-46 on a last second basket by Mike Devere.
After halftime, the heat inside the Banks Street Gym started to take a toll on the visiting Invasion. A slow start put them behind by double-digits again, but this time the answer was not there. Brian Mobley knocked down three-of-four from long range for PrimeTime to lead them in the period with 11 points, and the Players were able to stretch their lead out to 92-74 thanks to a late 10-3 run.
As is always the case in this rivalry, however, the Cary Invasion would not go down without a fight. Paul Wright and Freddie Little got hot from outside and several times cut the PrimeTime lead to single digits, riling up the fans who made the trip from Cary to support their team. Each time the Invasion went on a run, though, the PrimeTime Players had an answer. Whether it was a three from Chris Moore or Terell Smith, or a big bucket down low from Malaciah Jones, PrimeTime refused to let Cary all the way back into the game. It was a big and-one from Jones that sparked the run that slammed the door shut on Carys final effort to come back, as PrimeTime went off on an 11-3 tangent to close the game and their season. The final score was 128-107, but the game as a whole was much closer. PrimeTime outscored Cary 21-9 in the final four minutes and change to capture their third consecutive TRBL Championship.
PrimeTimes Malaciah Jones was named MVP with a huge 22-point, 11-rebound effort against a strong Cary interior. Terell Smith had a team-high 24 points and six rebounds, Brian Mobley had 18 points, and Chris Moore had 17 points and 7 assists. Sean Barnette finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists and was an intricate part of the offense late in the game, slowing the pace down for the champions. James Dillard had 13 points and nine rebounds, Vic Street had 10 points, and Donald Rutherford finished with eight. Tay Raymon did not score but grabbed a pair of rebounds and provided a valuable rest for Jones at key stretches.
Paul Wright led the way for Cary with 31 points, Freddie Little had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Rodney Callwood had 20 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Hickson finished with only one point, but grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists for the Eastern Conference Champions. Mike Smith finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
The win pushes the PrimeTime Players all-time TRBL record to 39-3, and the all-time series record with the Cary Invasion to 5-0 in favor of the champions.
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Thomas
