SO MUCH FOR that Pearson Griffith slump – and any hopes Jackson would remain in theirs.
The six-foot-ten centre had ten points, 14 rebounds and ten blocks, while Peter Alleyne scored 20 as Premier League basketball pre-season favourites British American Insurance Jackson ended a two-game slide via Thursday’s 75-56 rout of Nicholls Baking Cougars at the Wildey Gym.
Griffith’s stat line was the second triple double he had in as many seasons, following last year’s surreal 19-12-10 performance against Clapham.
This came after his earlier struggles this season that saw the burly big man shoot a shade under 40 per cent during a woeful three-game stretch.
But he wasn’t the only Jackson player plagued by recent shooting woes, not after Alleyne went scoreless in last week’s heartbreaker against St John Sonnets.
It took just five minutes for Alleyne not to repeat that performance, as the multi-skilled combo guard had a six-point burst towards the end of the first quarter to end a back-and-forth exchange of baskets.
Cougars went ahead (32-30) on the last of Keith Mayers’ three second-quarter triples as the highlight of the dreadlocked point guard’s 13-point assault in the period.
However, Levar Greaves responded with a three-point play of his own before Alleyne scored eight of the game’s next nine points as part of a 12-0 Jackson run to end the half.
And Cougars never got any closer than five (44-39) the rest of the way despite Godfrey Leacock’s threatening start to the third quarter.
Alleyne quickly put an end to that threat, scoring via an off-balance jumper and a nifty lay-up, before hitting a trailing Manuel Alleng with a no-look pass for a transition bucket.
It was just the beginning of another run of 12 unanswered points which put Jackson up 56-39 with 2:04 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
That advantage eventually ballooned to 20 (71-51) when Alleyne fed Greaves for successive lay-ups prior to Alleng hitting a pair of bankers, all while Griffith had his block party at the other end.
Greaves ended with 15 points for Jackson, who moved from last to sixth with a 3-4 record. The loss dropped Cougars (3-6) in a four-way tie for the league’s worst record with Senators, Tridents and Patriots.
Earlier, Adrian Allman had 12 of his game-high 26 points in the second quarter as the Lumber Company Lakers went on a 21-7 run to close that period before whipping Husbands neighbours Patriots 82-62.
The win was the fourth in five games for Lakers (5-3), who remained in fourth place despite missing starting guards Keefe Birkett and Derek Browne.
But the two clearly weren’t needed after Allman’s three-pointer over an outstretched Julian Walcott sparked a run that turned a 25-19 contest into a 46-26 half-time rout.
Patriots threatened briefly after dominating the offensive glass as part of a rally that got them within 11 (52-41) early in the third.
However, Lakers finished that quarter on another run; this time a 19-7 surge ignited by Jamario Grazette and Ricardo Jemmot that put them ahead 71-48.
Ian Alexander added 20 points, Grazette scored 14 while Jemmott had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Walcott led Patriots with 18 points and 15 boards.
Standings
Team Wins-Losses
1. Bulls 8-2
2. Warriors 7-2
3. Pinelands 5-3
4. Lakers 5-3
5. Sonics 4-4
6. Jackson 3-4
7. Cavs 3-5
8. Senators 3-6
9. Tridents 3-6
10. Cougars 3-6
11. Patriots 3-6
