By LeVaughn Flynn, Staff ReporterWOLMER'S BOYS overcame a 17-point third quarter deficit in their semi-final game against St. Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) to edge them 62-59 in the ISSA/KFC Under-19 School-boy Basketball competition at the Stadium courts yesterday.
Thane McKenzie's game-high 26 points led Wolmer's to their second consecutive Southern Conference final. They meet Jamaica College tomorrow in the first of the best-of-three finals. JC swept Wolmer's 2-0 last year.
Andre Hewitt chipped in with 13 points for Wolmer's but the stats did not reflect his impact on the game. Hewitt made some crucial shots, including two free throws in the final seconds, which not only increased his team's score but boosted its morale.
Wolmer's coach, Howard Harvey, credits his team's success to its humility and the extra work it did over the Christmas break.
"A lot of people don't know this but we went to the Bahamas over the Christmas holidays," Harvey said.
"Playing in Bahamas really did a lot for them. We had to get an opportunity like that to get the experience to play at this level and that is what I'm attributing to our success," he said.
"These guys believe in the system and believe in what I've been preaching to them. They are very humble kids and they work hard and this is the result of kids who have these characteristics."
Kemar Cohen led STATHS with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Oneil Christie scored 16 points, dished out five assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
STATHS coach Everton Carty did not seem too bothered about his first loss of season and said his focus would now be the All-island championship which each semi-finalist will vie for.
"We have the All-island trophy to go after, so we have to go back to the drawing board and see what our mistakes were and correct them in the All-island games," he said.
