Tempers flare as Herbert Morrison claim schoolgirl basketball title

FLARED TEMPERS brought an ugly end to the 2024 ISSA Schoolgirls’ Rural Basketball competition on Friday.

St Elizabeth Technical High School’s (STETHS) coach Nick-Caro Golding and his Mount Alvernia counterpart Delroy Campbell got into a full-blown argument, taking some of the shine from Herbert Morrison Technical High School’s win over the former at the Montego Bay Cricket Club.

STETHS had defeated Mount Alvernia 28-27 in the semi-finals at Belair High School in Manchester on March 26 to advance to the final.

Match officials and some spectators had to call for cooler heads to prevail as the final was still in progress.

The result swung the tide of support away from STETHS, with Manchester High School, who had won an earlier third-place playoff against Mount Alvernia, 31-26 in overtime, teaming up with their foes to cheer on Herbert Morrison.

“Beat and teach them,” were some of the common chants.

Of course, the partisan environment did not go unnoticed and Golding felt calls were going against his team, prompting further arguments with match officials.

One match official responded to the claims, saying Golding should focus on coaching rather than the officiating.

Despite the animosity in the air, Herbert Morrison and STETHS showed respect to each other at the end of the game, though that did not translate to an end to the taunts between Golding and Campbell.

“Coach behave yourself and go on the bus,” said a woman from the crowd, while players had to pull Campbell in the opposite direction, fearing the verbal altercation would get physical.

The incident delayed the medal and trophy ceremony for about 10 minutes.

On the court, Herbert Morrison were dominant, completing a convincing 40-17 victory.

The result was never in question, Herbert Morrison running out to a 12-1 first-quarter lead, before upping the ante to lead 24-7 at the half. By the end of the third quarter there was no coming back for STETHS with Herbert Morrison leading 34-10. STETHS did not give up, however, and outscored the eventual champions in the final quarter.

Herbert Morrison’s Taveena Clarke was dominant, scoring 20 points to go along with six rebounds, two and assists, and a big five steals.

For STETHS, Shanae Graham was a defensive juggernaut, ending with six points, 11 rebounds, and two steals.

STETHS players and an assistant coach, after receiving their second-placed medals, pleaded their case to officials, saying Mount Alvernia’s heckling impacted the game. All the while, an obviously incensed Golding remained on the team bus.

“We got to the venue late and it was our fault. Our girls didn’t play as aggressively, score and take care of the basketball as I would have liked them to. We made a lot of internal errors that cost us the game,” Golding said.

While he calmed down for the interview with The Gleaner, he did not neglect to hurl expletives at members of the crowd, sarcastically asking them to report him.

“It was a good game,” Golding continued.

“Herbert Morrison played a very good game. I could see that they went home and did their homework. They came back with some defensive and offensive plays that they worked on to trump our defence,” said Golding.

The STETHS coach’s annoyance remained palpable and after an argument with personnel on the team bus, left on his own.

The top four teams, Herbert Morrison, have automatically qualified for the all-island play-offs scheduled to begin on Friday.