MARCEL Jones came up big for Riffa last night in the closing stages of an 87-86 overtime victory over Al Hala, held as part of the 11th week of action in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League.
Jones scored four points in the final two minutes of the extra session, including a tipped-in basket with 31 seconds to play.
He then made a big block just before the final buzzer on fellow-American Loren Woods as Woods was attempting a potential game-winner for Hala.
It was a thrilling ending to an entertaining battle that could have gone either way.
Riffa were eager to go for the upset against their highly ranked rivals, and as they headed into the final quarter up 56-48 appeared to be doing just that. Hala, however, managed to outscore their opponents 27-19 in the final frame, forcing the contest into a 75-all deadlock at the end of regulation and forcing the overtime session.
Jones’s basket with half-a-minute remaining gave Riffa an 87-84 lead, but then Woods made a lay-up with 18 seconds left to bring them to within a basket. A bad pass from Jones gave possession back to Hala with 14 seconds remaining, paving the way for the end-game block from a relieved Jones.
Jones topped all scorers in the game with 35 points and a monster 22 rebounds. Abdulrahman Ghali also had a fine contribution of 16 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, but he was the only other Riffa player to finish the game in double figures.
Woods had his own big game for Hala, finishing with 33 points while grabbing 28 rebounds and blocking four shots. It wasn’t enough, though, to help inspire his team to the win on the night.
Hussain Salman and Hasan Gerashi each had 15, while Ahmed Jamal contributed 14, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.
With the result, Riffa improved to a 5-5 win-loss record and have 10 points in the middle of the league table. Hala are ranked just ahead of them despite losing their fourth game in 10 outings. Hala are on 12 points.
In yesterday’s other game, Al Najma defeated Al Ettihad 83-76.
Najma used a strong fourth-quarter performance to turn a two-point deficit into heading into the last canto into the win.
Haminn Quantance had an all-around effort of 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and five steals to lead Najma, who also got 19 points from Mohammed Buallay.
Antwan Wilkerson paced Ettihad with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Najma improved to a 5-5 win-loss record while Ettihad dropped to a 5-6 mark. Both teams are on 10 points.
League action continues tonight with Sitra facing Samaheej at 6pm followed by the mammoth match-up between defending champions Manama and chief title rivals Muharraq at 7.45pm.