The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE accolades continue to pile up for a Bahamian student-athlete duo in Canada.

Shamar Burrows and Livingston Bromwell achieved another historic feat for their Ridley College Tigers basketball programme when they led the team to the Standard High School Basketball Tournament title.

The Tigers won 66-49 over the St Francis Phoenix in the tournament finale.

Burrows averaged 20 points per game in the tournament and was ultimately named tournament MVP for his double double in the title game - 20 points and 10 rebounds. He was also named to the all-tournament first team.

Bromwell finished with eight points in the title game and was named all-tournament second team.

The duo led the Tigers to several milestones in the 2014-15 season, but fell short in the Standard Tournament.

In an interview with Bernie Puchalski of the St Catherines Standard, Burrows said it served as motivation for this year’s event.

“Last year’s Standard final when we lost to Dennis Morris Redmen was a real turning point because after that we all came together as a group. We decided we were going to play as a group and trust each other. We probably did get outworked in the finals last year and [coach Witty] preached it to us every day since the Standard tournament started that we’re not going to get out-hustled.

“If we lose, we will lose while hustling,” Burrows said. “I stayed up until 1am reading the programme from the Standard tournament and looking at all the past MVPs. I told myself that my name had to be on the trophy at the end of the night and that’s what happened. Coming from the Bahamas, it’s a great opportunity for me.”

Both former students at Noble Preparatory Academy helped to lead the Tigers to their first provincial title in school history when they won the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Class A boys basketball championship. They are also both beneficiaries of the exchange programme between NPA and Ridley College.

The team’s historic season last year not only included the OFSAA ‘A’ title, but an appearance in the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association (CISAA) title game.