The Tribune

by RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

It was a tough weekend for Bahamian student athletes on the NCAA basketball schedule, with their schools matched up against two of the top ranked schools in the country.

In the Big 12, Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners (13-5) fell short in their upset bid against the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks, 67-54, while over in the ACC Shaquille Cleare and the Maryland Terrapins (15-3) lost big on the road to the No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils, 84-64.

Hield finished with nine points and three steals, but had a rough day from the field shooting just 36 percent (4-11) and 0-5 from three point range.

It was the Sooners’ second loss to a ranked team in three games after they lost 69-60 to the No. 16 Kansas State Wildcats.

Hield moved into the starting lineup December 29th, after spending most of the season as the Sooner’s sixth man.

On the season he is averaging 9.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Hield’s best game as a starter came last week Saturday in the final win of a four game win streak when he finished with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists in a 77-68 win over in state and conference rival Oklahoma State.

He shot 6-11 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the three-point arch.

In the Duke-Maryland matchup, Cleare was in early foul trouble,and picked up four fouls in just 16 minutes matched up against Naismith Player of the Year candidate Mason Plumleee.

Cleare finished with two points and three rebounds, but his effort on the defensive end of the floor was key to the Terps being within striking distance in the first half.

In the first 20 minutes of play, he limited Plumlee to just four points.

However, Cleare picked up his third foul just moments into the second half and was unable to stay on the floor.

Plumlee managed to finish with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

He is averaging 4.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and shooting 60 percent from the field.

Cleare also began the season on the bench and worked his way into the staring lineup.

Following a disappointing loss to open ACC play against Florida State, Terps Head Coach Mark Turgeon announced that he would give Cleare a start in the following game against Miami.

Cleare was, however, limited to just a few minutes due to back spasms for the next two games and finally made the start against NC State.

Turgeon said Cleare earned the time due to his practice effort and a tireless work.

In an interview with Alex Prewitt of The Washington Post, Turgeon outlined the reason for his decision.“I’m starting Shaq,” Turgeon told the newspaper.

“You can print that. That’s not changing. I’m tired of him sitting on the bench. He does everything I ask and he deserves to play.”

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Cleare said. “I’m not going to get too excited or too above myself. I’ll just go out there and do what Turgeon tells me to do. I’ll do all the dirty work like I usually do. You have to always be ready. Even if it’s two minutes before the game, it wouldn’t make a difference to me. But I’m glad he told me now. It’ll motivate me even more in practice.”

Both the Sooners and Terps return to action January 30th when Oklahoma takes to the road once again against Baylor, while Maryland travels to Florida State.