SMBA Stingrays take doubleheader on home court

Senior and junior boys’ basketball teams at St. Mary’s Bay Academy showed again Monday night that they have the measure of teams from Digby Regional.

The first game in Monday night’s doubleheader at SMBA was between the senior boys with the Stingrays taking down the visiting Mariners 84-60.

Patrick Johns put the Stingrays on the board with two trips to the line in the opening minutes of the game while Digby’s Cory Saulnier scored first for the Mariners with a drive to the hoop.

The Stingrays were able to outscore the Mariners in three of the four quarters of play with their aggressive style and full court pressure on the ball. The Mariners had difficulty working the ball inside and relied more on outside shooting.

With a comfortable 68-38 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Stingrays became sloppy at both ends of the court, allowing the Mariners to close the gap. SMBA held on to take the game 84-60.

"Kyle Pulley was strong under the boards for us tonight," said DRHS coach Mike Bartlett. "But for the most part the team lacked the aggressive style that put SMBA on top again. Our team needs to be hungry for the win."

Robbie Peters was top scorer for SMBA with 13 points with Blake Doucette chipping in 12 for the win. Stephen Blanchard and Kyle Bell lead the Mariners with 10 points each.

The junior Mariners showed improvement against the Stingrays in the second game of the night. Although SMBA took the match 64-31, Digby had greater success working the ball down the court and getting in their shots.

First half action was close as the Mariners were able to keep pace with the Stingrays. Taking a 24-16 lead into the second half, SMBA took advantage of the young Mariner team by drawing fouls and creating turnovers that helped boost their score.

"The team showed improvement in tonight’s game compared to our first match-up against the Stingrays," said Digby coach Christy Kelly. "We are a young team but we will gain confidence and the necessary skills as we play each game. I am pleased with how well they did tonight."

Dustin Howard led the Mariners with 13 points and Aaron Titus added nine. Jordan Cromwell poured in 28 points for the Stingrays and Jimmy McColm chipped in 10.

SMBA and DRHS junior boys meet again at SMBA on Monday for a league game and Digby Region’s junior girls will also play the Stingrays the same evening.