By LeVaughn Flynn, Staff ReporterLAST YEAR'S beaten finalists Urban Knights seem to be dropping off form, losing four consecutive games and are barely clinging to their fourth spot in the KFC/Cable & Wireless National Basketball League (NBL).
After making it to the finals last year against Tivoli All-Stars, Urban Knights were touted as one of the favourites entering this season. Their bad form, however, could not have come at a more inopportune time as they have two games and nine days to go before the play-off round begins.
Two of those losses have been to teams ranked lower than them. Bottom of the table Rae Town Raptors edged them 57-55 last Thursday for the second time this season and Link Up All-Stars upset them 75-64 on Tuesday night. They also lost to Blazing Panthers and St. George's Slayers.
FOUR-GAME SKID
Their coach Calvin Martin said the reason for their four-game skid came down to one thing.
"We just can't score ... nobody can make a lay-up or a shot," Martin stated.
"We are turning over the ball too much and we can't put the ball in the basket," he said.
"It's not a basketball problem or a matter of fitness. If you see them on the court you realise that they can run."
He said that in order to find the root of the problem "all angles have to be looked at". "Maybe it's me. I'm seriously thinking of resigning. Maybe if somebody new comes they will perform," he said.
While Martin contemplates quitting, his guard duo of Lancelot Grandison and Linton Murray have been ineffective during their losing streak and his most productive big man, Andrei Grant, has been sidelined by injury. "Andrei is injured, the others have just dropped off form," he said of his 'big three'.
In the absence of the usual top performers, Fernando Young led his team with 21 points on Tuesday against Link Up and also collected eight rebounds. Rodney James had a game-high 28 points and Geoffery Brown, the league's leading rebounder, grabbed 25. Their win over Knights was their third straight victory and second upset in just over a week as they stunned reigning champs Tivoli All-Stars 69-67 last Monday.
Just when it seemed Urban Knights were the only team Rae Town Raptors could beat, they pulled off what seemed like the impossible by winning two consecutive games. Runnin' Rebels and Buckfield United fell prey to the Raptors going down 65-63 and 67-52 on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Byron Dixon had 18 points and nine rebounds against Rebels and Troy Jackson with 21 points against Buckfield lifted Raptors to only their fourth win of the season. Raptors are having a challenging time in the NBL losing as much as 15 consecutive games and will be heading back to the Southern Conference Basketball League.
STANDINGS
GP GW GL GF Pts
| Blazing Panthers | 22 | 19 | | 3 | 0 | 41 |
| Tivoli All-Stars | 20 | 15 | | 5 | 0 | 35 |
| St. George's Slayers | 20 | 13 | | 7 | 0 | 33 |
| Urban Knights | 20 | 12 | | 8 | 0 | 32 |
| Denham Town Wizards | 20 | 12 | | 8 | 0 | 32 |
| Harbour View Lakers | 19 | 12 | | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Runnin' Rebels | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 27 |
| Link Up All-Stars | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 27 |
| Braves Chiefs | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 25 |
| Rae Town Raptors | 21 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 25 |
| Buckfield | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| West Cumberland Flames | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 22 |
