Kingston College (KC) did the near impossible when they beat North Street rivals and overwhelming favourites St George’s College (STGC) 18-17 to win the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Urban Area Under-15 basketball final at National Stadium basketball courts on Wednesday.

In the third-place play-off Campion College defeated Jamaica College (JC) for the second time this season with a narrow 27-25 win.

In the championship game KC surprised STGC with a superior defensive effort to deny the team that had swept the floor with them earlier this season with a 44-25 whipping them KC.

Guided by KC legend Roger Marshall, the Purples denied the offensive machine the Light Blues are known to be, limiting them to just four points in the first quarter which ended 10-4.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Shaquane Elliot got the job done for KC on both ends of the floor while the pint-sized Shane Chisholm at point guard provided him with valuable assistance.

Karl Graham also had a big impact for KC on both ends of the floor as STGC were held scoreless in the second quarter as KC ended the half with a 15-4 lead.

Battered, bruised and shocked, the STGC aggregation came out a much different unit in the third quarter, flipping the script on KC with a swarming defence which led to three straight KC turnovers which Mikkel Green converted to score six points and help his team cut the deficit to 15-10 within two minutes of the restart.

From there it became a defensive slug fest as both teams set about limiting the opportunities for their opponents.

It was a big quarter for STGC as they cut the gap to just one point at 15-14 by holding KC scoreless in the third stanza.

There was an air of desperation from both teams at the start of the fourth quarter as KC frantically clung to their slim one-point lead while STGC searched for a basket to take the lead.

STGC drew level from the free throw line before Courtney Grant scored to give them their first lead of the match with 24 seconds left to play at 17-15.

Chisholm scored the first basket of the second half for KC to level the scores at 17 with 18 seconds to go. Both teams missed good opportunities to score, before Elliot iced the game for KC when he scored the first of two free throws to make it 18-17 to KC with two seconds left on the clock.

Marshall, who won many titles as a player for KC, was over the moon with the win from the sidelines.

“It is a sweet victory based on the amount of work that we had to put in. This is a very, very young team, so it took a lot,” Marshall said.

He acknowledged that the STGC pressure in the second half had rattled his players.

“Basketball, we all know, is a game of ups and downs. We had a good run in the first half. Second half, some of the pressure that they applied got to us a little and we got a little dishevelled by that, but the good ting about us is that we stuck to it, we don’t give up, we knew that no matter what we would pull out at the end,” he said.

Marshall did his best to hide his emotions but did express extreme delight with the victory.

“I am elated. I am not really the jump in the sky guy, but I am really, really happy,” he said.

STGC head coach Eric Douglas was disappointed with the start his team had, but nonetheless proud of the season they had.

“Before the match I told them that it was going to be a tough battle because KC is not a pushover team, just by the tradition. I was very disappointed with how they started the game and second half we started to pick up the game. It’s their first competitive tournament but the future is bright for them and I am very proud of them,” Douglas said.

In the third-place game JC started out strongly, leading 11-2 at the end of the first quarter but Campion stormed back to draw things level at 17-all at half-time. JC inched ahead 22-21 at the end of the third quarter but Campion held their head to score the last four points of the game to secure the win.