Silver Bullets up 1-0 in hoops finals

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 2 June 2017

Davion Cotterell (11) led the Bullets with 29 points.

Silver Bullets are one win away from unseating Sol Blazers as the top dogs on the Cayman Islands basketball landscape. Bullets edged Blazers 85-82 on 28 May in game one of the 2017 National Men’s League finals.

Bullets were led by Davion Cotterell, who turned up his game in the second half to finish with 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.

: Adam Milburn

: Peter Grant

Bullets put the defending champions on their heels early and led by seven points after the first quarter and extended their edge to double digits with a half-time score of 48-38. Adam Milburn hit three of his five three pointers in the first half for Blazers to keep the game from getting out of reach. Aggressive play by Jake Whittaker and Peter Grant’s ensured Bullets stayed out front.

Samuel O’Garro scored 25 points.

Blazers made a run in the third quarter outscoring their rivals 25-13 cutting the lead to six points in the first minute and tied the game four minutes later. Blazers led 63-61 with one quarter to go after a layup by Samuel O’Garro. It was game on!

However, poor ball control by Blazers squandered a lead they built up and resulted in easy turnovers that allowed Bullets back into the game. With 1:53 on the clock, Cotterell, who had put his team on his shoulders, tied the game with an and-1 lay-up. His free throw gave Bullets an 83-82 lead.

Brandon Glasgow iced the game with two free throws with less than 20 seconds left in the game, as Bullets held on for the 85-82 win.

Top performers:

Jake Whittaker had 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Silver Bullets:

Davion Cotterell – 29 points, nine rebounds, three assists

Peter Grant – 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals

Jake Whittaker – 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists

Sol Blazers:

Samuel O’Garro – 25 points, 13 rebounds

Adam Milburn – 19 points (5/13 3-pts), seven rebounds, three assists

Shaad O’Garro – 13 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists, four blocks

Nikolai Marquis – 12 points (4/8 3-pts), six assists

Click here for full box score.

Game two of the best-of-three series is Sunday, 4 May at Clifton Hunter High School. A win would give the Bullets the title but the Blazers will look to push it to a deciding third game to retain their crown.