Kearsney celebrates double win against St Charles
For the first time in Kearsney College’s history, the 1st basketball team has remained unbeaten for the entire season (18 games).
KEARSNEY College won the 1st team cricket and basketball against St Charles at the weekend.
The last cricket fixture for the season took place on Saturday, with Kearsney completing an unbeaten 50-over season with a hard-fought three-wicket win over a competitive St Charles.
Having lost the toss, Kearsney bowled first in hot and humid conditions, restricting St Charles to 164. Pick of the bowlers were Carl Heunis (3/17) and Chase Kelly (4/33). Two run-outs were testament to an impressive fielding display.
Kearsney set about chasing the total briskly, with Robbie Koenig (38), Taine Muirhead (33), Marco Gouveia (25) and Jordan Bamber (20) ensuring that the bulk of the runs were scored before the break at 25 overs. A small hiccup occurred where three wickets were lost due to some outstanding fielding from St Charles, which caused some concern. However, Jared Brien and Kelly saw the hosts home with a few lusty blows.
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Once again, an excellent contest played in gentlemanly fashion with neither side giving quarter.
Final scores: St Charles 1st X1 – 164/10 (Taylor 47, Kelly 4/33, Heunis 3/17). Kearsney 1st X1 – 168/7 (Koenig 38, Muirhead 33).
T20 Semi-final
During the week Kearsney 1st XI won the T20 Big Bash semi-final, beating Clifton at the Riverside Oval. They now play Westville Boys in the final, at a date yet to be confirmed.
The competition was launched this year for all coastal cricketing schools at 1st XI level, to expose teams to the T20 format. All participating schools play in colour strip with a pink ball to add to the excitement and vibe.
Basketball
After their win against St Charles on Saturday, Kearsney College 1st team became the first in the school’s basketball history to remain unbeaten for an entire season.
Reflecting strength across the age groups in this sports code, the 2nd team, U15A; U15B; U15C and U14A teams also remained unbeaten during the season, boding well for the future growth of the sport at Kearsney.
PHOTO: Tracey Van Den Aardweg
Kearsney’s final game of the season was against Pietermaritzburg basketball powerhouse St Charles College. Both teams came into the match unbeaten and it set up a really intense match and electric atmosphere.
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Kearsney started well, scoring freely and making shots while troubling St Charles on defence, forcing them to take poor or rushed shots. St Charles stepped up their defensive pressure, applying a full court press, to which Kearsney did not respond well, turning over the ball and gifting St Charles some easy baskets. At the end of the quarter Kearsney was ahead 19-12, with the momentum shifting to St Charles.
The second quarter was quiet with both teams playing good defense and neither gaining any advantage, each scoring 12 points. Kearsney was 31-24 up at the break.
Focus readjustment saw Kearsney come out and take the game to their opponents, not standing back and allowing themselves to be pressured. They ended up winning the third quarter 19-13 to gain the upper hand.
During the fourth quarter Kearsney were able to run away with the game, scoring freely and at will, while not allowing St Charles any easy baskets. They won the final quarter 24-2 with Kearsney’s matrics playing out the final two minutes.
The game ended with a big 74-39 victory for the hosts, with season stats of 18 wins from 18 games.
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