Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Ardenne High point guard Kristopher Yen (centre) gets by Old Harbour's Rushaine Richards (right) before attempting to get a shot off against Rushane Ingram (left) in the semi-final of the KFC/ISSA Under-19 National Schoolboy Basketball Championships at the National Stadium yesterday. Ardenne won the game 75-52. - LeVaughn Flynn

Ardenne High recovered from a slow start to eventually push past a determined Old Harbour 75-52, booking their place in the final of the KFC/ISSA Under-19 National Schoolboy Basketball Championships at the National Stadium court yesterday.

Luke Cooke, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, had a huge 14 point second half, as favourites Ardenne had to dig their way out of a minor deficit to eventually get the better of their opponents.

Off to a fast start, Old Harbour found themselves with a 10-2 lead before closing out the first quarter 20-17.

The Northern Conference champions, led by Bradley Bogues who finished the game with 20 points and 16 rebounds, continued to attack the basket in the second period and managed to keep Ardenne at bay headed into half-time with a 29-27 lead. However, tough defence by Ardenne made things difficult for Old Harbour in the third quarter and, after committing several turnovers, the St Catherine team found itself trailing 44-41 by the end of the period.

With the return of their big man Alex Lubsy, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds despite sitting out most of the third quarter, Ardenne outscored Old Harbour 32-10.

"If you have been watching us all season, we always get off to this slow, sluggish start, but we finished strong today and it was a good win," said Ardenne coach Basil Barrett

"It is business as usual for us now and we will go back to the drawing board as we prepare for the final," he added.

Despite the loss, Old Harbour coach Ricardo Edwards was satisfied with his teams performance.

"We started strong, but I think a bit of complacency set in. Nonetheless, I'm still proud of the team," he said.

In other games which had to be rescheduled due to rain earlier in the week, St George's College beat Belair 51-43 in under-19 play and will face Kingston College (KC) in the other semi-final on Monday.

In under-16 action, St Jago got by Belair 32-24 and will face defending champs Ardenne in the semi-final on Monday, while KC will play Old Harbour on Wednesday for a place in the final..