June 1, 2009 — St. Croix's Boyz Dem used a strong second quarter to get some separation from Win It All of St. Thomas on Sunday en route to a 35-28 victory to win the Housing, Parks and Recreation inter-island Champion of Champions' Tournament at the Central High gymnasium.
The tournament brings the HP&R champion teams in 10-12 and 13-15 basketball from across the territory to play for the V.I. championships. This game played in the 13-15 division saw the eventual champions shake off some apparent early jitters before settling down for the win.
With the best-two-of-three series deadlocked at one game all, both teams came out shaky in the opening quarter, missing a lot of relatively easy shots. A total of just nine points was scored between the teams in the opening period, with Boyz Dem holding a one-point advantage at 5-4.
The second quarter was a different story as Boyz Dem dominated the period on both ends of the court. Defensively they once again kept the Win It All's offense in check, allowing them just seven points. On offense, led by six points from Shakeel Williams and five from Javier Martinez, they were able to outscore their opponents 15-7 for a 20-11 halftime lead.
The Boyz Dem lead would stretch to 12 points in the third as they were once again able to outscore Win It All 9-6 in the period. Deshawn Garvey led the charge for Boyz Dem in the third quarter with seven of his team's nine points, and they led 29-17 at the end of three quarters.
Shanel Caines tried to singlehandedly bring his team back into the game in the fourth, netting eight of his game-high 14 points in the period, but he was a lone ranger in his attempt, as none of his teammates could match his efforts. They did manage to outscore Boyz Dem 11-6 in the final quarter, but most of their points came after the game was all but decided.
Boyz Dem was led offensively by Deshawn Garvey, who finished with a team-high 10 points. Teammates Williams and Amadeus Derweer netted eight and seven points, respectively. For Win It All, it was Caines leading the way with his game-high 14 points, four boards and three steals, while Hamardi George chipped in with eight.
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