Courts Pacesetters Third Division Team failed to maintain its unbeaten record in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Open and Division Three Leagues when basketball action continued Tuesday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

In what was one of the most thrilling nights of basketball in the league thus far, Melanie Patriots conquered Courts Pacesetters pressure defence winning 62-54 while in other match-ups  Bounty Colts edged past Nets 66-64 in their closely contested game and Beepat Scorpions easily defeated East/West Fire 77-64 in the final game of the night.

Melanie Patriots went into the game as the underdogs against Georgetown’s number one Division Three team Courts Pacesetters, but they sure did not play like it.

Pacesetters’ aggressive offense proved no match for the counter-attack from Patriots’ top scorers Ashton Adams, who racked up 15 points, Curtley English with 14 and Maxwell Thomas who chipped in with 12.

None of Pacesetters players were able to record double figure scores with Jermaine Taylor netting nine points, Keith Tute eight and junior national star Richard Mohandatt, seven points.

The highlight of the evening came when Bounty Colts showed supporters they should not be taken lightly by smothering Nets’ hopes of winning in the final seconds of their Division Three encounter. The skill of Colts players Dexter Walcott and Ryan Duncan under pressure kept fans on their feet as they accumulated 17 and 14 points respectively.

But it was the game winning steal and basket from Quasie Newton (who scored 15 points) which sealed the deal for Bounty Colts with seconds remaining.

The valiant efforts of Jamol Thompson and Ryan Wilson, who scored 12 and 11 points respectively, were not enough to take them past Bounty Colts in the nail-biting finish.

Beepat Scorpions then made light work of East/West Fire in their Open game with a well-rounded performance coming from S. Lovell, who scored 15 points and Jason Cort who contributed 12.

Some resistance from East/West top scorers T. McLeod and T. Foster who scored 14 points each proved futile in the end.

The competition continues tomorrow night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 6pm. (FC)