By Corey Kwok
Renaissance Academy shot 62.5% from the floor during the first half and drained five threes along the way, to go up 27-18 with 2:24 to go in the second quarter. But Keppel countered with a 9-0 run to get even and ultimately beat the Academy 57-49 Tuesday in non league action.
Sam Thim buried three treys including one at the first half buzzer to tie it at 27.Thim pestered the Wildcats’ offense with back to back blocks on the same play in the first before rejecting another to the floor the next quarter.
The Aztecs’ momentum carried into the next half and they began to paralyze Renaissance’s defense underneath with clutch post play.
A pair of Justin Young free throws followed by a go-ahead Timmy Wong deuce 22 seconds later gave the Aztecs their first lead of the game, which they preserved for good. The crowd erupted two buckets later as Wong worked a double pump fake to the rack for a deuce to make it 35-31.
Troy Fontanilla hit one from the corner to close the gap to one, but a Wong free throw and back door alley oop from Justin Young to Jordan Young pushed Keppel advantage to six with just over a minute to play in the third.
The last of three Thim bombs plus another Wong free throw and Jordan Young put back jolted the Aztecs ahead by eleven, (50-39), 1:22 into the fourth.
The Wildcats made one last charge, scoring eight unanswered points to make it a three point Keppel ballgame with 3:51 to play. The Academy used a Vince De Guzman bomb, a pair of Brian Bourgeois free throws and a half court three from Jessy Cantinol to get back in it.
Thim found a driving Young, (Justin), underneath for a bucket for the Aztecs with 1:40 to play for a five point lead.
The Aztec trio of Young (Justin) (19 pts, 11 rebounds), Wong (16, 3 steals), and Thim (11) combined for 46 of the team’s 57 points. They also knocked down five of six free throws within the game’s final 49.7 seconds to clinch the Keppel triumph. Max Katz came away with the game ending rebound as a desperation bomb by the Wildcats turned into an air ball.
RA 17 10 11 11 – 49
MK 12 15 17 13 – 57
RA – Bourgeois 17, Tacita 11, Fontanilla 8, De Guzman 5, Cantinol 5, Burrows 3
MK – Justin Young 19, Wong 16, Thim 11, Jordan Young 9, Katz 2
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