3A #3 Ranked Dover Bay Dolphins Can't Be Tamed by Carson Graham Eagles
Dover bay at Carson (Boys)
Written by Jeff McCutcheon, Handsworth' ‘06
The annual Quinn Keast tournament kicks off at Carson Graham Secondary. The Dover Bay Dolphins have made the trip from the island and will be facing off against home squad Carson Graham Eagles. The Eagles may have got knocked out of the quarter finals last year but one thing was for sure, their hair do’s were championship caliber. This year looks to be no different with a couple greasy mullets Patrick Swayze would be proud of. Carson buzzed out to an early lead kicked off by a three pointer by #7 Andrade. The island squad came fighting back though and with 5:40 left in the first quarter they had a 10-7 lead. As the quarter went on, the Dolphins suffocating defense proved to be too much for the Eagles. They were only able to score two points for the remainder of the quarter mostly due to missed three’s and sloppy turnovers. The score at the end of the first is 18-9 for the visitors.
After a quick start to the second quarter by Carson Graham, the Dolphins made three consecutive trips to the offensive end and gained three points in every possession. A couple deep shots sandwiched a beautiful “And-one” layup by #12 Linder. They’ve increased their lead to 27-14 nearly half way through the second. Eagles #9 Rideout refused to go down without a fight and got his squad a couple beautiful layups which forced the visitors to burn a timeout as the home crowd was getting rowdy. The stands are packed for this game, a large part due to Carson feeder elementary school “Queen Mary” showing up with their entire graduating class. Dover Bay big man #22 Benjamin has been a force all game, as to close out the half he has begun to take over on both sides of the court- a rebound machine on the defensive end and a monster in the paint on the offensive side. As the first half ends it’s 36-25 for the island squad.
At half I’ve been digging for facts on this Island team. Turns out they are ranked #1 on the island and #3 in BC. The home squad is learning this the hard way, halfway through the third quarter and the Dolphins have doubled up the Eagles 50-25. MVP for the home squad might be the home court announcer. Full of energy and personality, he has been buzzing all game even when it looks like his squad might be out of this one. Heading into the fourth it’s 58-30 Dolphins.
Credit to the Eagles for never giving up but this island squad was too much for them today. The mix of #22 Benjamin down low and perimeter play by Linder brothers #10 and #12 was a filthy mix that not even an eagle could tame. In the end it was the visitors winning 73-55. Big thank you to both teams but especially the Dover Bay Dolphins for making the trip from the island. Goodluck to both teams tomorrow and the rest of the tourney.