The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

HIALEAH, Florida — Game two of the Florida National University’s Basketball Classic at the Bucky Dent Gymnasium was a complete turn around for the College of the Bahamas men’s basketball team.

After getting blown out by 33 (107-74) the night before by the host Florida National University Conquistadors, the Caribs came back yesterday against the University of the Virgin Islands Bucs and played with a whole different mentality.

They went into overtime and were outscored 85-75 in the first two minutes of the five minute extra period as the Bucs went on to pull off a hard fought 91-82 victory. The score was tied 75-75 at the end of regulation.

“It was a very different game, something that we could really handle,” said COB’s coach Bacchus Rolle. “We had some miscues at the end and some careless turnovers in overtime that put us in a deeper hole than we could handle.

“But I’m proud of the efforts. The Caribs really fought hard tonight. I can’t say too much about us sticking together as a unit. You heard them on the bench, saying defence, defence. Wee really wanted this win. This was a team that I thought we could beat. We really had them.”

University of the Virgin Island’s coach Myron Brown couldn’t agree more.

“I think we played hard. We just have to get better in situation play, knowing when to take shots and when not to,” he said. “But in the end, the College of the Bahamas played hard as well. We just pulled it off in overtime. I guess it was just our time to win.”

John Haywood had 22 points with five rebounds to lead the Bucs. John Nunnally scored 18 points with six rebounds, four steals and three assists and both Steven Watkins and Paul Watson added 12 each.

For the Caribs, Justin Smith scored a game high 28 points with four steals and three assists. Anthony Sands had 12 points, Reuben Smith had 14 points and four rebounds and Alvano Laing chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Smith got the first basket of the game at 18:42 for a 2-0 lead and he hit a three-pointer at 17:32 for a 5-2 lead. A fast break layup from Goodman extended it to 7-2 at 16:52.

Jabari Alexander added a three-pointer to a jumper to pull the Bucs into a 7-7 tie at 15:52 before Smith responded with a fading three-pointer and Goodman scored on another layup to push the Caribs up 12-9 at 15:42.

At 13:37, Sands and Smith scored on consecutive lay-ps for a 16-11 lead. The Bucs came within one (18-17) but Davis completed a three-point play and Glen Davis converted a pair of free throws for a 23-17 lead.

Lowtadus Edgcombe came off the bench and provided a spark for the Caribs, completing a three-point play - his seventh point - for a 32-29 lead with about five minutes left in the period.

Just before the half, the Caribs got back-to-back baskets from Sands and Smith for a 40-38 lead and Smith dove in for a fading jumper for a 42-39 margin at the break.

The Caribs opened the second quarter on a 9-5 run for a 51-44 lead that ended with Munroe driving inside as he went through the defence for a one-handed slam dunk.

At 10:16, the Caribs trailed by two, but Smith banked a three-pointer off the backboard for a 58-57 lead and after taking a charge, Kirkwood Williams got rewarded at the other end as he was fouled and he got in the scoring book with one of his two free throws to tie the score at 59-59.

Despite getting into foul trouble, the Bucs still managed to surge ahead 66-61 with 7:16 remaining. That prompted coach Rolle to call a quick timeout to settle down his team and regroup.

Smith came out of the huddle and canned a three-pointer for a 66-64 deficit. But the Bucs extended their margin 75-70 on a three-pointer from John Nunnally and a layup from Watkins.

Tightening up their defence, the Caribs rallied back for a 75-75 tie on Goodman’s two-handed dunk on a missed layup by Sands with 2:05 on the clock.

Neither team scored the rest of the way with Smith dribbling down the clock out of a Caribs’ timeout with 17 seconds left before he missed a last second desperation shot, forcing overtime.

The Caribs have the day off today and are slated to complete the series Saturday in a rematch against Florida National University before returning home later in the evening.