By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The CC Sweeting Cobras senior boys’ basketball team, fresh off their semifinal appearance in the Providence Basketball Club’s Yuletide Classic, made mince meat of the well-rested RM Bailey Pacers.

In the return of the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s 2023/24 basketball season after the Christmas break, the Cobras clobbered the Pacers 80-39 in the only game played yesterday at the DW Davis Gymnasium.

Just about every player in uniform scored with Emmanuel Adams, Andrew Bethel and Tabvari Roker leading their attack with 15 points apiece. What the trio didn’t do, Drexel Burnside followed with seven, Aaron Brown, Mataeo Minnis and Deangelo Smith all chipped in with six and both Brendon Darville and Pierre Markley finished with four each.

“It wasn’t what I expected, but we will take it,” was how CC Sweeting’s head coach Dastyn Baker summed up their 41-point massacre.

“I’m happy that we came out with the win.”

With the win, the Cobras moved their win-loss record to 2-1.

“We still have to work on some things defensively and our rotation has to be better, but we will figure it out as we go,” Baker continued.

In leading from start to finish, the Cobras opened a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and they continued to extend their insurmountable lead as the Pacers couldn’t find any answers to slow them down.

The loss dropped RM Bailey to 1-2, but coach Devon Miller admitted that they were not as prepared as they should have been for the return of the season.

“Coming out of the break for the season might have been good for some teams, but it wasn’t good for my team,” he pointed out.

“I have alot of players who worked and did a lot of things. We were not able to put in any practice during the Christmas break.

“We only had about two days to prepare, so coming into this game, we were still a little better than when the season started. We’re in much better shape.

“We just have to get rid of the ham and turkey shape and we will be better. We will get better as the season progresses.”

Bethel, with a three-pointer in the first quarter, added a pair in the second for nine points. Adams had three in the first and came up with four more in the second and Roker had all five in the second as the Cobras built a 24-15 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Roker went on a scoring rampage with 10 points, running the fast break for a lay-up for a 47-27 lead with four minutes and 55 seconds to go. At 2:29, he got loose again for another basket to extend their margin to 57-30.

And just at the buzzer, Brenden Darville hit his first basket to push CC Sweeting’s lead to 65-27 going into the final period.

Baker rested Adams, Bethel and Roker in the fourth, but it wasn’t until the final two minutes that the Pacers made a mini run to trim down the deficit, but it was a bit too late.

The damage had already been done.

“We couldn’t perform any better than we did,” Miller said. “We just have to prepare to play better. As the season progresses, I expect that we will get better and play better.”

Isiah Williams was the leading scorer for the Pacers wirth 10. Stanley Pratt and Davonte Chales both had five, Kaysheo Sturrup and Laweadro Monestime both had four and Latiji Moxey and Lou Pierre helped out with three each, but it wasn’t enough.