The Breakers Academy and Athletes in Action squared off for the second time in three days at Atlas Place on Saturday night. Due to injuries and the unavailability of some team members the Breakers once again called on the services of Nick Barrow and Saman Mohammadi. The highlights of the first period were three triples from Ray Penny and a driving two handed lay up in traffic from 15 year old debutant Liam Thornton from Albany Junior High.The Breakers trailed by one point entering the second quarter but back to back three’s from Tohi Smith-Milner and Derone Raukawa lifted the home team to a 35-30 advantage. AIA responded and quickly reduced the arrears but they were guilty of some sloppy fouls, gifting regular visits to the foul line for the home team. A quick outlet pass from Raukawa for Jaylen Gerrand to convert a lay up on the half time buzzer enabled the Breakers to enjoy the main break with a 49-48 advantage.
The third quarter belonged almost exclusively to AIA, the task of the Breakers not helped when Mohammadi fouled out. Down to two big men, coach Judd Flavell changed his defence to a 1-3-1 zone – the ploy slowed down the AIA scoring but they still lead 75-66 at threequarter time. With only six players, the Breakers tired noticeably in the last quarter. Nick Barrow and Smith-Milner were strong on the defensive boards but with the exception of Jaylen Gerrant scoring became a struggle. Gerrant connected with a couple of floating lay-ups and a triple, his game high 30 points not enough to give the Breakers a victory. The eleven point defeat was not the result coach Flavell would have been looking for but he will have been pleased with the effort of his charges against a team all currently attending American Colleges.
Final Score: Athletes in Action 102, Breakers Academy 91 (Jaylen Gerrant 30, Derone Raukawa 18, Tohi Smith-Milner 12, Nick Barrow 10, Ray Penny 9, Liam Thornton 9)
LACEY LOWDOWN 