Guernsey and their previously noisy supporters were left dumbstruck as Jersey came back from a 16-point deficit to seal victory by the smallest of margins with just 0.9sec.
on the clock.
Most-Valuable-Player Duncan Prince was the man who supplied the killer blow after he had been fouled on halfway attempting a quick break when Guernsey missed their final shot.
His first attempt from the line bounced out off the rim, but his second was straight and true leaving Guernsey with no time to respond.
‘I have never been under that much pressure before – it is the most difficult position to be in,’ said Prince.
‘When it went in I knew that was it.
I actually thought the first one was in – it felt good but it rattled out.’ The visitors deserve immense credit for their never-say-die attitude but this was one the hosts let slip away.
The first half was tightly fought with neither side ever taking full control, although the only time Jersey took the lead was in the first five minutes at 8-7.
They were not to regain it until the last second.
For Guernsey, inter-insular debutants Nick Jennings and Aigars Bruvelis were impressive in their strength and work off the boards during the opening exchanges while Prince always posed Jersey’s main threat.
The Sarnians held a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to Paul Van Beek’s three-pointer right on the buzzer, before they threatened to pull away during the second 10 minutes.
However, the greens hit a scoring drought and allowed Jersey to level the scores at 27 apiece, although Bruvelis gave his side a two-point advantage at half-time.
It was in the third quarter that the hosts seemingly took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Sent out by coach Simon Le Blancq to play a hustle defence high up court, the tactics worked a treat and Jersey found themselves overwhelmed by the Sarnian pressure.
The gap widened considerably by the minute for the first five after the turnaround with Andy Stephens contributing seven in quick succession while Nigel Govett, Liam Smyth, Van Beek and Jennings all chipped in.
Twice the margin became 16 points and perhaps it became all too comfortable for Guernsey, although admittedly everyone in Beau Sejour bar the 12 members of the opposition and their coach probably thought that the lead was unassailable.
But the Caesareans stuck to their task and, with Alex Loumpos and Chris Byrne becoming more and more prominent, they started to claw their way back.
By the start of the final 10, the gap had been narrowed to 52-46 and the atmosphere was getting edgy.
Scores continued to be traded and the lead was whittled down to three with a couple of minutes remaining.
Govett made it four from the line but then Jennings fouled out with 1min.
19sec.
on the clock and Prince was successful with both his free-throws.
On their next possession, Jersey did what had seemed unthinkable just quarter-of-an-hour earlier and tied the game at 60-60 with 35 seconds.
left.
But when a Jersey boot put the ball out of bounds with 25.7sec.
remaining, surely it was down to a Guernsey win or overtime.
Not so.
Van Beek did his job in running the clock down before Govett was given the responsibility for the final shot.
It didn’t drop and what happened from the resultant breakaway will long be etched in the memory.
‘To be 16 points up with about 10 minutes to go with the team we have got, we should be good enough to close the game out.
We should never have let them back in the game,’ said Govett, the Guernsey captain.
‘They have crept back into it and levelled.
I have then got a shot for the match and I take a lot of responsibility for missing it.
‘Unfortunately, it was compounded by the foul on Duncan Prince when he is still in his own half with 0.9 seconds remaining.
I would rather let Duncan Prince shoot from 65-ft than put him on the free-throw line but we made the mistake as a team and there is no pointing the finger.
‘We did not lack desire this year and I feel sorry for Simon Le Blancq because he has really worked us well and he as a coach deserved to win the game.’ Prince was also complimentary towards his coach Rick Blakemore.
‘We have really been training hard over the last three months and our coach has been a saviour.
‘Winning a basketball game in Guernsey really is a big thing for us because they have got so much support and basketball is much bigger over here,’ said Prince.
Guernsey: Govett, Jennings, Stephens, Van Beek, Smyth, Beausire, Tracey, Ogier, Davey, Saffari, Bruvelis, Roussel.
Jersey: Honey, Prince, Graff, Wilson, Ruellan, Small, Byrne, Garcia, Loumpos, Zalewski, Middleton, Duckworth.
Jersey claimed the overall honours on the day following a single-point victory in the under-17s game to go with that of their men’s team.
At the end of each quarter there was never more than a point separating the sides and they went into the final ten minutes tied at 39-39.
But it was the visitors who kept their nerve against a Guernsey side who were perhaps guilty of over eagerness in front of a partisan crowd and Jersey edged it 52-51.
Alex Henderson took the MVP award for his very impressive all-round display of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
For the hosts, Dan Marriott top scored with 14 while captain Billy Page and Jamie Bisson contributed 12 apiece.
Guernsey’s under-21s provided the home crowd with something to cheer about with a comfortable 70-47 victory.
Andy Maiden’s side showed no signs of nerves and were never behind against their Caesareans counterparts.
The hosts took the opening quarter 16-11 and the second period realised exactly the same number of points for both teams to give the Sarnians a ten-point half-time advantage.
Guernsey turned on the style in the third, notching up 22 points, although they also conceded 15 – the most in one quarter during the match.
They completeed a clean-sweep of quarter wins by taking the fourth 16-10 to cap a fine team performance.
