DC Jammers fend off Pacesetters 82-75; remain undefeated

the DC Jammers continued with their winning ways on their 2016 four game Goodwill Tour of Guyana. On Tuesday night, the visitors played third game of the short tour and at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall against the spirited Pacesetters.

In what was a highly competitive and exciting game, Pacesetters proved to be a resilient force, however, Kevan

Creppy clutch performance down the stretch helped the DC Jammers to a 82-75 victory to secure their third consecutive win and remain undefeated with one game to go.

Semaj Inge had another good day at the office with 21 points while Guyanese born Winston Robinson added 14 points for the Jammers.

Pacesetters were led by former Guyana Basketball Association first division MVP; Jason Squires who topped scored for the locals with 20 points while Stephon Gillis netted 17 points.

The Washington based side set the tone early, opening the game with a with 10-0 run as Keron Mckenzie nailed back-to-back three pointers, McKenzie was left unchecked on both occasions which proved costly for the home side when McKenzie displayed his sharp shooting from downtown. Pacesetters would get their first points of the evening when Randy Richardson battled for an offensive rebound and finished under the rim.

The size advantage was clearly in favour of the Jammers, they dominated the glass in the first period with numerous offensive rebounds, capitalizing on the Pacesetters’ lack of ‘big men’ on the floor. Jammers would finish the first period with a 24-14 lead.

The home side opened the second period on a 8-2 run with their high intensity defense and quick outlet passes that cut the lead to 4 (26-22) with 7:52 remaining in the quarter. The Pacesetters would outscore the Jammers in the second period 24-19 to head into the half trailing by only five points, 38-43.

Semaj Inge had 12 points at the half for the Jammers while Stephon Gillis had 10 for the Pacesetters.

The momentum gained by the Pacesetters during the second period continued into the third, the Guyanese side came out with an aggressive mindset, running most of their plays in the post as the game slowed down which favored the home side. Pacesetters were able to reduce the deficit to just two points (43-41) with little over 3 minutes played in the quarter. The game immediately turned into a back and forth affair with both sides trading buckets, Keron McKenzie hit his fourth three pointer of the night to give the Jammers a 57-50 lead before Jason Squires answered with a three of his own to make it 57-53. The entertaining third quarter was capped off when Jason Squires nailed a buzzer-beater to cut the Jammers’ lead to one (58-57) sending the home supporters into a frenzy.

Randy Richardson gave Pacesetters their first lead of the night early in the fourth when he finished a lay to give Pacesetters a 58-59 lead. Soon after Pacesetters would hit their next jumper and go up by three with 6:21 remaining.

The noise level inside the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall erupted when Stephon Gillis nailed a three pointer while drawing a foul, he converted the free throw to complete the four point play as the Pacesetters gained a 69-64 lead.

The Jammers came fighting back with a run of their own, Samaj Inge and Winston Robinson’s two-punch combo of back to back jumpers regained the lead (70-69) for the Jammers with 4:49 remaining in the game.

Samaj Inge stepped into another gear producing 2 vicious blocks as the game got physical down the stretch.

Kevan Creppy went on to hit three consecutive buckets helping the DC Jammers open a seven point lead, 77-70, Jammers would prove too much for the Guyanese side when they pulled away late in the final minutes to secure a hard fought 82-75 victory.

The Jammers will now turn their attention to Guyana’s All-Star team this Friday evening as they seek to make it a Goodwill Tour clean sweep. Action tips-off at 18:30 Hrs.