Northwood and Maritzburg College confirm their status as KZN’s best
KwaZulu-Natal schools performed well at the recent St John’s Basketball Tournament, with Northwood and Hilton College winning the u19 and u15 titles respectively in the country’s most prestigious basketball event.
On the weekend, there was another chance for those teams to demonstrate their excellence.
Northwood’s ride on the winning streak
Northwood, who laid claim to being the number one team in the country with their dominant performances in Johannesburg, picked up where they left off when they took on Clifton College.
Lusanda Hlongwane, the MVP of the St John’s tournament, led the way with a triple-double, while Callum Magurno picked up a double-double. They, together with Chadley Hargreaves and Siyamthanda Shabalala, all tallied more than 20 points as the Knights bullied their way to a 102-35 win.
Playing for the first time in a big interschools fixture at home since winning the St John’s tournament, the Northwood team was welcomed onto the court with rapturous applause, with their supporters, pupils, parents and staff all showing their appreciation for the side.
With Hlongwane, Magurno and Hargreaves dictating play from the start, Northwood were quickly into their stride and by the end of the first quarter they had 29 points on the board.
The Knights exerted massive pressure on Clifton with their full-court, man-to-man press and, once they turned over possession, they were relentless in turning it into points.
The one-sided victory put an exclamation mark on a very successful day for Northwood, who swept their matches against Clifton, who came closest to a win in the u15A game, which Northwood claimed 36-34.
Maritzburg College remains unbeaten in KZN interschools’ matches
The Maritzburg College 1st team enjoyed a good weekend, beating Kearsney College 63-56, to keep their record in KZN clean.
Since 16 September last year to the present day, College remains unbeaten in the province in interschools derbies, and they also claimed the silverware in the Jenny Orchard Basketball Tournament in February when they defeated Northwood School (who had beaten them in the pool stages) in the final in overtime.
At Michaelhouse, the Hilton College 1st team claimed a 60-55 win over the home side, and their St John’s Basketball Tournament-winning u15A side continued its excellent season, beating Michaelhouse 26-19.
In Gauteng, KES, the runners-up at the St John’s Basketball Tournament, claimed a 10-point win over St Stithians, while St John’s got the better of Jeppe, and St David’s Marist Inanda outplayed CBC Boksburg.
RESULTS
KwaZulu-Natal
St Charles 101-46 Glenwood
Hilton College 60-55 Michaelhouse
Westville Boys High 85-77 Durban High School
Northwood 102-35 Clifton College
Maritzburg College-63-56 Kearsney College
Gauteng
St John’s College 40-31 Jeppe
King Edward VII 42-32 St Stithians College
St David’s Marist Inanda 48-20 CBC Boksburg
Eastern Cape
Queen’s College 16-3 Kingswood (Match abandoned due to inclement weather)
Queen’s College 31-15 Khanyisa
